New Uni Student 2022 - tips?

ivrytwr3

ivrytwr3

ivrytwr3

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Joined
25 Aug 2006
Posts
6,638
Son is (hopefully) off to Uni this year and we're starting to put together stuff he may need - this will also help us next year when daughter (hopefully) goes to Uni.

This is what we have so far - please feel free to chip in on what we have missed and what you helped you through Uni. Any decent software that will make his life easier ie note taking software/organiser etc?

20 May 2022 deadline for student finance. Reapply once a year.

31 Jul 2022 deadline for accommodation.

Student Content Insurance - do we need this? Any recommended providers?

Student Bank account - either Santander

0% overdraft:
- Years 1-3: £1,500
- Year 4: £1,800
- Year 5: £2,000

Perks:
- Four-year 16-25 Railcard

or HSBC

0% overdraft:
- Year 1: up to £1,000
- Year 2: up to £2,000
- Year 3 & beyond: up to £3,000

Anything better?

Packing list

bed linen, including sheets, duvet, blankets, pillows and pillowcases
towels
clothes for all seasons, plus smart wear
coat hangers
extension lead
personal items such as toiletries
kitchen items and some food to keep you going for the first week
stationery, including pens, pencils, notepads and highlighters
PC/laptop and any cables and chargers
USB stick
notepads
mobile phone and charger
medicine
washing detergent and cleaning items
games and sports equipment
umbrella
a list of important numbers, in case you lose your mobile phone.

nives and a chopping board
saucepans and a frying pan
baking tray
plates and bowls (microwavable ones are a good idea)
cutlery
glasses and mugs
corkscrew and bottle opener
tin opener
vegetable peeler
measuring jug
grater
cling film
tin foil
tea towels
dish cloth
student recipe book.

pens, pencils and highlighters
lever arch files
A4 file paper
ruler
eraser
stapler
hole punch
diary/personal organiser
different sized notebooks
Post-it notes.
 
Josh said:
Don't forget those little name tags for all his clothing, seems like you'd be all over that already but you didn't list it.
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Macky said:
This in a nutshell. Great that you're trying to be really pro-active but let him him figure these things out himself!

Bank account - If intending to travel by rail more than a couple of times a year, the rail card is a decent perk!
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Oooooof!! Harsh :( We're just trying to get him ready, get him out of the door and so when he arrives he can crack on with his studies and his Uni experience - also selfishly, the better prepared he is, the less issues he should be coming to us with. Surely learning from others experiences is beneficial?!
 
Hades said:
My daughter is starting this year. One tip I've heard is to get one of those memory foam toppers for the bed - it makes it more comfortable and it means they aren't sleeping directly on a used matress.

We've seen a few of the on campus accomodation and it's tiny. So try to avoid taking anything unnecessary.
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Top tip! One of the Uni students we spoke to mentioned this - forgot about that.
 
mid_gen said:
I'm not usually a 'everyone's gone bloody soft these days' kinda person, but Christ almighty, he is an adult now, if he can't pack his own bags to go to uni he probably shouldn't be going.
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No-one is packing his bags (although the wife probably actually will :cry:). He doesn't work, so he couldn't afford any of the stuff in the list - we're just trying to make sure he is as well prepared as possible.
 
dLockers said:
Laptop and super noodles; not sure what all the other stuff is.

For kitchen stuff - go absolutely bare minimum as it'll end up being borrowed and not washed. And if he is as soft as you let on then he'll get offended and it'll cause arguments.

Best bet is to give him 50 quid and send them all to Wilko day 3/day 4. Then it is all communal stuff and no one GAF if it gets destroyed.
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That's what we're trying to avoid - get the stuff now and he doesn't need to worry and can focus elsewhere; the local shops are a bus ride away. As stuff gets nicked/damaged, it will be down to him (or Amazon Prime) to replace.
 
MrRockliffe said:
Your son is moving into student accommodation, not a new house.

At best it’ll be as big as his room is now.


The thing to do is start with the bare minimum. Basic clothes, basic kitchen equipment, basic wash stuff.


Otherwise, not only will he find that he has a LOT of stuff, people will just steal it anyway :)


For me, some handy things I wish I’d taken:

Good mattress topper -
https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-synthetic-soft-touch-washable-dual-layer-6cm-deep-mattress-topper/p1519431?size=double,-135-x-190cm

A pack of cards. Bottle opener. A good bowl for cereal. Oxford campus notebooks are the nicest quality. Basic biros in black, blue, red.


Don’t bother with the recipe book. You’ve got something called the internet.



The important thing is don’t overthink it, and let him figure out what he needs :)
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Good ones - ta.
 
Em3bbs said:
Why doesn't he work? Don't school/college students bother getting cleaning/supermarket jobs these days?
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We're pretty rural, so opportunities are limited (he's also lazy!). We're happy to support him whilst he's getting the grades and tbh he doesn't ask for much.
 
Mmmmmm, some of the helicopter/judgmental comments are a little harsh - kids/teenagers/students have been in lockdown for over 2 years now. Disrupted lessons, extended periods in isolation and away from social interaction. When i was a teenager i was out socialising and making these social skills - it's a different world now.

