@Bacere
The hardest thing for me to personally manage was probably just turning up. Having a complete change of setting, pacing, and the people around me really messed with my sense of order, if that makes sense. Having the freedom of a room to yourself, nobody to check up on you (the uni really doesn't care if you turn up or not), throws a lot of people. I used to lie in bed and think "I'm going to have to spend the rest of my entire life being an adult and it feels so LONELY." Being ill alone for the for the first time is difficult, I think. For the first time in my life, I couldn't just lie in bed. I had to go to the doctor's myself, pick up my own medication, make myself food. Really, no matter how independent I thought I was before uni, not having your parents behind you to pick up the small pieces of your life is a huge change. My URTI last year actually wasn't so bad, as it was serious enough for my parents to pick me up and take me home. It's flu that's the worst...
I went home twice a year in 1st and 2nd year: Christmas and summer. I think all my friends were the same - we weren't about to relinquish our newly found freedom 
In 3rd year, however, everyone starts missing home for some reason. I ended up visiting about once a month, but one friend went home every 2 weeks!
I'm definitely not planning on returning home after my degree (although my parents are oddly keen on it). I'm hoping to do a postgrad in a different city, if possible.