We have roughly a month and a half left until university starts again, for me and possibly for some of you as well. And although it might seem like a lot of time to process the thought of going back to studying and adjusting to the change, it really isn’t. Before you know it, September comes and you have under four weeks to get ready for returning to education; you blink twice and you realise you’re leaving off tomorrow. You don’t want to feel poorly prepared for it, do you? Here, I’m basically trying to persuade you to keep on reading.
I know that a large portion of my blog’s demographic is represented by teenagers and college students, so for this specific time of the year I thought I’d provide you with a mini-series of blog posts on returning to university after the summer holidays/going to university for the first time. The series will span over the duration of seven weeks, and a new post will be up each Monday and each of them will cover a specific uni-related topic. Naturally, I had to call it the ‘University Survival Kit’.
The reason why I wanted to bring this temporary feature to you is because I would love to make your adjustment (back) to university easier by sharing my insights. I am currently preparing to go into the final year of my degree so that means, not only have I transitioned from high school (sixth form, if you will) to university, but I have also adapted back to university after a lengthy summer break. Simply put, I know my sh*t. And I am honoured to share my knowledge with you, even if the highlights of it are related to never forgetting to take a pen with you to classes and stocking up on toilet roll way in advance.
For the entirety of this series, I will refer to my experience as an international student, though, so this might mean that some of the advice and information I provide would not apply to all universities in the world, or they wouldn’t work for going to university far closer to your home or in your hometown. Some can be appropriated, though, so keep your eye out for that.
I figured the logical way to kick off this guide on going to university is to talk about the best ways to organise your move-in at uni: a difficult and stressful, yet perfectly feasible process. If I managed to sort out my move-in to a country I’ve never been to before, by doing things and performing tasks that I’ve never done before, you’re definitely ready for it, too. Is it gruelling and nerve-wracking? Absolutely. In fact, I often think of how I would not be able to go back and do it all over again, or if I were faced with a similar situation now, I would experience a proper mental breakdown. Just so we make it clear from the very start, you’re not in for something easy. You decided to go to university, which is in itself a difficult thing to do so expect a good ride for the next three to four years. Instead of sugarcoating the truth, I’m here to tell you that despite how complex and demanding it feels, it is doable and you will make it.
Don't mind me, just proudly standing in front of my custom-designed study space which I spent more time than I care to admit working on.
(source: personal archive)
To start with the obvious, get ready in advance. The earlier, the merrier. There is no way you can hold this advice against me because by the time this post goes up, you will have seven weeks to sort out your accommodation and transport – and I did it five weeks, if not less, before university started. If you start thinking about the details today, you will spare yourself some rookie errors, some wasted time and a lot of stress. Make a list of all the things you have to do before you can actually feel ready to go to university and start by taking care of the most urgent item on that list. For me, it made sense that accommodation and transport must be prioritised over everything else. I lived in student halls during my first year of university, for which I applied a mere week before all the rooms were given out: in other words, I was bloody lucky. For the house I lived in during my second year, I applied and sorted out payments seven months before university started. If you don’t have accommodation don’t freak out just yet! There should always be rooms spare and people moving in or out of their own rooms so keep looking. I know people who haven’t found a place to live until way closer to the start date of university, sometimes even after term has started. As far as transport is concerned, I like buying my plane tickets as early as possible to make sure I get the best deal. Depending on the circumstances of your move-in, try and make an early decision on the means of transportation you’re going to use.
