New Uni Student 2022 - tips?

[ivrytwr3]

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

Good ones - ta.

 

[dlockers]

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.

Getting the stuff is half the fun.

He isn't there "to study" - he is there to make friends for life, learn what it takes to stand on his own two feet, and then do the bare minimum to get the best grade he can.

Sending him with a plethora of kit he doesn't even today will be really embarrassing, I promise - highlighters, various size notebooks, blah - bin it all.

 

[Em3bbs]

He doesn't work, so he couldn't afford any of the stuff in the list

Why doesn't he work? Don't school/college students bother getting cleaning/supermarket jobs these days?

 

[physichull]

Really? I thought they were gimmicky!! On the list they go - ta.

I did physics at uni and so was often drawing diagrams or graphs on the fly or from lectures - having 4 colours is really handy, it just helped my brain process things too.

 

[ivrytwr3]

Why doesn't he work? Don't school/college students bother getting cleaning/supermarket jobs these days?

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.

 

[subbytna]

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.

He must be if he has you packing for him too.

 

[seabiscuit]

My first year in self catered halls, the halls had a number of pots and pans for cooking already there, but yes, having my own mug, bowl and plate, glasses and cutlery was a good idea. Oh and a cheese toasty maker!
Could maybe replace some of the saucepans and frying pan with a flat bottom wok. I've still got the basic cabon steel not-non-stick wok I had in uni over 20 years later, and it's still used frequently, ranging from a stir fry, rice, to full on longer cooked currys.
Decent, comfy boots with a sole that won't crack and let in water was a good one for me.
But yeah, you could maybe leave some of this until he gets to his accomodation, see what has already been supplied, then go on a shopping trip for food and other missing bits then.

 

[Macky]

Getting the stuff is half the fun.

He isn't there "to study" - he is there to make friends for life, learn what it takes to stand on his own two feet, and then do the bare minimum to get the best grade he can.
all.

Definitely some truth in this for me personally. Granted everyone is different, but the social aspect and associated skills were more useful than the technical knowledge I gained from my degree.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Just be prepared everything in the kitchen is fair game, people will use and abuse it. Don’t get attached to it. If he wants it clean, don’t leave it in the communal area. It’s just how it is.

As someone else said earlier. A door wedge on the first day is very good to get to know everyone, even if he’s shy, just be there and listen will help make friends easier.

 

[Malevolence]

He's an adult, shouldn't he be doing all this for himself? My parents stood on the doorstep, waved me goodbye and wished me luck.

 

[Macky]

Just be prepared everything in the kitchen is fair game, people will use and abuse it. Don’t get attached to it. If he wants it clean, don’t leave it in the communal area. It’s just how it is.

As someone else said earlier. A door wedge on the first day is very good to get to know everyone, even if he’s shy, just be there and listen will help make friends easier.

Beer crate door wedge was my older brother's advice to me. Served me well!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

This is a painful read

A few clothes, toiletries and a laptop is all you really need. Anything else is a luxury and will probably get stolen or used by everyone else.

Sort out some money for him to pickup anything critical in the first week and save yourself spending on stuff he won’t need.

Helicopter parenting isn’t going to do him any favours.

 

[Ayahuasca]

A personality.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Beer crate door wedge was my older brother's advice to me. Served me well!

I think I just folded up some cardboard.

Just remember to close and lock it when you head out or you come back and find your entire room's content be relocated in the corridor! (speaking from experience)

 

[martin363]

This is a painful read

A few clothes, toiletries and a laptop is all you really need. Anything else is a luxury and will probably get stolen or used by everyone else.

Sort out some money for him to pickup anything critical in the first week and save yourself spending on stuff he won’t need.

Helicopter parenting isn’t going to do him any favours.

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.

 

[ivrytwr3]

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

 

[ivrytwr3]

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.

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.

 

[SPG]

Clean clothes, wash kit.

Anything else he/she can sort out themselves.

 

[dowie]

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.

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.

 

[ivrytwr3]

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.

Soooooooooooo, get some past papers?

Awesome - ty.