On top of this, all we are doing is ensuring he is well prepared - he will be applying for student finance, bank accounts and we will be trying to get some items that will help him - hell, i'll even drive him to the Uni, have a coffee and he can wave me off - if this is smothering him then tbh i'm happy with that.

Why is waving someone off from their front door, expecting them to sink or swim, more acceptable? I'm sure if your parents could have done more, then they would have done - we're in a world now where we have the internet and can learn from each others experiences. I'm all for letting people make their own mistakes, but not stupid ones like not knowing about the best student bank accounts.

Thanks to those that have offered advice, boooo to those who just want to see the world burn :D
 
martin363 said:
I agree with this, my daughter went to uni last year, over 4 hours drive away. We set her up with what she needed basically a laptop, pots, pans cutlery bedding and towels, plus rail travel card, but she has left home, and is independent.
It takes some getting used to but she will get anything missing herself (or ask us to buy it on Amazon for her...). Interestingly according to her almost everyone has an M1 MacBook Air! as does she.

We gave her a credit card in our names with a small limit for absolute emergencies only. I think this is as much for our peace of mind as hers.
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How do you agree with this been a painful read, when we're doing exactly what you did? Getting him set up with what he needs and driving him to the Uni. You're going further by giving them a credit card and buying stuff from Amazon for them?

"but she has left home, and is independent." - no she isn't!



Hee! Hee! Funny.
 
dowie said:
Past exam papers, find out where to download them, lots of universities only allow students access to the last 3 years of exam papers for any given module (lecturers often reuse questions or write similar ones), sometimes they're slow to upload the latest and take down the earliest so right at the start of say the 22/23 academic year you might be able to get say the following three papers for each module: 20/21, 19/20 and 18/19 before they upload the most recent 21/22 paper and take down the 18/19 paper.

A sharp 1st year might therefore be able quickly to familiarise themselves with the uni library or intranet site etc.. and eventually, get their hands on 4 past papers for each of their 1st year modules (which typically don't count towards your final grade) and if they plan ahead then with subsequent papers still to come they could end up with 5 past papers for each of the 2nd year modules and 6 for each of the 3rd year modules they might take and so on, might as well hedge your bets for a possible 4th year or MA/MSc too!

Getting past papers is such a huge win, I can't emphasize this enough; for lots of STEM subjects the exams can be like 70% or more of the grade for a given module and the best way to prepare for exams is to practice past papers. Also just joining some relevant society for the subject being studied and speaking to students in their final year etc.. could also be useful for getting hold of these.

It might not mean you can definitely answer some hard curveball question a lecturer has thrown in but generally, the majority of an undergrad exam shouldn't be full of surprises, this step alone pretty much guarantees a good 2:1, it's the easiest uni hack you can do - get hold of the past papers, as many as you can find either officially or unofficially and just work through them.
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Soooooooooooo, get some past papers?

Awesome - ty.
 
Honestly, he's a good kid - just not very street wise. He's growing up with a zillion different genders, (his bezzie is trans) blended learning and months in isolation etc, yet he's still pulling AAA predicted grades.

He hasn't asked for any of this, i'm just trying to be supportive and give him the best start we can. Wifey and I never did Uni, coming from a North East mining village i don't know many that did Academia - i did Open Uni in my 40's! We have no idea what he needs, we are relying on the interwebz and people here :)

So I'm asking here as i know there are some very intelligent people on the forums and a lot have actually recently been or still are Uni students. I've got some really useful advice here and i appreciate it :)
 
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Zenduri said:
As someone else mentioned a door wedge to keep the firesafety door to his room open for socialising purposes, some condoms and a few bottle of decent spirits/ crates of beer. Getting to know the people you are living with is key and booze always helps!
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Good shout - ta.
 
sHo0sH said:
If he doesn't have any money and you guys are generously providing everything for him, what's his financial education like?

Maybe an idea of how to budget so those student overdrafts and loans don't end up a burden later on down the line.

+ Beers + wine
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Tuition fee loan + Maintenance Grant (Student loan) is means tested, so can't get full amount. The MG covers 90% of the accomm costs, so we have to make up that. Grandparents and us will be giving a monthly amount and he will have to work if he wants more £££.

Chatting to some students at the Uni, they say they do similar and their parents give them £50 per week - one of the lads says he sometimes has to choose between eating and a night out - lol.

Anyone done similar? Or an alternative?
 
It's difficult, but i can't see any other way.

Example figures:

-£9250 tuition fees (paid back later).

-£7.5k accom costs

+£5.5k Maintenance Grant.

Where is he meant to find £2k accom shortfall + find money to live?

I think the £2k shortfall is down to me and £50 per week living allowance isn't too bad, + plus he will need to work. This is only for the 1st year, he wants to go into a shared house for year 2 and onwards.

I am also thinking of this as an investment into his future and if he gets a solid career, bank of mum and dad can close.
 
£167 - £174 per week for a decent single room, any less and it would be shared rooms /bathrooms.

There are better rooms, but of course these are more ie £210 per week.

These are warwick and uea costs.
 
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