What to Pack when Moving Away to University

Leaving home to move away to university can be a stressful time for everyone involved. It's stressful to your friends because they don't know when they're next going to see you. It's stressful to your family because they also don't know when they're next going to see you and find it surreal that their child/grandchild/niece/nephew etc is growing up and (kind of) moving out. But, most importantly, it's stressful for you because for presumably the first time in your life you're having to pack up your things and during this process, you are having to figure out what you do/don't need to take.

Well, today I am going to try and make that process a little easier for you. For regular readers, you will know that last September I left home to go to university, which meant having to pack a lot of my stuff up and leave home for the first time in my life. Before this, I did a lot of research into looking at what other people took with them when they first left to go to university, but have found that a lot of the stuff that I took I haven't actually used in the whole nine months I have been there. Due to this, I thought I would make my own list of everything I took with me as even though I didn't use some of this stuff, you might find some use for it (however I will note next to these items if I didn't use them to try and give you a better idea of if you think these items will be necessary to take or not). I will try and make this list as generic as I possibly can, however I understand that boys may need stuff that isn't included on this list, in the same way that they won't need some of the things on this list.

Kitchen

• 2x plates
• 2x pasta dishes
• 2x normal dishes
• 2x glasses
• 2x wine glasses (didn't use)
• 4x forks, knives, spoons, and teaspoons (you won't need this many, this was the smallest amount in a pack I could find, I would recommend only two of each)
• 2x pans
• 1x spatula
• 5x sharp knives (these were all different sizes, however I only used the smallest one)
• 1x serving spoon
• 1x masher (didn't use)
• 1x measuring jug (didn't use)
• 1x frying pan/wok
• 1x sieve
• 1x strainer
• 1x kitchen scissors
• 2x oven gloves
• 3x tea towels (you'll probably only need two, they just came in a pack of three)
• 1x clear mixing bowl
• 5x chopping boards (didn't use)
• 2x mugs
• 4x plastic containers (only used for freezing food made by my mum when I first moved in, but other than that I didn't use them)
• 1x washing-up liquid
• 1x anti-bacterial spray
• 1x dishcloth
• 4x kitchen sponges
• 1x bleach
• food (my mum bought me two weeks worth when I first moved in, but as long as you have enough to last you for your first few days when you're first moving in and getting used to the area then you'll be fine - DO NOT just order takeaways as you won't be able to afford this lifestyle)
• 2x alcohol
• 1x grater
• bin liners
• kitchen towel
• 1x travel mug (didn't really use but it's good for when you have a 9am lecture and don't have time to have a hot drink in the morning)

Bathroom

• 2x towels
• 1x toothpaste
• 1x toothbrush
• 1x soap
• 1x shampoo
• 1x conditioner
• 1x shower gel
• 1x shaving foam
• 1x razor
• 1x afro comb
• 1x toilet brush (wasn't needed as there was already one there, which I wasn't aware of before moving in and it wasn't on the list of things already in my accommodation. I recommend taking one just in case, or you could check with your accommodation before you move in)
• 1x mouthwash
• 1x bleach
• toilet roll

