The great 'what I wish I'd known before I was a student' hunt

Skyhigh

Many people are saying never buy course books or recommended books are they never get used. This statement is wrong.
They may have not used any of the books, they may not have needed them, but you should never avoid buying the books or take the opinion that you will not need them.

For most courses you will heavily rely on core texts and recommended reading - at least if you want to do well.

Many Universities state Core Texts - buy these or make sure the library has plenty in store, especially if you're doing a technical course.
If possible, spend time over summer hunting them down cheaply either via:
ebay
amazon
greenmetropolis
play.com (remember: prices include postage!)
or other sites.

Be aware with amazon, especially via the MarketPlace that some books can take weeks (or months in a few cases) to arrive.

Recommended texts - Exactly what they are, try and borrow them first, either from the library or a friend.

Books are expensive, but they tend to be the core of many courses.
Many of my course books (technical) cost £50+ ea., and I had to buy 5-8 a year.
On my course I used them all heavily.
It's expensive, but you can make it cheaper via friends, library, online and chairty shops.
Even so, tuition fee's of £1400 to £2600 per year, housing costs of £2200 to £4700 a year and then living costs - it's all expensive.
So book costs are relatively cheap, especially since its book that you usually rely on to get through the course....and one of the only things that by purchasing and reading/studying can directly affect your grade.
Rmember, you're there to study.

In many cases, course material is based on the book content read by your lecturers, so reading the books and any others that your lecturers recommend will usually help you massively.

So do not avoid buying course books for the sake of the 'cost', as it could stop you from getting a better grad.
Just try to find them cheaper.


Notes on photocopying.
Usually you can legally only photocopy a specific % or number of pages of a book/chapter.
Although many people haven't been caught or prosecuted for this, there have been instances where people have been thrown off courses. Just be careful.
It's usually best to borrow the book, then find a local place to photocopy it.
A place near my uni specialised in photocopying entire books quite cheaply....


Many libraries have a method (usually online or as a paper form) of requesting books, check to make sure all the books you may want to take out are in good supply. An example would be my course with 100 students per year, but only 8 copies of a specific core text.
Just tell them how many people are on the course and are likely to want to do the course and how many books they have, and how many they probably need.
I did this several times with different texts and it usually resulted in an extra 20-30 copies of each book appearing.
It helps everyone, including you - it costs you nothing.
[If possible, do this over summer or ASAP at the start of the year, it can take some libraries weeks to order books - plus budgets are usually released at the end of summer so the library should have plenty of cash, and you want to make sure your course books are pushed through before anyone elses while the cash is about]


Working
Some courses have a few hours a week, some (as mine did) have enough to fill or surpass a working week (in my case, 32 hours a week of scheduled lecture/lab time! with usual coursework, research, studying, revision, etc on top).

This can make it hard to fit a job it. I can wholeheartedly recommend Ebay. You can sell items online, package them up when you have time, and post them off in your lunch break (or other spare time).
It really can fit around you and your work load, plus rarely requires leaving the house for extended periods, so you can study/research at home too).

Wiggynut

Skyhigh wrote: »

If possible, spend time over summer hunting them down cheaply either via:

quote]

do most Uni's give out a book list before the course then?
apparently I wont get mine until the course actually starts! so I have no idea what books are needed as yet!
is this just the case for the 1st year - so will I know what books I need in the 2nd year through the summer? (guess it depends on the Uni and course????)

babybug

MoneySavingAmatuer wrote: »

I'm quite conserened that everyone is saying "stay clear of credit cards"!!!
Yes be careful and always pay off in full but what noone every told me was that if you dont get credit then you dont get a credit rating!
I spent 4 years with no credit cards or anything, just a student loan and graduated very proud of my financial shrewdness.
It wasn't until after I graduated and I tried to get a mortgage that I found out that "No Credit Rating" is equivilant to "Bad Credit Rating"...

Please dont get sucked into "credit cards = bad"....its not true just pay them off in full and beware of the potensial dangers.

Thanks - this is what I was going to say!

I would advise anyone to get a credit card - when you're at uni they're throwing them at you and are easy to get. When you've left (and have lived in 3 or 4 different houses over the last few years) it's so much harder to get one. I took me 3 years after uni to get my credit rating sorted.

If you know you can't be trusted to not spend or to pay off in full, then leave the card at your parents. But I would say DEFINITELY get one!

The_One_Who

Wiggynut wrote: »

do most Uni's give out a book list before the course then?
apparently I wont get mine until the course actually starts! so I have no idea what books are needed as yet!
is this just the case for the 1st year - so will I know what books I need in the 2nd year through the summer? (guess it depends on the Uni and course????)

It will depend on the uni and/or course. I didn't get a reading list when I started and if I want one before the course starts I need to either hunt it down or ask the person running the course.

I would say not to buy any books until the course starts because you don't know what you'll definitely need and will make use of and what you won't. As long as you have a half decent library and are fairly organised (not leaving things to the last minute) then the library should serve you well.

Wiggynut

babybug wrote: »

Thanks - this is what I was going to say!

I would advise anyone to get a credit card - when you're at uni they're throwing them at you and are easy to get. When you've left (and have lived in 3 or 4 different houses over the last few years) it's so much harder to get one. I took me 3 years after uni to get my credit rating sorted.

If you know you can't be trusted to not spend or to pay off in full, then leave the card at your parents. But I would say DEFINITELY get one!

or get a credit card and ask for a really low credit limit!

