Preparing for university

Not sure about the "British students don't share rooms" thing - I shared a room for most of my undergrad years because it was cheaper and you got a bigger room.

For basic cooking equipment get stuff from e.g. Ikea or a supermarket. A non-stick frying pan and sauce saucepan, baking sheet, cutlery set, 2 dinner plates, 2 tea plates, a mug, some tumblers, can opener, scissors, knives for chopping veg and slicing bread, a spatula and wooden spoon should be sufficient.

And then a duvet and pillow, two changes of sheets, 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 2 face cloths. Toiletries can be bought closer to the time. Something like a compact roll up waterproof coat would be handy if they have a long walk to the campus.

For studying a laptop would be useful. Stationary can probably be bought on campus.