Bedroom

• 1x pillow
• 1x duvet
• 1x blanket
• 2x pillowcases
• 2x duvet covers
• 3x scatter cushions
• pictures of family and friends
• 1x mirror
• 1x hairdryer (only used once)
• 1x hair straighteners (didn't use)
• 1x curling wand (didn't use)
• 1x laptop
• 1x laptop charger
• 1x phone
• 1x phone charger
• 1x iPad
• 1x iPad charger
• 1x toothbrush charger
• 1x hairbrush
• make-up
• 1x dressing gown
• clothes
• 5x coats (you probably won't need this many. I took a leather jacket, a denim jacket, a waterproof hooded coat, and two thicker coats)
• shoes (I took way more than I probably needed. I took a pair of heels that I didn't wear, some boots, a pair of trainers, two pairs of converse, a pair of vans, some slip-on shoes that I was planning on wearing for placement but never actually wore)
• moisturiser
• body butter
• hairspray (didn't use)
• dry hair shampoo
• face mask
• perfume
• body spray
• make-up brushes
• hand cream
• deodorant 
• chewing gum
• keyring for fob for accommodation (I particularly recommend this as the fob is pretty small and can get lost easily. Over time I also chose to put it on my lanyard so I couldn't forget it)
• 1x iron (wasn't needed as there was already one in my flat)
• washing capsules (didn't use - sounds bad but I took my washing home instead)
• 1x umbrella
• 1x scarf
• 1x suitcase
• 1x travel bag
• 1x bag for university
• 1x laundry basket (you could also just use a large carrier bag)
• a pair of sliders (trust me, these will be your best friends while living in halls and are a MUST HAVE)
• ID (particularly important if you are planning on going out)
• DBS certificate (only need one if your course requires it)
• 1x speaker
• 1x phone stand (didn't use)
• 2x hot water bottle (you'll probably only need one. They're good as your room gets quite cold in the winter - or for when you're on your  period) 
• 1x extension cable (never used as my room had quite a lot of sockets but some don't so I recommend you buy one just in case)
• 1x portable charger (PLEASE take this with you on a night out. I didn't and found myself on 5% and separated from my friends - something I DO NOT recommend)
• multiple carrier bags (so you don't have to spend 10p when going food shopping)
• 1x bin
• bin liners
• 1x pair of sunglasses (didn't use)
• 1x mattress topper (I particularly recommend this as you don't know how bad your mattress is going to be and this will help you get a good night's sleep)
• washing powder 
• duster
• plasters
• paracetamol
• air freshener
• diffuser
• 1x doorstop (I'm not 100% sure if this applies to all uni accommodation, but mine was quite clear that you need to keep your doors shut at all times and can't keep them open using anything. I didn't realise this when I bought I doorstop, however it is particularly useful for when you're moving in/out as you're having to constantly carry heavy boxes from one room to another - but obviously in this case you could probably just use something else to hold doors open)

Stationary

• pens
• pencils
• rubber
• ruler
• folder
• 3x notebooks
• highlighters
• coloured pens
• file dividers
• plastic wallets
• 1x scissors
• 2x glue (you'll probably only need one at most)
• 1x pencil case
• 1x small basket to hold spare pens/pencils in 

I'm fairly certain this is everything I took with me, however I'm currently writing this at home and have not yet moved all of my stuff back. I am posting this before I have gone back up there to move my stuff out and so haven't been able to see if there is anything I have missed from this list. If you are already a student living in accommodation and think I have missed something from this list, then please feel free to comment it down below. Once I have moved my stuff out, which should be in the next few weeks, I will edit this post as I'm sure I have missed some key things out. 

I hope this list has given you some sort of idea of what you need to take with you when you move to university. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all the luck, success and happiness during your time at university and I hope that it all goes well for you.

Love Beth xx

My Guide to Freshers Week

Freshers week is a one (or two) week period where all first year (and pretty much all other years) go out every night to a club/bar/pub, get really drunk and then attend a 9am lecture the next morning. It is a chance for you to meet new people and make friends for life. Some may even go as far as saying that it is the best week of the university calendar. Today I am going to give you my guide to surviving freshers, staying safe, and how to enjoy it your way.

One of the main parts of freshers is alcohol. Obviously, everyone has their limits. Some people can get drunk off of just one drink. For others, it can take quite a few drinks for them to get even the tiniest bit tipsy. What's important is you make sure you stick to your own limits and don't over-do it because if you do then the only person who's going to suffer is you. You should never let peer pressure make you feel like you have to carry on drinking when you know you're over your limit. I mean let's face it, would you rather stay within your limit and be able to have fun and remember your night, or over-do it and wake up the next day in a pool of your own sick and not able to remember a single thing that happened.

This links to you being surrounded by a group of people that you are only just meeting for the first time. Even though you can now get uni group chats to help you make friends with people before you start university, this doesn't mean that the first time you meet them they're not strangers, because they are. This means that before going out you will probably be having pres with them, which should definitely involve drinking games. In some cases, you may be able to get away with not going over your limit, however in others, particularly those cases where shots are involved, you may find yourself going over your limit just because you don't want to make others think you can't handle your drink. Throwing up after drinking a lot is nothing to be ashamed of because we've all been there at one point or another, however if you're getting yourself in this state just to impress a few people then you should stop and think about what you're doing. Freshers is all about having fun, however, drinking too much just to impress a few people is the wrong way of doing it.