I have a card with a large limit at the moment which is paid off but I'm waiting to buy a new computer with it.. transfer the funds over so it's paid in full again and then ask them to drop it down to £100 or £150 so I can use it for the web - some sites don't allow debit cards (but will also leave it at home... which means I'll forget the pin number which makes it harder to use! :rotfl: )

omicron654

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

At 18, you're an adult. So try not to take money from your parents. It always comes with strings attached. If you pay your own way, you get to make all of the decisions yourself. If you want to change your course, you can. If you want to move in with friends/boyfriend/girlfriend, you can. If you want to go on holiday, you can. When you graduate, you will have to make your own way in the world. It'll be easier if you've had some practice.

I'm about to go to university, and my parents essentially are happy to pay my way through: they have the means to and want me to be debt-free when I leave, rather than burdened with tens of thousands of pounds worth of student loans. While paying my own way and being entirely independent is very appealing, is it realistic? I'm happy to get a part-time job and certainly will do so, but is it not better in the long run to accept some degree of dependence on my parents in exchange for being debt-free later?

In any case, I suspect most uni students end up living with their parents during university holidays and probably for a time after they graduate, so I suspect being entirely financially independent is not feasible.

Wiggynut

omicron654 wrote: »

I'm about to go to university, and my parents essentially are happy to pay my way through: they have the means to and want me to be debt-free when I leave, rather than burdened with tens of thousands of pounds worth of student loans. While paying my own way and being entirely independent is very appealing, is it realistic? I'm happy to get a part-time job and certainly will do so, but is it not better in the long run to accept some degree of dependence on my parents in exchange for being debt-free later?

In any case, I suspect most uni students end up living with their parents during university holidays and probably for a time after they graduate, so I suspect being entirely financially independent is not feasible.

well, it's up to how much you want your parents to contribute as you are an adult.

Obviously having the opportunity of your parents helping you is fantastic... the only time this can been seen as negative is if the person who is being helped doesn't realise or appreciate it or take it to the extreme and 'freeload' so to speak - but there will always be people who take advantage of great opportunities negatively!

you could still support yourself with your social life, clothing etc with a small part time job that doesn't get in the way of your studies (ie in breaks etc) and your parents pay your fees and bills etc!
it doesn't have to be one or the other - just do what you can!

unfortunately, I don't have any parents to have nice breaks with! no fair

highheels84

I recently graduated last year and have found that most of my friends have had the same problem as me with their graduate accounts.
The majority of which signed up with HSBC for a student account when we begun way back when (for the free £50) although their offers may be tempting i suggest that everyone should have a separate normal account- NOT JUST A STUDENT ACCOUNT just in case.

When the accounts transfer into a graduate account- HSBC whacked on a lot of interest that was not made clear at the time of signing up and not only that but reduced our balance with a few days notice by £500, this took most of my wage at the time and i was left unable to pay rent for a month. (luckily i have an understanding landlord).

You may not be so lucky though, now i use my seperate account to have my wages paid into and i pay off my HSBC overdraft monthly as agreed with HSBC, it's simply not worth the hassle.

They may offer you great things to try and get you to sign up with them but you have to read the small print, HSBC have given me nothing but hassle and i can't wait to be rid! :mad:

The point is banks can take the overdraft back at a moments notice, always have a back up plan.

P.S Just to point out i am not suggesting in no way shape or form you get a second student account (for the second overdraft)- I've heard of some people who have done this and hey have either been caught and had demanded to pay back instantly or they are struggling to pay off both now. It's hard enough to pay both back!

ryandj

omicron654 wrote: »

burdened with tens of thousands of pounds worth of student loans.

Don't consider the student loan the same as other debt, the interest rate is only inflation so in real terms it is interest free, and is not difficult to pay back.

However, if your parents are giving you money for whilst at uni, make the most of it - take out the student loan each year, then put it into a high interest savings account. You can make a profit and just keep it in there for ever, or do as my girlf did and use it to pay for going for a gap year after uni!

As a bit of off topic, I have recently changed jobs and despite the fact that I ticked the box on my P45 saying continue student loan repayments, the payments are no longer getting deducted from my pay. Does anyone know if I will get in trouble or what will happen about that?

rainbow_carnage

omicron654 wrote: »

I'm about to go to university, and my parents essentially are happy to pay my way through: they have the means to and want me to be debt-free when I leave, rather than burdened with tens of thousands of pounds worth of student loans. While paying my own way and being entirely independent is very appealing, is it realistic? I'm happy to get a part-time job and certainly will do so, but is it not better in the long run to accept some degree of dependence on my parents in exchange for being debt-free later?

In any case, I suspect most uni students end up living with their parents during university holidays and probably for a time after they graduate, so I suspect being entirely financially independent is not feasible.

It depends on the sort of person you are. My parents are reasonably well off. The first time I went to uni, they paid my tuition and my rent. I had a part-time job in a lab that paid for extras.

I dropped out of my course after 18 months, having wasted lots of my parents' money (this was in the States, where private universities cost a lot more than here).

The second time around, I decided to pay for everything myself. I wanted to maintain my independence. I worked full-time for the duration of my undergraduate and masters degrees. In all, my tuition costs came to almost 45k (overseas for the undergraduate), but I graduated without any debts. I probably learned just as much from my jobs than from my degrees.

I have a good relationship with my parents, but I'm not reliant on them. Therefore, all of the decisions I make are my own, mistakes and all. I'm not even using my degrees at the moment. Had my parents paid for them, I'd be feeling a lot more guilty about it.