What student need? For being ready.

What student finance do I need?

If you're starting university this autumn, you will need to think about the following beforehand:

• Living expenses

• Tuition fee loans

• Maintenance loans

• Grants, scholarships and bursariesWhat should I take with me to university?

There are many things you will need to pack before heading off for Freshers' Week.

These items include:

• documents

• kitchen utensils

• study materials

• healthcare

• bathroom items

• outdoor gear

• housekeeping

• electrical

• clothing

• bedding

• style

• sport and leisure

• and other miscellaneous items.Passport photos

• Passport or driving licence

• NHS number

• National Insurance number

• CV and references

• Discount travel cards

• Address book and email contacts list

• Local map

• What's on guide

• Old textbooks and notes

• List of phone numbers

• Support notification form

• Diary or calendar

• Doctor and dentist details

• Other university documents

• Exam certificates

• Room insurance
  Kitchen

  A lot of the kitchen stuff will depend if you're going self catering or not.

  • Corkscrew

  • Bottle opener

  • Mugs

  • Glasses

  • Wine glasses

  • Shot glasses

  • Kettle

  • Knives, forks and spoons

  • Plates

  • Bowls (for cereal, soup, icecream, etc)

  • One-person casserole dish

  • Small frying or omelette pan

  • 1 small, 1 large saucepan with lids

  • Egg cup

  • Tin opener

  • Scissors

  • Chopping knife

  • Chopping board - An extra chopping board if you are cutting meat: this way you avoid food poisoning!!!

  • Vegetable peeler

  • Cheese grater - (Ikea do a very good one that has the grater as a lid so all the cheese goes into a box/compartment neatly and you can leave it in there to store aswell)

  • Breadknife

  • Wooden spoon

  • Spatula - good for a washing up implement.

  • Potato Masher (only if you are a fan of mash tho!)

  • Easy to follow recipe book

  • Store cupboard ingredients - coffee, tea, milk, sugar, eggs, margarine, cooking oil, salt and pepper - and let's not forget pasta

  • Coffee whitener - for when you run out of milk

  • Sandwich bags - good for lots of stuff you open and need to contain. e.g. sugar / teabags and things

  • Plastic bowl or box with lid

  • Microwaveable bowl

  • Cling film

  • Tin foil

  • Sieve

  • Tea towels

  • Oven gloves

  • Washing-up stuff - Washing-up liquid / Dishcloth / Scrubbing brush

  • Tray - For carrying food to your room and to stop you making a mess if you're not eating at a table

  • Chopsticks

  Studying

  • Desk lamp (Halogen)

  • Book chair - saves a lot of neck strain if you are making notes out of a big book]

  • Notice board - for timetables, numbers, etc. Some halls may already provide one.

  • Message board with erasable marker eg. a mini white board or one of those magnetic sand ones that you can wipe

  • Diary/planner - to keep track of assignments

  • Dictionary and thesaurus

  • A pad of lined paper - for making notes/doing drafts etc

  • Ream of printing paper

  • A4 folders

  • Pens, pencils, paper, files, highlighters

  • Scissors

  • Sticky tape

  • Stapler, hole punch

  • Sticky labels

  • Post-it notes

  • Paper clips

  • White Tac - so it doesn't mark the walls

  • Stamps and envelopes

  Outdoor

  • Sports gear

  • Bike

  • Raincoat

  • Umbrella

  Healthcare

  • Multivitamins

  • Painkillers

  • Condoms/pill

  • Basic first aid kit - plasters, antiseptic wipes, bandages

  • Paracetamol

  • Some cold/flu remedy incase you are struck down by freshers' flu

  • Pro-Plus

  • Anti-allergy pills - eg. Piriton anti-allergy tablets

  • A cold/hot pack

  Bathroom

  • Bath mat

  • Bath and hand towels (+ possibly a flanel)

  • Basket for shower supplies

  • Wash bag

  • Toilet roll

  • Box of tissues

  • Toothbrush and toothpaste

  • Soap - sqeasy (bottle) soap is probably better. If you're sharing bathrooms then it's easier to transport and wont slip onto the floor etc.

  • Showergel

  • Shampoo/Conditioner

  • Nail clippers

  • Deodorant

  • Cologne

  • Hair gel

  • Hair spray

  • Hairbrush

  • Comb

  • Razor

  • Shaving cream/gel

  • Lip balm

  Housekeeping

  • Febreeze - To stop clothes / fabric getting to smelly

  • Laundry bag - So your dirty clothes don't end up on the floor. And for dragging to the laundry or dumping on your parents to wash for you!