Once you do know where you’re going to live and how you’re going to get there, you should ideally think of what you will pack for university. At this point, making a preliminary list of everything that has to go in your luggage will make the issue of packing less stressful as the date of your move-in approaches. Since by this point you should know which kind of accommodation you’re going to live in and how much luggage you’re allowed to carry on your desired means of transportation, it’ll be easier for you to figure how much you should pack and take with you to uni. In my case, living in student halls and not having to cook my own meals there, and also travelling from abroad meant that I only had a couple of suitcases and a backpack with me when I moved in to start my first year. The things I took with me were clothes, basic house stuff like towels, a first aid kit and a sewing kit, my laptop and my documents, some of my books and some other personal belongings. Everything else I needed, I had to buy when I actually got there. For my second year, most of my stuff was already in my accommodation so I travelled with a light suitcase, but instead had to go on a massive shopping trip to get everything I needed, homeware-wise, when I got back: I didn’t have a lot of cutlery and other kitchen objects left from first year, and I had to buy bedding for my new bed. I also moved in one week earlier than the last time, so I could have enough time to adjust to the new house before university started. Once again, thinking about your situation carefully will help you assess to make the best decision possible.
The first bullet journal spread I've ever made, specifically to get organised for university.
(source: personal archive)
Some other aspects worth thinking about include paperwork, finances, scheduling. Do yourself a favour by trying to find out as many things as possible that can help you when you do get there. For example, I enrolled for my course online before I physically got to university, so that spared me a visit at the student centre on campus. Make sure you have all the documents that you need, including identification documents, your card, your acceptance letter and proof of academic results, and your healthcare documents. If you’re preparing to study in the UK, student finance is another thing worth thinking about if you haven’t already. Have a look over the timetable for the first few weeks and over the campus map, to get your bearings prior to walking on campus for the first time. Little bits and bobs like this will do wonders if you bother with them early on.
I will be honest with you, I didn’t do all of these things alone. Several friends of mine were organising their own move-in’s at university at the same time as me, and sharing advice and tips or just venting to someone helped a lot. So, don’t be afraid to talk to people about it! It can be people in the same boat as you, family or friends or partner, or even older students who’ve been there before. It is perfectly valid to feel overwhelmed in such a context: there is a lot of pressure, a lot of confusion and so many hours of the night dedicated to organisation and decision-making rather than sleep (at least that’s what it was like for me!). And although you are the only individual responsible for the success of your endeavours, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t open up to someone, or ask for advice or for help. Isn’t this what I’m trying to provide you with in this post?
I had friends from sixth form that were going to different other universities in the UK, so the process was pretty much the same for them. I also had an older friend on the same course as me that shared with me his suggestions for a successful move-in and adjustment to the university life, and I also had the amazing friends I made once I got admitted into my student accommodation. There are also other options, though! The internet is flooded with helpful resources on starting university, going back to university and finding solutions for pretty much any university-related issue. Your institution should have a portal or a category of articles dedicated to that, but you can also find a plethora of articles, blog posts and YouTube videos that can help you think of any important details you’ve missed as you were getting organised to leave for uni. I was even inspired to write this series of posts after watching Izzy Inkpen’s Uni Crash Course over on YouTube, which she posted while I was preparing to start university. There is just so much out there for you to use and I shall find a way to provide you with some of these resources as this series continues.
Going to university involves a lot of travelling by plane: I used to feel quite stressed out about it until I started to enjoy it.
(source: personal archive)
In a nutshell, these are the basic things to keep in mind while you organise your move-in at university. I encourage you to give Izzy’s video on moving in a watch – she also provides a comprehensive packing list that you can use when you decide what to take with you at university, and that list helped me a lot so I encourage you to use it! There are so many things I could keep on writing about and so many details worth taking into consideration when it comes down to moving in to university, so if you have any particular questions please, don’t hesitate to let me know! Either over in the comments section below or via social media, for which you should find the links down on the sidebar.
And of course, stick around for the next posts in the University Survival Kit series!
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University Survival Kit – Posts:
August 13th – Organising Your Move-In at Uni
August 20th – Adapting to a New Way of Studying
August 27th – Adulting: Finances, Jobs, Living Alone & With Others
September 3rd – Managing Your Social Life at University
September 10th – Improving Your Skills & Experience at University
September 17th – Dealing with Culture Shock in an Academic Environment
September 24th – Little Funny Bits I Learned at University
Photo sources: personal archive.