Moving to University Masterpost!

Moving to University is more than likely the first time you've spent any considerable amount of time away from home where you have to fend for yourself - for me it certainly is! Since I move away to Wales next weekend I figured I'd write this post to share some of the awesome benefits of being a student that I've discovered over the past few weeks.

Money Things

• Apparently 3/4 of students are in some form of part time employment during uni and a lot of these people will be overpaying on tax and NI contributions throughout the year without even realising it. Obviously each case is individual and you're going to need to do your own research on your own circumstances, but chances are you'll have overpaid on tax/NI contributions and you will be entitled to a rebate of any overpayments. Please note this only definitely applies to the UK - I have no idea about anywhere else in the world but if you don't ask you don't get!
• A student bank account is a necessity. I, for one, had no idea about student bank accounts until around a week ago - I didn't even know they were a thing until I stumbled upon a Facebook group for students and they posted about the best student bank accounts! Link here. (I am no way involved with this organisation) I've opted for the student account where I get a free £60 Amazon voucher and an immediate £500 overdraft which can be increased to up to £3,000 over the duration of my course. This overdraft is going to be essential for me as I won't get my student loan for at least a week after I move! There is also a really handy comparison grid which tells you what the crack is with the offers from different student accounts - most of them come with freebies such as vouchers, free rail cards or a free NUS card! Definitely worth looking in to.
• Pretty sure everyone knows this, but, there are tonnes of websites/organisations/companies that offer student discount and you'd be crazy to miss out! The most popular student discount places are NUS (link) - £12 per year, UniDays (link) - free, most high street shops such as New Look, Paperchase, H&M, Apple Education Online (possibly in store too but I'm not 100% sure) (link) and Ark to name a few!
• Buy unbranded/basic everything. There is literally nothing wrong or drastically different about unbranded products. If it wasn't decent enough for consumption/use then they wouldn't be allowed to sell it. Supermarkets have drilled it in to our heads that branded = better and basic = substandard, and while that may be true for some products, the general rule of thumb is that you won't die if you eat/use unbranded/own brand products. Swallow your pride and try switching from branded products to the cheaper versions in the first instance - if you can't stomach the thought from going to branded products straight to the cheapest available, try moving down the price range. Most supermarkets have brands, own brand and then 'basic' versions of the same products and chances are you'll be paying more for the same thing inside the packet just because it has a name on it. A bit like clothing.

What to Take to Uni

• Clothes. Obviously. But keep in mind that the less you take, the more often you'll have to do your laundry. On the other hand, the more you take, the more laundry you have to do in the end. Find a balance between taking enough clothes to last you long enough so you're not in the laundry room every few days (and therefore paying for the washing machine more often!) but not so much that you don't have anywhere to put it. No, the floor doesn't count.
• If you're terrible at ironing like me then take as many clothes as possible that don't require expert ironing/any ironing at all.
• Focus on taking warm and comfortable clothes initially as it'll be the dead of winter before you know it and if you don't have a coat I can guarantee you will regret it.
• Money to last you until your loan comes in.
• Over-door hooks, desk tidy/desk drawers and coat hangers. Utilise your space.
• Any bulk foodstuff that you're sure you won't be able to purchase while you're there. E.g. I'm taking a bulk box of coffee that I'm getting from Makro because I need to use my mums Makro card.
• Personal documents: ID, EHIC card, passport photos, CV, bank card, confirmation letters (place at uni, room confirmation, any insurance documents, any tenancy contracts etc)
• That funky tool that's a bottle opener but also a corkscrew but also a mini knife.
• First aid kit and any medication you need.
• Your course equipment.

I can't think of anything else right now. If you have any other suggestions or knowledge to share, let me know!

Laura