15 tips for all uni students

I may only have a years worth of experience at uni but I do feel like I've learnt a lot about how to survive uni. Most uni students will be living away from home with a lot more independence than what you're used to and it's hard to stay on top of everything. Whether you're in your first or last year at uni, here are 20 tips on how to cope!

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Budgeting & Money
1.Make a Weekly Budget Each semester work out how much money you will have. Add up all the loans/additional income you will receive. Take off any rent, bills etc. you have to pay to know how much you will have left. Divide this amount by the number of weeks in the semester and try not to spend more than this per week. 
2. Easy way to save take £10 off each weekly budget (e.g. so if your budget is £50, lower it to £40). At the end of the semester you will have spare money to use to treat yourself to something nice!
3. Shop cheaply Shop in stores like Lidl and Aldi. It's super cheap but still good quality. You will notice a considerable difference and this way you're not just paying more for branded products. You will find you will be able to do your shopping for a little as £10 per week!
4. Second hand books You will receive a list of books for your course. Everybody's natural reaction would be to head over to amazon or the uni bookshop. My course leaders informed us of the wonder that is abebooks.com where you can purchase second hand books for as little as 66p. 

Food
5. Eat healthily People have probably been nagging you to do this your whole life but you now have control over what you eat so why not make it something good for you? Eat plenty of fruit and veg and avoid buying fatty foods when you're shopping. You will probably find that it works out a lot cheaper if you cut out the crap too!
6. Meal plan This way you wont waste food and you will only buy what you need. It makes it easier to decide what to make. Why not invest in a decent cookbook or peruse the internet for inspiration. 
7. Avoid Takeout Everyone considers takeout, especially dominos, as typical student food. In my opinion, if you're a student and can afford takeaway regularly then go you! Takeaway is expensive and bad for you. It's not worth it in the long run. Have one as a treat after you've met your deadlines. 
8. Leftovers are good. Make more than what you need. Keep leftovers in the fridge - hooray another meal!
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Study
9. Don't be afraid to work hard This sounds strange but some people don't want to be seen as working too hard, especially if you're in first year as it often doesn't contribute to your final grade. However if you want to work hard and spend all night in the library go for it. It's what you're there for after all. 
10. Do the reading. Even if you just skim read it or read the introduction and conclusion, make sure you do something. Chances are the week you decide to just not do it, that will be the week your tutors will want to look at that reading in a hella lot of detail and trust me, there's nothing worse than sitting in a room of 20 people where nobody has done the reading. Talk about awkward. 
11. Revise from the start. It sounds lame but if you keep going over what you have studied it's more likely to stick in your brain which means it will take a lot less effort when revising at the end of the year. 
12. Learn how to reference properly Learn what sources are okay to reference and which are not - wikipedia and any site with the words 'sample essays' in are not okay! This will benefit you a huge amount as it will avoid your tutors giving you a lower grade. 

Social 
13. Join societies I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to this one as I joined no societies in first year but I definitely will during second year. It will help you meet a wide variety of friends and help you learn new things,
14. Set aside time to do what you enjoy It's easy to get stuck in a routine, constantly doing uni work and it can get a bit too much. Set aside a day where you do something fun or just relax!

15. Don't worry and have fun! It will probably be the most important few years of your life but also the most fun so enjoy it!

What are your top tips for uni students? 


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Comments

  1. I start Uni in two weeks, I'm so nervous but thanks for the great advice!

    Anna xx | Anna Hopeless

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