How to prepare for University

Coming to university is an exciting part of life but is very different from what you might be used to at home, and we want to help to ease the transition (and the possible shock to the system!) from leaving the comforts of home to starting your new life in your Lancaster student accommodation at Bailrigg! 

Learn how to cook

Now, you might be reading this thinking ‘I can cook really well thank you very much!’ but you have to remember when you move to university cooking isn’t going to be a once a week kind of event - Mum or Dad won’t be on hand to cook the other six days of the week for you. If you eat or not will be up to you, and take it from us, no one can live off turkey dinosaurs and chips for three years straight! Therefore it is really important to get to grips with cooking before you move into your lancaster student accommodation; we’re not saying you have to be the next Gordon Ramsey but, it's good to know the basics before renting your student flat.

 So in the months leading up to you moving into your Lancaster student accommodation maybe get a friend or family member to help you in the kitchen and learn some familiar favourites to cook for when you need a taste of home at uni. It’s also a good idea to pick up a few student-friendly cookbooks which include affordable and easy meals that taste good. Practice a few of these whilst you’re at home and keep at it because, you’ll soon find that cooking really isn’t that hard after all.   

Packing in advance

It might seem obvious to not leave your packing until the night before you leave for University- but you’d be surprised how late some people do leave it! Your Lancaster student room has a large amount of storage for the belongings you want to bring as do the cupboards in your shared kitchen. Make sure that you are organised before the day that you leave home, and don't leave it untill the last minute because your stress leels will be running high (and future you will be grateful!). A good place to start is buying and organising your kitchen supplies - you’re not going to need them at home in the week before you leave so pack them early on. A top tip is to remember to label the boxes as you go along so you know where everything is. 

Take the week before you leave to go to Lancaster to think about what you are going to need and sort all of your stuff into piles. The next things to get boxed up are the clothes you are taking with you- keep in mind what you will wear on the way and for the rest of the week before you move and maybe use a separate box for those things the evening before leaving. Make sure you have enough toiletries and cleaning supplies to last for a while - the last thing you’ll want to have to do when you arrive is going shopping for that boring stuff! Once you have all of your essentials prepped and packed its time to move on to the stuff you want to take such as photos and room decorations. 

Packing can be stressful, but breaking it up into small amounts over the week before moving to your new Lancaster student living will really help. 

…oh and one more thing! Don’t forget leave behind your childhood cuddly toy, pack it in your rucksack and take them along for the ride (everyone does it). 

Using Social Media to make friends

It might sound a bit cliche but using social media to meet people before going to University is one of the best ways to start to build friendships with your fellow Lancaster students. 

It is always a good idea to join all of the fresher Facebook groups so you know what's going on during your first couple of weeks. It is also useful to make a group chat with your future flatmates. You will be added to an accommodation wide group chat during the summer so it's nice to find your flatmates from there! Having a flat group chat will mean you can introduce yourself and get to know a little about each other instead of waiting untill move-in day and not knowing anything about anyone! It will also give you a chance to discuss plans for freshers week and get the tickets for the same events. 

You will also find that you will be added into course groups on Facebook so try to be active in those in order to get to know your coursemates too. Although social media isn’t as good as the real thing it can really help you in starting to get to know people and finding those friends for life! 

Preparing to go to university can be worrying for a lot of people, but settling in can start before you even arrive at your Lancaster student accommodation. Thanks to social media, the ice will be broken before meeting your flatmates in person and there will be plenty of time to organise your packing if you take it one step at a time. Learning how to cook might be the biggest challenge of all for some people but asking for help from your parents is usually the best way of learning.