  • Clothes horse - Save money on dryers by drying your clothes in your room

  • Coat hangers - you may not get any in wardrobes

  • Dustpan and brush - for cleaning up the odd mess, though most unis should provide this

  • Duster

  • Kitchen towel

  • Cif cleaning products

  • Washing powder/liquid/tablets - if the washing powder dispenser isn't working

  • Door wedge - an open door in freshers week is much more friendly

  Electrical

  • Alarm clock (maybe 2 in two different locations in your roomto make sure lectures are at least attempted, even if you carry on sleeping there!)
    Calculator - for sorting out finances

  • Computer and/or laptop - saves on queues at deadline time

  • Computer mouse for laptop - easier to use than a trackpad

  • CDR's (CDRW's cheaper in long run) - for backing up work

  • USB "pen drive" - carrying projects etc between uni, internet cafe, friends comp, etc. quickly, easily and RELIABLY!

  • Printer - printing could take up to six hours on uni computers

  • Network cable - to access the internet from the socket in your room

  • Mini fridge - for beer and other items you don't want in the communal fridge

  • Bedside lamp

  • Mobile and charger

  • Answering machine

  • CD player/Hi-fi system - though better (certainly space wise) just to bring speakers and use your computer

  • TV - but license fee will be costly. There will doubtless be a communal TV you can watch. Also worth considering a TV-DVD/-VCR combi or seperate VCR/DVD players

  • Camera - to take pictures of room and friends (to send home/put on website ... everything else people do with photos)

  • Headphones - so you don't disturb others when you play music loud. You can get 'infra-red' ones that aren't too expensive and allow you to walk around while still listening to the music.

  • Batteries - rechargeable (save money)

  • Multi plug adaptor/extension lead - to give you more than the normal 2/4 sockets

  Clothing

  • Dressing gown

  • Slippers

  • T-shirts

  • Jumpers

  • Trousers

  • Underwear

  • Socks

  • Shoes/trainers

  • Flip flops - for wearing in showers / communal wash areas

  • Swimwear

  • Ball gowns/eveningwear - for the Freshers' Ball.

  • Shirt and tie for any smart-casual events

  Leisure

  • Board games - a couple, will make a good fun free evening (not sure about your phrasing! - its not mine)

  • Pack of card

  • Ball - rugby ball/football for friendly matches/made up games

  • Frisbee - again for the occassional game (rugby style)

  Style

  • Posters - though theses are often available during freshers week - (you might need things to cover bad decoration)

  • Photos of family and friends

  • Wall hanging - more homely than posters

  • Rugs - to hide the mangy carpet

  • Fairylights/disco ball/police light/lava lamp

  • Cushions/beanbags - for friends to sit down in your room

  • A throw - to make your bed into a sofa for friends to sit on

  • Pot plants

  • Teddy bear/stuffed toys

  • Blankets - for when it gets cold and you want to snuggle up

  Bedding

  • Sheets

  • Duvet and duvet covers

  • Pillows & pillow cases - did you know the average used pillow is 75% dead flesh?

  • Mattress cover - goes between the mattress and the bottom sheet

  • Hot water bottle

  • Inflatable mattress and pump - for your mates when they visit

  • Sleeping bag - for when friends come to stay/when you go to stay

  Miscellaneous

  • Alcohol - to make new friends with

  • Sweets or biscuits - to distribute to flatmates

  • Extra storage - cardboard or plastic boxes for things which wont fit anywhere else

  • Large suitcase - to put things in when going home for the weekend

  • A spare lightbulb

  • Torch - for power cuts and looking under desks/chairs/beds

  • Pen knife

  • Loose change - for washing / vending machines

  • Earplugs - to cut out noise you don't want to hear

  • Bookends - probably unecessary; just use something else (eg pot of pasta, sugar etc)

  • Poster hangers - if you're not allowed Blu-/White?-Tac on the walls

  • Safety pins

  • Small sewing kit - just incase you need to do a quik fix on a rip or tear (like the ones you get in hotels)

  • Small toolkit

  • Matches

  • Fan

  • Clock

  Female specific items

  • Hair Ties/clips

  • Make up (eye shadow, mascara, lip stick/gloss, eyeliner, foundation, etc)

  • Jewellery Box

  • Jewellery

  • Moisturiser

  • Baby Oil

  • Nail Varnish

  • Hair removing cream

  • Hair dryer/straightners

  • Tampons/sanitary towels

  Male specific items

  • Shaving brush

  Don't bother with

  • Iron

  • Toaster

  • Sandwich maker

  • Nice kitchen stuff - it will get used then left on the side to rot/rust

  • Candles - serious fire hazard

  And all things that everyone gets - so if you're in flats rather than halls, you may want to wait and see if you really need to splash out when you could just borrow your flatmate's