Hello again everyone!
I hope you all are keeping well and safe currently 🙂
As the start date of University is nearing and we are once again approaching move in weekend / Freshers week, I thought that I would share some of my essentials for University life with you.
Having been in the position of a fresher twice now, I know what its like to move into a dorm or begin your degree and maybe not have all of the items that you require. On top of that, being a newbie in Guildford and the UK in general, it can be quite intimidating to venture into town looking for all of the things that you might need.
Hopefully my list of “essentials” can help you to prepare for dorm life and your degree, whilst avoiding those moments of distress when you realise you’ve forgotten something quite crucial.
Essentials for University/Degree life:
- Make sure to have a plethora of your favourite study materials available.
- For me personally, I quite prefer to type out my notes on my computer and to use a whiteboard during revision sessions.
- On the other hand, many of my friends prefer paper notebooks during studying/note taking.
- Whatever your preference is, make sure you have enough of it 🙂
- Make sure to read the guidelines on the kind of calculator you are allowed on your course!
- Many courses do not allow programmable calculators, so save your money for the time being and purchase a calculator that is admissible into your exam conditions.
- A proper wallet of your preference
- A lot of people come to University using just the pockets on their jeans/pants to hold their cards and money.
- This can be quite the bad move on a night out, as it is quite easy to misplace your items on the bus or on a walk around the town/campus.
- Plus, a proper wallet will ensure that your campus ID stays safe, which saves you the trouble and the waiting time of getting a new campus ID.
- A USB with enough storage on it
- Always a good idea to have a USB on hand. Some presentations that you will give will need to be on a USB prior to your submission/presentation day, so its always useful to have one from the start of University so that you aren’t panicked and rushing to buy one.
Essentials for dorm life:
- A mini cook book or a short book of your favourite recipes cooked at home
- This can really help to make your meals more exciting and having the ability to cook your mom’s famous pasta can really help to lessen feelings of homesickness
- A thick enough blanket for your bed, alongside a duvet.
- There will be a couple of nights in Guildford where it is so cold that you will need something extra over your duvet to keep you warm.
- Of course, the dorm rooms have a heater in them but its better to be safe than sorry and you can always fold it up and place it in your cupboard if need be.
- A couple of reusable shopping bags
- This can really be useful when doing your weekly or bi-weekly shopping trips to Tesco. It can help you to save money on the Tesco plastic bags, as well as helping to save the environment from plastics.
- If you struggle to bring some from home, Tesco offers a wide variety of these shopping bags for only a few pounds and they are very sturdy.
- A lot of students tend to repurpose some of these shopping bags as laundry bags as well, as they are the perfect size and aren’t uncomfortable to carry to the laundry sites.
- A First-Aid kit or a mini bag of medical supplies
- There have been many times where either one of my flatmates or I have needed a bandaid or some antiseptic cream. Whether it be a shaving accident in the bathroom or an accident in the kitchen, its always a good idea to have some band-aids and antiseptic materials in your room.
These are only some of my essentials, as I didn’t want to overload you with a long list of things. Every course/degree is different and will require different materials. Do not worry if you have forgotten something when you get to the University. The town is only a short bus ride away from the University campus and the town is really easy to navigate.
Stay safe and have a good week!