This leads me on to my next point: staying safe. With drinking a lot of alcohol comes the risk of being vulnerable. So during freshers week, along with any night out that you ever go on, make sure that you stay with a group, or at the very least one person, as there is always safety in numbers. Try and agree with at least one person in the group that you are going to stick with each other throughout the entire night as, from past experience, it is more than likely that the group you are with will somehow get split up and some point. Make sure you get a few people's numbers as well so if you do get split up you can call each other to find out where you all are. I will also suggest agreeing on a place to meet each other if this does happen so that no one gets left by themselves.

No matter how many people you are with, DO NOT WALK HOME!!! I know I said there is safety in numbers and I know that as students you don't have that much money, however walking home, even in a group, always carries some risks. Especially if you do get separated from everyone and end up having to head home by yourself, make sure you get a taxi. I know you hear stories of people who have got a taxi home from a night out and the driver has been creepy for one reason or another, however getting a taxi is much safer than walking by yourself (or in a group) at night.

This final part is for those of you who don't necessarily enjoy going on nights out, as there are quite a few people who go to university who feel this way, including myself from time-to-time. If you don't feel like going out then don't let other people try and force you into it. There are plenty of things you can do instead. At my university, there is a society for people who don't enjoy going clubbing and they organise events, such as going bowling, having a pizza night or going to the cinema. You could try and find people before you head to university who would be more interested in having a night-in instead and could organise a movie night for yourselves. All I'm saying is there are more ways to enjoy freshers week (and your entire time at university) than going out most nights and drinking. Just make sure you do it your own way and not to meet a stereotype or to try and impress people.

So remember: don't go over your limit, there is safety in numbers, and do things your own way.

Love Beth xx

Understanding Student Finance

Student finance. It is something that anyone who is going to university is going to have to encounter at least once during their time at uni. It can get pretty complicated, so today I thought I'd do a general breakdown of the process of acquiring student finance and how it works. Please bear in mind I don't fully understand the system myself, however, this is just my simple understanding of it in the hope that it helps you understand it too.

First of all, I am going to talk to you about tuition fees. These tend to be around £9250 (at the time of publishing). I'm fairly sure everyone applies for this (although you don't have to if you can afford to pay it yourself) and no matter your background, student finance will always give you the full amount. This is paid directly to your chosen university, so you have nothing to worry about on this front as student finance takes care of it for you. They will ask you the university you are planning on attending and the course, and even if you aren't entirely sure which uni you're going to, you have to give an answer. In some cases, this may change, for example, if you apply to go elsewhere through clearing in August. If this is the case you can change this information and student finance will ensure the fee is then paid to your new university.

Now, here is the harder bit. The maintenance loan. This is something no one benefits from. As how much money you get depends on your parents' income (if you still live with one or both of them), this means you can either get the amount you need or won't get anywhere near this - something that a lot of people find to be a great problem, particularly if they are living in accommodation. No matter your background, everyone who applies for a loan is guaranteed at least around £4000 (although I'm not 100% on this). You then have the option to apply for more money, where you can either apply for the full amount (which in my case was no more than £8700) or you can request an amount. I say no one benefits from this as those who get too little end up with lower debt, and those who get enough to get by end up having a higher debt.

As for some reason it is expected that your parents will give you financial help, this is why some people may get more money than others. If your parents earn £25,000 or under per annum, you're pretty much guaranteed to get the full amount if you apply for it. Basically, the more your parents earn, the less finance you are going to get. This is why I would recommend if you can, that you attend a university that is close to home. I get that most people want to move away from home to go to university, however speaking from experience this gets very expensive and it is much more financially viable to stay at home than it is to move away.

The amount you get also depends on your location:

Obviously, these amounts will change throughout your time at university (as you can see from the table above). These may get more or less throughout this time, so I think this is important to bear in mind whenever you apply, which you have to do before the start of each academic year. This is so they can look at your current financial situation, as this will then depend on how much you can get for the next academic year. So even if you get the full amount one year, the next you may get less if your parents' income has increased. 

You also won't get all of this money from when you first start university as it is divided into three points across the year - September, January, and April. This should coincide with the first day of each term. During first year I received £2871 in September and January and £2958 in April. If you are in accommodation you should work out how much of this you need to spend on rent (in my case it was £1852 for the first two terms and £1358 for the third). Once you have done this, you should work out a budget for everything else you are going to spend money on, such as food shopping, toiletries and any other essentials, such as money for travelling home and for petrol if you are keeping your car at uni (which I wouldn't recommend as only a few accommodations have parking spaces but these are limited and are something else you need to pay for). It may seem like a lot at first like it did for me, but believe me, it soon gets spent and you don't want to be that student who is having to borrow money off friends and/or live off really basic food. I have had friends at university who have had to live like this because they spent all of their money on nights out and other things they didn't need to spend their money on. As nights out seem to be the main reason for students not having any money, if your friends ask you to go on a night out but you don't think you can afford it, don't let them peer pressure you into going. Just explain to them that you don't have enough money right now and they're bound to understand as you're all pretty much in the same boat.

