University Life Questionnaire!

I start University in September I've already done some budgeting and sorted my accommodation out with my accommodation costing me £105 a week for student halls, I've already got transport sorted out getting around the university itself and places I may need to visit, I worked out I would end up with £65 to live on a week. So a few questions just to learn about anyone else's experiences at University?


How was the first week like of University?

Was It easy getting to know new people (especially if you moved away from home)?

What would you normally do for entertainment at the night, such as drinking, cinema,student bar?

Did you buy food as a group or individually?

How much would you averagely spend on food?( I keep thinking £65 wont last long )

What did you bring with you to university?

How did you budget?

Any tips or advice you wish you had before starting?

I can't give much advice because I didn't move out, but getting to know people is exactly the same as moving school, you don't know anyone at first, and people are shy, but after a few weeks you'll be fine :P

How was the first week like of University?

in my opinion freshers is overrated, people say you all do all sorts of crazy stuff but i found that you just went out every night (maybe that's 'crazy' to some people) but you do meet loads of people, 90% of which you will remain friends with. the first week is really exciting though, discovering your new home and city. be aware for 100's of flyers and menus being shoved through your letter box lol

Was It easy getting to know new people (especially if you moved away from home)?

yeah very easy! remember everyone is in the exact same situation - moving away from home for the first time, not knowing anyone, nervous, excited all in one. be yourself, don't pretend to be someone you're not

What would you normally do for entertainment at the night, such as drinking, cinema, student bar?

every night is different even to this day! the first month usually involved going out a few times a week but that calms down after a few weeks to probably just once a week. our flat was lucky in the sense we get on really well so we sometimes watch films, sometimes get stoned, sometimes a few drinks in the flat, sometimes go to the pub, sometimes do nothing!

Did you buy food as a group or individually?

individually, in fact i don't know anyone who buys food in groups. main reason is some people eat things others don't, some people eat more than others etc, the only thing we share is butter. we also all take it in turns to buy washing up liquid, bin bags, sponges etc

How much would you averagely spend on food?( I keep thinking £65 wont last long )

£65 a week?! for me i aim for £20 a week (which goes up and down because you need things more one week to the next, for example sugar) i would even say £20 is slightly more than most

What did you bring with you to university?

the only thing i left at home was all of my school and college work because i didn't need it and my wardrobe and draws, i was the only person out of our 5 bed flat to bring a microwave which was lucky, we all bought kettles and toasters so we have loads of those spare haha

How did you budget?

working out your budget is easy, i can help if you like, just add together your grant & loan (mine is £2226.16 per 4 months) and take away your rent from this (mine is around £1176) so i'm left with around £1000. then divide the left over amount (£1000) by 16 - the amount of weeks you have until next payment - which is about £63 a week

luckily i have a job as well which earns me £400 a month which bring my budget up to £160 a week

Any tips or advice you wish you had before starting?

get excited! don't forget you only do this experience once so you may as well make the most of it right? also remember that everyone is in the same boat! honestly though don't panic, it's actually a lot easier than what i thought especially shopping for myself, washing my own clothes but it just comes second nature especially because you're forced to do it!


i feel like i could tell you so much more so any questions just pm i know you will have hundreds just as i did!

How was the first week like of University?
Pretty hectic. It's quite a lot to take in. Not academically (all your lectures in the first week are just plebby introductory things but you still need to attend them to get information about certain things) but socially. Pretty much all your time will be spent meeting new people (you will answer the questions "What's your name?", "Where are you from?", "What are you studying?" a good 1000 times). It can be pretty strenuous if you're not a social butterfly, but what you really want to do is put yourself out there at every single opportunity. Don't worry about how you come across, literally everyone is desperate to make a good impression during the first week (and the second) and everyone will be nice.

Was It easy getting to know new people (especially if you moved away from home)?
Yeah. Remember that 99% of people are in the same position as you; they don't know anyone and are keen to meet people and make new friends. There will be a tiny amount of people who might have some of their friends at the same uni with them, but honestly just about everyone knows no one to start with.
You'll make a lot of fleeting friendships in the beginning too. Everyone is feeling everyone else out, seeing who is right for them. You'll spend time with people who you won't form lasting friendships with but also with people who you'll stick with for the long term.

What would you normally do for entertainment at the night, such as drinking, cinema,student bar?
Personally I went out to clubs, drinking etc, during Freshers. There will be hundreds of flyers thrust in your face telling you where to go etc. All you need to do is ask around, see where everyone else is going (there will normally be one student night at a club where everyone will just end up).
As part of your "put yourself out there at every opportunity" attitude, you should join some societies. For example it's no secret that you're a huge Dr Who fan so you'd fit right in to the Dr Who society (there will be one; there's a society for anything you can think of). What societies are good for is offering a place where you can socialize without having to go to a club and yell at the top of your voice. Any society you join will have a night out during freshers or in Week 2 where you go on some kind of pub-crawl where you can get to know the other members (new and old). And the best part is, you all have something in common which you can discuss to break the ice.

Did you buy food as a group or individually?
I lived in catered halls so I didn't buy food (except for lunch stuff). The people I knew who lived in shared accommodation bought their own food (in first year at least). If you end up getting a flat with some friends after first year, you may very well buy food as a group if you can make that situation work. Just go with the flow. If you don't really want to buy food as a group then don't feel pressured into it; it's not a big deal and people will understand why.

