Daughter Starting Uni?

BWZN93

I really like this thread, ive just finished a degree at Bristol Uni and its bringing back fond memories of my first year!

Anyway - A big dressing gown - often enough fire alarms will go off at 5am and definately need something to throw around you quickly (I bought one after going outside in a vest and shorts - had to huddle in one of the guys dressing gowns until they let us back in - lesson quickly learnt!)

Definately a corkscrew and couple of bottles of wine

I took my big TV and a load of videos - fantastic way for me and my girls to chill out on an afternoon and get ready for the evening - many League of Gentlemen quotes became indelibly marked on our brains

Cd's and CD player - wouldnt have done without it!

I took a laptop, but got broken into whilst I was out drinking - replaced with a PC as they arent so easy to steal,

Which reminds me - INSURANCE!! My halls had an insurance policy for about £11 for the year, well worth doing...

A present my mum got me - a cafatiere (if she likes coffee) - I was living with 4 coffee maniacs, an Italian guy, and a New York Girl - Coffee afternoons became a regular fixture for us!

A girl in my halls used to order her shopping via tesco online, save the order and address, time etc, call her parents, and get them to log on and pay for it - awesome! (we lived a ten minute walk from a supermarket, carrying big boxes of washing powder and booze was very difficult unless we managed to steal a trolly!)

My first year list comprised of:

Filing box for bills, letters, certificates, insurance policies, tenancy agreements and the like

Corkscrew

Duvet and cover, pillows and cases, sheets and matress cover

Basic kitchen essentials, mugs, plates, knives forks etc

If she is self catered with decent kitchens, a few preparation items such as sharp knife, chopping board, tin foil, oven tray, sandwich bag things for wrapping up stuff in the fridge, wooden spoon, one of those whatsit calleds - fish slice? - I can see it in my head but dont know what to call it, and glass casserole thingy - very useful!

kettle for bedroom if needed (I also took one of those £15 mini fridges for keeping milk in my room - that ALWAYS got stolen in shared kitchens, as did cheese and yogurts for some reason...)

Dont bother buying posters - there is always a poster sale in the union in the first week!

one of those cheap chenille type rugs

Stationary is a must - if taking a computer and printer, a load of printer cartridges - I did law and was forever printing cases and stuff - I saved a lot of money though, it cost more to photocopy them

Dont bother buying text books unless you have the recommended text lists already, I found that (with my course and many others) in the first week, there is generally a second hand book sale where you can pick up the set texts cheap - alternatively, waterstones vouchers! Absolutley great if she is studying a heavy text book degree like law, english, psychology...

I had no use for an academic diary - our uni had loads of free wall planner calendar thingys, useful for noting essay and exam dates etc

A few blank cards and envelopes are useful, for either writing home on, or giving out on birthdays, someone ALWAYS has a birthday in the first three weeks of term and saves running about finding cards etc..

I found it pointless in buying maps etc aswell, a copy of the campus map was pinned up in everyones room when they moved in, and the freshers fayre usually hands out loads of guides that contain maps, details of bars and clubs, resturants etc, with money off coupons and stuff in them

Laundry basket, laundry bag

Towels

If shared bathrooms, a toiletry bag could be useful, saves forgetting to take something in with you!

Cash. On the first night at uni, our hall bar organised a pizza and vodka night, we went out after and didnt know where the cashpoints were, so useful to have some to hand incase they arent easily found!

make-up, hair stuff, hairdryer etc

A few decent storage boxes to shove stuff into under the bed

Alarm clock!

A kit containing, Pain Killers, antacids, hangover stuff, cough medicine or lemsip sachets, plasters, antiseptic wipes, all extremely useful, and she probably WILL get freshers flu, I was in bed for 3 and a half days feeling awful, I had an emergency bottle of lucozade and plenty of painkillers in waiting for that little incident, and came in useful when everyone else was coming down with it too.

clothes hangers

More socks and knickers than would fit in the drawer (I can wear dirty clothes during exam periods cos I dont have time to do laundry, but no pants and socks IS a nightmare :eek: )

If on pay as you go phone, top it up before you go, and dont forget the charger!

I took a box of dry foods, coffee, tea, sugar, beans, a few packet mixes, cereal, herbs etc - I did a quick shop around supermarket with mum before she left for fresh stuff, and took laundry tablets and fabric conditioner, and a pack of anti-bacterial surface wipes to clean the sink in my room, desks etc

I also took a small phone book thing incase I lost my phone, which I never usually do but it did get stolen, so it was useful to have everyones numbers in there just in case. Also useful to put in NHS direct, local police station, Uni switchboard, department tel no's etc as a just in case. Similarly, everyone swaps home addresses at some point, again, useful.

About a million boxes of pens.

I had 3 of those extension cables, and all were in use!

And finally, a lockable cash box thing, I put in things like jewellery, watches, a few bags of £1 and 20p's for laundry, which I hid in the back of my wardrobe.

If I think of anything else, I will let you know!

OH YEAH - PASSPORT PHOTO'S!!!! So handy - for student railcards, bus cards, student cards, society membership cards....

And chequebook - to pay fee's, accommodation, society membership fees...

