Confessions of a Student: Part 2

When university starts, you both embrace the independency (like me) and miss your pets like crazy, or you’re badly homesick and want to go home at every opportunity. It’s normal to be either. I was so immersed into university, I somehow forgot to be homesick. However, everybody is different.
Something I found recently was that National Express coaches do journeys from £6! I travel between Colchester-Leicester-Nottingham on a regular basis and have found that by far, this is the cheapest way to travel. So if homesickness is something you’re worrying about if you’re starting university this September, home is just one journey away.
Other tips I have found along my university journey:
  • The laundrette can be costly in halls. It’s fine to wear jeans for a few days right? Hang them back up in your wardrobe!
  • Can’t afford a gym membership? Invest in a rucksack and walk everywhere. Put all your baked bean tins on your back from your weekly shop, and you’ll be working up a sweat in no time.
  • Text books – don’t buy them! You may be loving a module, but come to the end of the course, you’ve not got your money’s worth. Buy second hand from previous students, on Amazon or rent from the library. If the textbook is on your compulsory reading list and there’s many of you on your course, let the library know so they can buy more to meet the demand.
  • UoL students are able to download and install Microsoft Office on your computers free of charge. Many people don’t actually know that it is available!
  • If you’re heading from a night on the town, research your clubs beforehand. Mosh can have free entry before 11pm, so look out on Facebook groups where you can put yourself on the guest list prior.
  • Don’t take your bank card with you on a night out – it just tempts you to buy more.
  • As a geology student, we are regular pub goers. Whether it’s after a lecture or somebody’s birthday, we really don’t need an excuse to socialise and have a pint. At the Fresh Fair, you’ll have the opportunity to buy a Yellow Card. It gives you brilliant discounts to what will be your local pubs such as the Dry Dock or the Loaded Dog.
  • As a fourth-year student, you develop an acquired taste for cocktails. Something I’d definitely recommend is investing in a Revolution (Revs) privilege student card. £3 for a year (or £4 including a pair of pants!) and you can enjoy 2-4-1 on cocktail pitchers and pizzas or a six shot stick from £6. Each card only lasts 1 year, so make sure you get your moneys worth and remember to buy another one the following academic year.
Let me know if there are any tips I’m missing that you think other students will find helpful!

Reblogged. Original post http://studentblogs.le.ac.uk/geology/2015/07/18/confessions-of-a-student-part-2/

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