I'm fairly certain I have covered everything here, however, if you have any other questions then please comment them down below and I'll do my best to answer them. Or, if you are a student and think I have missed something that someone else might find useful, then please also comment down below. 

Lastly, I would just like to wish you all the luck at university and even though it is not always the smoothest of rides, I hope you enjoy it.

Love Beth xx

Why I struggle to make friends/open up to people

Making friends and being able to maintain these friendships is something I have struggled with throughout my entire life. I guess this is because I'm quite a quiet person and find it difficult to start a conversation with someone. As much as I would love to be able to go up to someone or sit down next to them and start a conversation, I find this virtually impossible. I guess it is also partly to do with my social anxiety, which means I am constantly worrying about how I am coming across to other people, even if I have known them for a while, which means I find it easier to sit in the background and say nothing. But if I do sit in the background and say nothing to people, does that make them judge me even more than they would if I actually spoke to them? 

This is one of the many problems I have encountered during my time at university. At first, it was kind of easy because if I wanted to talk to someone who I had never met, it was easy for me to introduce myself. However, after that, I struggled with knowing what to ask them. Should I have asked them where they lived, or would they find me too invasive? I couldn't ask them what course they were studying as we were all on the same course, so that would make me sound even more stupid than I already am. And I definitely didn't want to engage in small talk with them, such as about the weather or something that had come up in the news, as I find this type of conversation pointless and boring. But maybe if I had engaged in this conversation I could have made friends easier as we may have found something we have in common. 

I think my problem is that if someone doesn't talk to me first (whether that's in real life or via text) I automatically presume they don't want to talk to me. What I need to learn is that I also need to put the effort in, in order for other people to know I intend to keep our friendship. I feel that if I talk to someone first, I'll be annoying them because they aren't interested as otherwise they would have spoken to me first. Even when I have text someone first, I have always felt that they are not interested in the conversation and are trying their hardest to end it so they don't have to talk to me.

Another thing I struggle with is being able to open up to people. This is because I have never really known who is truly there for me and who isn't, therefore I don't know who I can trust. I think this is because I have had so many friends leave me in the past that I am worried if I do open up to someone then they will eventually leave me and share whatever I have told them. This is why I tend to keep everything bottled up, which is incredibly dangerous, particularly as my mental health at the moment is possibly the worst it has ever been. I just wish I had someone who I was 110% certain was going to stick around forever so I could open up to them about everything I am going through just so I could get these things off my chest and get some advice. Even though I open up on here, it's not the same as being able to have a one-to-one conversation with someone.

Now I am at the end of my first year of university, I think I can say I've made a few friends, although I'm not all that close to them. Hopefully, at some point in my life, I will find a friend who I am completely comfortable with opening up to as so far in my life there has been no one who has been able to do this. Even if by some miracle I have a boyfriend, from what happened with my ex I'm not entirely sure I would feel comfortable in being able to open up to whoever that unfortunate soul turns out to be. So I guess that for now, I'm just going to have to keep my thoughts to myself and only open up about my problems where I find it appropriate here (p.s. sorry for this in advance).

Love Beth xx

Picking Your University Accommodation

When going to university, one of the things that some of you will need to sort out is your accommodation. I'm not entirely sure how picking your accommodation works at every university, so I am just going to go by how it works at mine as this is the only one I have experience with, but hopefully, if each university does its accommodation differently, it will be similar in the advice I am about to give you in some way.

The problem I had when it came to picking my accommodation is that I only had one accommodation to pick due to where my campus is, however for the main campus there are around seven different accommodations to choose from. I'm fairly sure that those who had a choice of which accommodation they were going to live in had to put them in order of preference, although I'm not sure whether they just had a first and a second choice or if they had to rank each accommodation from first to last. This works on a first come first served basis, so essentially the sooner you choose your accommodation, the more likely you are to get your first choice.

