Daughter Starting Uni?

Sarahsaver

I have always been a moneysaver, having been brought up by very 'old style' parents. When I went to uni I took a screwdriver set, a sewing kit and some scissors, and other things which my fellow students didnt have like a chopping board and a sieve. All essential, and in fact all of these things were borrowed by my housemates in the FIRST WEEK of term. You also need a decent bowl or basket to keep fruit in your own room so no-one nicks it. Rubber gloves because of handwashing clothes, and a folding clothes airer. I had a throw which I used at various times as a bedcover, floor cover, wall hanging, window dressing, chair cover...it is easy to get fed up with your room and a nice throw is a cheap way of making things look different. Leicester market has striped cotton tab top curtains for £5 A PAIR!
My mum didnt provide anything for me in the way of 'goodies' she couldnt afford to, and in any case the biggest gift I had was to be fending for myself and reliant on myself totally for finances, food and clothing, and to have been raised with the right attitudes to be able to do so;)

LondonDiva

* INSURANCE!! After being cleaned out twice at Uni once in halls & another in the 2nd year,:rolleyes:I'll say it again - INSURANCE!!. Don't forget to check if she's covered on your home insurance or make sure that she's got a policy.

*Make sure that she gets on a GP list during / signs up at the health centre as one of the things she does early on. People tend to wait until they are ill before trying to find a GP. Better to get it out of the way.

*Stack of postcards ready second class stamped - so she has no excuse not to write to you during a lecture to confirm she's still breathing :D:D:D:D My mother nicked loads of free cinema postcards for this & sent me off with these in hand.

Don't forget to plan something for yourself on the day she goes so you don't end up moping...

Diva

THIRZAH

Check what cooking facilities are provided in hall before buying too much kitchen equipment. My eldest daughter went to Durham and the college provided three meals a day. There were only microwaves in the kitchens. It was really annoying as she had to pay for the meals whether she ate them or not.
Youngest daughter only has three hotplates in her hall kitchen- no oven or grill.

Don't provided anything too good in the way of pots and pans. Unless she is vey careful about not leaving things lying around , things will get "borrowed"

Both my daughters prefered the washing powder tablets- that way they could just take as many as they needed down to the laundry room

A kettle is a good idea, also an iron.

It's also worth checking if she can leave things in her room over the Christmas and Easter holidays. Carrying a mini fridge up and down three flights of stairs three times a year gets a bit much after a while

filigree_2

I remember struggling to afford glasses when I was young, I had very little money but I wasn't entitled to any NHS freebies. If your daughter needs specs, consider treating her to a new pair and possibly new contact lenses, because they're hugely expensive on a student budget. In fact, even if she doesn't wear specs get her to the optician just in case!

If she needs regular prescriptions for something like an asthma inhaler, get her to renew just before she leaves. I know she'll be registered with student health services but in all the excitement of Fresher week she might not notice if her meds are running low.

One friend swears by earplugs! Halls can be pretty noisy and earplugs help you sleep a bit better if your neighbours are party animals.

crana999

Presumably she's not 19 yet so she's still entitled to free eye tests, dental checkups etc if she's in full time education, so it's worth getting those done before she goes and before her birthday.. if she does need glasses she'll get a voucher towards the cost too..

jam

blimey, epic thread!

as a recent ex student one quick suggestion is a *compact* (given student rooms!) airer/ dryer thingum. This will save her pumping 20p after 20p into the drying machines which take eons to dry anything.

perhaps one of the radiator ones if she's going to have a radiator

homealone_2

thank you so much for all those helping to get me organised. i have listed everything suggested and am going to weed through it closer the time (probably next week) time goes so fast. only seems like yesterday i was persuading her that nursey wasnt scary and how much fun she would have. i also had an idea of making her a beauty/ survival tips book. i am going to go through all the tips on this board for make your own moisturiser/ getting ink out of clothes type tips and fill a big book for her. mentioned idea to her this morning and awaited a negative response, but she was over the moon and having all that to hand as i dont think she will have easy access to the net. she was really keen on the beauty tips ideas and whats best to use for beauty disasters. so feel free if any tips you have that you would have not managed without. off now to check out the best value for money bits and some bath bombs i saw recipe for on here. thanks again\1111

sarah1

How about a good quality housecoat either fleecy or toweling. Before she goes wash it with your usual washing powder and fabric conditioner and when she feels a bit homesick in the first few weeks she can wear this and feel all lovely.
On the cold winter nights this will be lovely to snuggle up to. Like a great big cuddle.

squeaky

I can't believe that me (or anybody) hasn't mentioned the Be-Ro recipe book. Absolutely full of bullet bullet proof recipes for basic pastry, buns, sponges, yorkshires ... jam tarts... you know... just in case she gets the munchies and just happens to have some flour and an egg or two...

Edit: The thread that tells you how to get a book is ---> Here

crana999

Bah, if she's lucky enough to have an oven.