Jo xxx

BWZN93

p.s - Just noticed Sussex Uni - One of my hall mates and now best freind's brother went to Sussex Uni, and we visited him there a couple of times. I remember his room being quite small but they had really good facilities there, and Brighton is awesome. I dont remember seing cashpoints, so cash could be a good idea for the first couple of days, and I think they have a campus shop, but it isnt as good as a supermarket, ensure she takes a bit of groceries if they have a kitchen, it will save hassle when she gets there!

Sorry my last post was so long!

Jo xx

Bennifred

How the heck does everyone get all their stuff to Uni?? I hardly took anything (well, it was a loooong time ago ) but son thinks he needs to take all-of-the-above-listed AND guitar, amp, ets. etc. I feel a pantechnicon hire coming on :rolleyes:

VickyA_2

amghiggs wrote:

How the heck does everyone get all their stuff to Uni?? I hardly took anything (well, it was a loooong time ago ) but son thinks he needs to take all-of-the-above-listed AND guitar, amp, ets. etc. I feel a pantechnicon hire coming on :rolleyes:

With great difficulty! When I was in halls, I had to clear my room each term. Luckily, I always managed to make sure that my mum was one of the first ones there so that I could get all the blokes on my corridor to help load the car. Bless them.

And I travelled light. The bloke who lived opposite me had two guitars, amps etc.

apprentice_tycoon

An estate car wasn't enough, it had to be a van I'm afraid

edit - my son was the last one in his corridor to leave Halls. All the other students had left stuff behind that they couldn't get into their parents cars, it was just ditched. He claimed the lot - nothing of real value but loads of tinned and packet food and general groceries etc

jam

I also used to have to take everything out of halls each holiday (they rented them out to conferences to make real money)
I used to either get my parents to come and get me (luckily dad had an estate car) or in the last year when i had a little metro stuff it *really* full and whack my kayak on the roof
Anyhow, suffice to say that the best solution is not to have to move, next best is a large parental car, then your own steam. I remember on one occasion staggering accross the underground wearing my suit (best way to carry it!) and with a computer under my arms and a few heavy bags on my back, not to be repeated!

hth
jam

catznine

I can recommend an emergency supply of panadol, beechams all in one and cough syrup. These seem to be needed more when deadlines are due!

Daughter has just moved back in after 3 years away at university and I have just asked her what was the most useful - her answer - an airer for drying her clothes and a measuring jug!

hth

BWZN93

amghiggs wrote:

How the heck does everyone get all their stuff to Uni?? I hardly took anything (well, it was a loooong time ago ) but son thinks he needs to take all-of-the-above-listed AND guitar, amp, ets. etc. I feel a pantechnicon hire coming on :rolleyes:

Me and mum plus loads in one car, and my dad with big stuff like printers and TV's in his car!

Inventive packing always helps too, those vaccuum packing bags are awesome! My New York friend came with two suitcases, and shrunk everything with these bags! I put duvets, pillows, sheets and towels in one, sucked out the air, then shoved it in the laundry basket.

Dont bother with packing stuff properly in bubble wrap and boxes etc, its too much! Use towels and sheets to pack breakables, and other random things can be done. e.g, packing socks inside of shoes, stuffing the shoe bag with a scarf etc etc. I always figured, well, if I break a plate, I can always get another one from Ikea for 50p, but funnily enough, putting a tea towel in between the plates was enough to stop them from breaking!

Speaking of which, Ikea is great for kitchen stuff, I got everything for about £30, pots, pans, woks, cups plates, bowls, knives forks, utensils, strainer, tea towels, jug, the works.

If you cant fit in supermarket shopping as well as the other stuff, then do a tesco online order before you go - get them to deliver it for you!

Anything that can be bought at uni in the first couple of days, like posters, pot plants and the like, get it when you get there. A couple of us girls managed to go shopping on the second day of Uni, and came back loaded with extra food, plants, posters, light shades (incidentally - I have never seen a student hall room with a light shade), rugs, candles (although they might be banned now) etc.

I found moving out of halls to be more difficult than getting in, what with all the files, papers, £400 worth of text books etc (and that was in the first year alone! :eek: Another tip - teach money-saving before they go, make sure they USE the library for set texts but get there before everyone else does, to save having to buy your own, or buy texts between three of them in the same hall and share them) I dont know how I ever managed to move so often! Fortunately, I move in 6 weeks and then wont have to do it again for quite a while, into a nice post graduation working person flat. Iv'e just started dejunking - have been at it for an hour and so far - two black bin bags of junk.... Madness!

Jo xx

filigree_2

Many moons ago there was a one-off cookery programme when some top chef taught a bunch of students how to cook chilli. He even took them shopping to show them how to find cheaper ingredients.

One tip that stood out above everything he said came from one of the Hall staff - "Teach your child to cook!" She looked askance at his big pot of chilli and warned him that most first years wouldn't know how to make toast.

Perhaps soon-to-be students could be given a small budget and set a task of shopping and cooking for one family meal a week, there's nothing like hands-on practice.

crana999

jw1096 wrote:

(incidentally - I have never seen a student hall room with a light shade)

Heh, maybe that makes up for our lack of ovens.