I also know that if you receive an unconditional offer, you are able to choose your accommodation before those who received conditional offers can, meaning that you are also more likely to receive your first choice accommodation if you have an unconditional offer. Therefore I would recommend that you make your choice as soon as the applications for accommodation open to try and ensure you are put into your first choice. I know many people in my year who were late to apply for accommodation and ended up not getting their first choice and were quite disappointed by this, so please learn from their mistake and get your choices in at the first available moment so you don't end up like them. I don't think they necessarily hate the accommodation they ended up being put in (but let's face it, the only thing university accommodation is good for is the social side and absolutely nothing else), but I know they would definitely have preferred to be in their first choice.

Before picking your accommodation, I would definitely recommend that you try and view all of the accommodations that are available to you beforehand. Most often these tours are available during university open days, however if you are applying for this year, chances are you have probably already attended all of your university open days. At this point in time, there may still be some open days for those who are planning on starting university next year, however you can also attend these and use this opportunity to check out your accommodation choices; as well as to have a final look around your chosen university to make sure you have definitely made the right choice (although I am pretty sure you can't change whether or not you go here, unless you choose another university through clearing). If you are unable to do this, or can't look around all of the available accommodation for whatever reason, I'm fairly certain you can ring the accommodation and arrange for you to have a private tour around that accommodation, which I know is something some people in my accommodation decided to do before living there.

I would also recommend that you take the time at some point over the summer to go to the town or city that your university is based in and go and have a look around it, particularly the area that is most near to your university and your accommodation. This will give you the opportunity to get used to the area prior to your arrival in September (or January if you are in the January intake) and get to know where the nearest shops and bars are and how to get to university from your accommodation. This is something that I never did, however I wish I had done this as I can remember when I first started I didn't really know where anything was (and to be honest I still don't) and this meant on my first day of university I had to leave a lot earlier than planned because I knew for definite I would get lost (which I did a bit). This just means that you can put your mind at rest before starting university and can get rid of a lot of anxiety, nerves, and stress.

Before you go to university, you should make a budget, which is particularly important if you are in accommodation. Most of your student finance will go on your rent, which can be paid for using a direct debit so that you don't have to worry about making sure you pay it on time as this will be done for you. How I planned my budget was to plan for the worst possible situation and try to stick to spending as little as possible as best as I could and did an individual budget per term. You tend to get slightly more student finance in your third term (after Easter) and in my case, my rent was £500 less than the previous two terms, however I don't know if this applies to all accommodations or just mine, but I still pretty much stuck to the same budget. I will include a screenshot of my budget below so you have an idea of how much things will cost, however please be aware that I haven't exactly stuck to this and that not everything cost as much as I said, for example, I made a budget of £360 for food, however spent £372 during second term, but didn't spend money in other areas of my budget:

You may also want to know that you don't have to pay council tax when living in accommodation, which I'm pretty sure also applies if you are in a student house. Upon arrival at your accommodation, they will ask you to fill out a form, which is basically just to prove that you are a student and this way you shouldn't be asked to pay council tax. I can't exactly remember what was on that form, but it only takes a few minutes to fill out. 

You may also want to pay for a TV license if you are a person who likes to watch a lot of TV. You may be aware that you are covered by your parents' TV license while you are in accommodation, however there are some limitations to this. You are covered by your parents' license as long as you don't watch any live TV, don't watch any programmes on the BBC (including iplayer), and when you are watching a show on catch-up (ITV, channel 4, channel 5 - NOT BBC), you shouldn't be watching it on a device that is plugged in, i.e. if your laptop is charging you can't be watching any TV. You will need a license if you are planning on watching any TV on the BBC (including iplayer) or if you watch shows as they are being broadcast. My flat received a few warnings about not having paid for a TV license, including one that was directly addressed to one of my flatmates, and this resulted in me paying for a license as I would rather have to do that than pay a £1000 fine. Once you leave your accommodation you are able to cancel this payment, however I'm not entirely sure what this process is like as I am still in my accommodation, but I will add a comment below or edit this post once I do just so that all of you are clear on what happens during this process. 

If you have any questions about picking your university accommodation that you feel I haven't answered in this post, or have any other questions about university accommodation in general, then please feel free to comment them down below and I will do my best to answer them. Similarly, if you are a university student in accommodation, or have previously been in accommodation, and have any more points to make that I haven't made then also feel free to comment them below.

I hope that you end up picking the right accommodation for you and that this whole process goes as smoothly as possible for you.

Love Beth xx