Things I didn't know about University but wish I did!

Easter's going too quickly and my exams are creeping up around the corner so I thought that instead of posting another 'exam related' blog I would treat you all to a list of things I didn't know about university that I really wish I had before I went!

So here goes;

1. Things Cost Money. Looking back I was quite naive when moving from home where most things were at easy reach and money wasn't a huge issue because I had a job and supportive parents, to moving out on my own. I soon realised that everything costs money and it's hard to get by if you don't have any. It wasn't the daunting amount of money I am forking out via my student loan that is the problem, it's day-to-day costs that I never thought about when living at home. Most students prepare themselves for the costs of going out drinking and books, however I forgot about the simplest of things like snacks(no-one can sit through a 2 hour lecture with their stomach rumbling), fancy dress outfits (no-one wants to be the odd one out), fines for not handing your books in on time (I've had one and don't intend to have anymore after hearing about the fine)!!
   So, keep a good eye on your bank account before it's too late and you've spent all of your loan and have to open an overdraft...which luckily I haven't had to do! 
2. Self-Motivation is an absolutely KEY skill to obtain. So, most people are told that 'don't worry you're first year is easy you won't have to do much work' however, this is not the case. Prepare yourselves for a huge step up in terms of workload. It takes a while to get used to but you will soon learn that you have to get up, go to the library, and finish that essay, otherwise you have to rely on exams or other assignments and you're more likely to fail! Some decide to write their essays the night before and stay up all night writing it but if you want a good class degree this is not an acceptable standard of essay and you will not achieve a very good grade. 
3. Not everything is as it seems in the prospectus. Make sure you visit the universities you are applying for, there would be absolutely nothing worse than picking any old uni(they all look nice in pictures) and turning up to it looking more like a prison that a university. I did actually look at the University of Bedfordshire beforehand however a friend of mine is stuck in an awful halls of residence and the uni's not much better. So, try before you buy!



Yes, it looks amazing and yes, it tastes amazing but it's too expensive for dinner every night!

4. Lastly, takeaways. It is so easy for students to become lazy when they move to university because food isn't free or magically put in your fridge. It costs money, a lot of money so before you decide it's too hard and expensive to cook recalculate and you'll soon realise that takeaways every night is going to cost a significant amount more than buying a weekly shop. Don't be lazy, get some cooking skills in you now before you get to uni and it's too late!  

Books are SO expensive!!!

So, as most first years do I decided to buy every single book I was told I 'needed' before I started university, which was a mistake!

Take it from me, you definitely DO NOT need every single book you are advised to get. My biggest piece of advice is to wait until you get to university and see for yourself what books you need and also don't listen to everyone else because every person is different and one book may work for your friend but will be useless for you. Take your time and research the books that are really worth purchasing.

Also, one of my mistakes was buying books that are also available as eBooks for FREE. So I bought books for £30/£40 which I could've got for free.Yep, quite annoying.
Another thing is that if you end up going to the University of Bedfordshire, the library is the biggest library I've ever seen with every kind of book you could ask for, you don't really need to buy any books if you don't want because the library is such a huge source of information.

One good thing for me was that I got given a £300 gift card when I started my course for John Smith's bookshops which is used by a lot of universities and that meant I didn't spend hundreds of pounds of my own money, however some people aren't lucky enough to be given such a luxury and £300 is a lot of money to be spending on books that you can get access to for free!

I'm not saying don't buy any books they're all useless because they're certainly not useless, some are extremely useful and I wouldn't have passed any of my assignments if I hadn't opened up a book but I know students don't have hundreds to spend on books when they need money for food. So definitely wait until you get there and see what you have available to you in terms of vouchers, money off, libraries, online resources etc. There is so much put on a plate for students that is never used but could be the different of a first class degree to a second.

There are loads of offers for students like NUS cards which allow us money off in so many stores so it's definitely worth a search around for what is available for students and see what you can do to help yourself out.

If you find anything I already haven't then let me know ha!