Tips for preparing for University

I wrote this post on Results Day, which means a lot of you who are reading this will have just received offers to study at the University of Suffolk. Congratulations! We are very excited to welcome you. Now comes the daunting task though of preparing for university life, so today I have come up with a few tips that can help you prepare mentally and physically for the exciting new adventure of university!

Check your reading lists

This is an easy and great way to feel more prepared when you begin your course as you know what texts will be beneficial for your studies. Check your course reading list. You can easily access all of these resources from the library. If you need to buy personal copies of these books then I recommend searching through eBay or Abe Books for second hand copies, as they can be a lot cheaper than buying them all new!

Learn some basic recipes

I live at home while studying at uni, but it is still really useful to have a few basic recipes under your belt that can be adapted to fit any leftover ingredients that you have! You don’t even have to buy a cook book as there are so many free and useful resources online. For example Student Recipes is a website made by students, for students. If you are moving away to uni then you have a few weeks left to experiment with some of these recipes on your family!

Follow the University and the Students Unions social media accounts

If you don’t already, then I would highly recommend following the official University and the Students' Union social accounts, as they post lots of useful tips and advice for starting university. They also have all the details of Freshers' events that are upcoming so by keeping an eye on these accounts, you can keep up to date on what is going on at the university.

Find your course mates online

Another useful tool on social media is the University of Suffolk New Starters Facebook group, which I would recommend joining as it is where I first got in contact with my course mates. We began a group chat to get to know one another before the term began. This also meant we arranged to meet one another at the Freshers' Fair, which made lectures less daunting as we knew one another already.

Practise budgeting

I don’t know about you, but I am terrible at budgeting. However, part of university living is keep an eye on your money and making sure you always have enough to live on (and avoid your overdraft where possible!) So for the final few weeks of summer, keep an eye on your money and practise budgeting and saving for university life.

Research societies and what you might be interested in

One of the best events for finding your feet at university is the Freshers' Fair, where you get lots of free food, free stuff and it’s a great place to meet new people. It is also a great opportunity to meet the different societies and find out what they are all about. All of the societies have their own social media pages too, so you can research them and their events before the fair has even happened.

Don’t be afraid to answer questions

No question is too little or too big and everyone wants you to settle into university. If you have any questions for us, feel free to leave a comment below or you can email your lecturers or message the University or the SU on social media.

Good luck in your preparations for university life and I hope to see you around campus!