How much would you averagely spend on food?( I keep thinking £65 wont last long )
That's plenty of money for food per week. Learn to cook meals and your money will go a long way. Stuff like ready-meals and all that crap work out as really expensive. If you just learn how to cook a few meals then you'll save tonnes. Don't spend your money on trivial things like sweets or soft drinks (drink water from the tap). Also try to avoid going shopping on an empty stomach.

What did you bring with you to university?
My laptop, some notepads, pens, clothes that I knew I would wear (don't bring stuff which you wouldn't wear at home; you won't end up wearing it at uni either), some bedsheets and bed stuff, a laundry basket, some books. Probably other things too which I can't remember. Don't sweat it if you forget something small, you can always pick up what you need or get it from home at some point. All you really need to remember are the essentials (whatever you need to get by from day to day [computer, clothes, notepads, backpack or bag, towels etc]).
I would say when you get told which books you need, don't buy your textbooks until you've had a quick scan on the internet to see if you can 'acquire' them for free somewhere in eBook form. Textbooks are really expensive and sometimes you buy a book which you end up not using at all. There's money to be saved there.

How did you budget?
As long as you don't go crazy you'll be fine (I've heard stories of people spending their entire student loans on multimedia set ups in the first week :S). You might get a bit concerned during freshers because you'll likely be going out a lot and spending a bit of money on drinks and stuff but bear in mind that things calm down a lot in the weeks after it. You might go out nearly every night during freshers whereas later into the semester people begin to realise that doing that isn't feasible (both on their wallets and their bodies). Since you're questioning budget, you're already in the right mindset. If you're concerned about how much you're spending or have budget issues then phone your parents and tell them and they'll give you sound advice.

Any tips or advice you wish you had before starting?
- It helps if you know your limits with alcohol before you go out there. There will be A LOT of kids there who are experiencing their first dose of freedom, you may very well be in that bracket yourself, but don't be that guy who gets blackout drunk and earns a reputation for it.

- Always lock your door when you go out and don't leave any valuables lying around (I used to put my laptop under my pillow so it wasn't in plain sight from the window). People get robbed, I've woken up to someone trying to open my locked door from the outside at night.

- Wear a johnny.

- This depends on how far away from home you're staying, but you may need to sign up to a new doctor's office (and dentist). If you're close enough to home that you can get the train or w/e if you need to see a doctor or go to the dentist then you don't need to. But if you're not able to get home in a hurry then sign up to a new doctor and dentist.

- Go to all your lectures, tutorials, labs whatever. Don't get into a habit of missing classes (even if they are at the crack of dawn). Keep on top of your work and do it as it arrives and you'll form good study habits for the years to come. Don't worry about the work though, you've been accepted so they think you're up to it already and first year is pretty comfortable as long as you keep on top of it.

A final word, if you feel down or you're having a rubbish time with friends or with your coursework or your flatmates or anything at all then phone home. Yeah you will have your new friends from uni and they will act as support in times of need but don't forget that your parents and your family are always at home and they will always be willing to lend an ear to whatever you have to say. Your parents will likely call you once a week or so anyway just to check up, but I really must stress how much of a difference touching base with whoever at home can make. Even just hearing their voice will pick you up and help you move forward. No one expects you to deal with everything by yourself simply because you've moved away from home.

Best of luck, I hope you have a good time.

How was the first week like of university?
It wasn't too bad for me because I had a friend who lived in the same halls as me from home but it was so so so awkward, I think it's the same for everyone but you have to go through that stage in order to make friends and get to know people. We just had a long predrinks before a night out so we got to know each other and it's always easier to talk when you're dabbling with alcohol!

Was it easy getting to know new people?
It happened surprisingly quickly. Although I have no friends on my course because I was always hungover going to lectures in the first few weeks haha. I have just made a lot of friends in my halls of residence and you keep meeting new people all the time because it's such a confined environment. It's mad how quickly you can click with certain people!

What would you normally do for entertainment at night?
If we were going to go out we'd either just go up to the pub and have a few drinks until closing or if we were up for a heavy night (most of the time) we'd start predrinking around 9 and then head out to a club at about half 11 and end up in the 24 hour McDonalds by 4am and then either run back somehow or just get a taxi back.

Did you buy food as a group or individually?
I don't know a single person at uni who bought food as a group, it's too difficult to work out if you're actually eating the amount you're paying for and you'd feel bad if you wanted a snack or seconds or something.

Money on food?
I spend about £25 per week on a food shop or about £35 if I want it to last me 2 weeks and I eat fairly well. That's not including eating out.

What did you bring with you to uni?
All the standard stuff, most of which I didn't need but remember you're living there and it'll be your home so take everything which you use every so often, I didn't need to bring most the stationery I brought with me and I didn't really need a printer because I don't really do an essay based subject. TAKE EARPLUGS!!!

How do you budget?
After accommodation of £112 per week I worked out how much I have left to spend and it worked out to be £70 per week which allows me to live comfortably and to go out a few times a week (most I've ever managed was 10 nights in a row FRESHERSSS). But yeah, just work out how much you have per week and then set up 2 bank accounts and transfer the set amount every week into your main account so it's easy to keep track on what you're spending.

Any tips?
Just make sure you have a good time and really try and talk to as many people as you can during the first 2 weeks because that's just about the limit before people have settled into their own groups. It doesn't have to be 1 on 1 - you can invite other flats to yours for predrinks for a night out and just make an effort, as awkward as it may be!! Oh, and don't spend too much during Freshers week - you'll regret it!!!

Congrats and have fun! Which uni are you going to?