Ideas thread for what to take/not take to Uni.......

[MissMarplesBloomers]

We have found already that the student forum on the Warwick Uni website has been a valuabel resource.

Also advice from past students on here & other friends so thought I'd share a few "ooh ...good tip" moments that we've already had as the lists are mounting up!!

-Keep stuff to take to a minimum, check the list of stuff provided first or else the kitchens end up with 8/10 sets of everything by the end of first week.

-ditto for groceries, stick to dry/tins so tehy last longer & the shared cupboard in the kitchen/fridge shelf may not be that big!

• plain white china/crocks can be muddled/lost/appropriated with all the other IKEA stuff in the kitchen, a couple of granny's patterned plates will stand out as yours & can be found cheaply in charity shops. Ditto cutlery. Then no biggy if it doesn't come home at end of term.

-some halls provide linen/bedding but having your own from home helps with the settling in. Eg DD is taking her double duvet & own covers as that is snuggly on a single bed.

-lots of pound coins for laundry & buses.

-Double up the amount of underwear you pack, you'll be too busy the first week to do washing!

Loads more I'm sure, all little things but useful!

Please share your top tips

I do remember my friend complaining at lack of basic cooking stuff - she was a competent cook and had to improvise rolling pins from wine bottles etc

Don't go and buy your PFB a whole lot of brand new shiny kitchen essentials. I still (10 16 years later) remember the spoilt brat who screamed like a toddler when someone scratched one of her brand new pans. If you do have to buy something new (I got given a new wok, which was invaluable and the only saucepan I needed) explain to your DC that it will get used by other people who will not look after it, but that IT DOESN'T MATTER.

Agree on the wine/beer supply for bonding on the first few nights.

A large frameless frame with lots of photos in of friends (and a couple of your family) can make a room feel homely - but not too many pictures of your family otherwise people think you're a saddo. {Harsh but true}

A rag rug or ikea rug for the floor by your bed - again, makes it feel homely. Resist the temptation to buy matching curtains, rugs, duvets and pillows for your DC - again, it will look like they're tied to Mummy's apron strings.

Check and check again regarding:
anything electrical (is it allowed)
anything that you put on fire (candles)
anything that you want to attach to the wall or the door (what attachment methods are permitted)

If you have a DD send them with a wheat bag to heat up in the microwave for period pains, comforting when Mum isn't there to make hot chocolate and fill hot water bottles, safer too.

First aid set with painkillers, lemsip and plasters. Make sure they know not to take lemsip and paracetamol plus a quick lesson on what to do if someone is really drunk, stick them on their side and get someone sober to stay with them.

A corkscrew/bottle opener and tin opener. A key chain to attach to belt so they don't forget/lose keys on nights out.

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but a TV licence is needed if they have a TV in their halls room.

My dad sent me off (this is some years ago now...) with a shoe box of emergency supplies to be opened if I was feeling miserable/lonely - a miniature of gin, a can of tonic, a packet of posh (i.e. non-studenty, probably with chocolate) biscuits, probably a novel or a magazine, a £10 note. I can't remember what else, but I remember thinking it was lovely, especially once homesickness/hangovers/disastrous men all started to hit home after the first few weeks of debauchery.

MissMarples Glad to hear we aren't the only ones! Have to admit to sitting here with a pen and paper

Love the idea of a photo board that someone mentioned! DD's birthday falls just before she leaves and her best friend has sneakily asked me for some family photos to go on a huge board that a few of them are making for her! Think there may be tears all round

I randomly stumbled across this thread whilst googling and joined the site to say my piece :) I graduated last year so things still fresh in my mind...

• I was the most disorganized student ever - I once missed an exam because I got Tuesdays and Thursdays mixed up! This completely saved my life and my degree... www.amazon.co.uk/Dodo-Acad-Pad-Desk-Diary-Diary-doodle-memo-message-engagement-calendar-book/dp/0857700405 - you get a double page spread for each week, one side is a blank timetable that you can organize however you like, and the other is a blank page to write notes, assignments etc. I had all my lectures, deadlines, sports practices, nights out etc on there and it worked really well.

• Fancy dress items - student nights are all about the fancy dress, freshers week WILL feature a school night (pack a white shirt and old school tie) and also a UV night so a massive supply of glow sticks and UV paint will make for a very popular flat mate! If you have them lying around then other popular fancy dress themes that will come up are pirates, cops/robbers, superheroes/villains. Don't worry too much about these though - half the fun is trawling charity shops for suitable items.

• Don't forget swimming costume (actual costume, not just bikini) in case any of the water based sports (swimming, diving, water polo, underwater hockey, sailing, sub aqua, kayaking, canoe polo) take your child's fancy - uni is all about trying new things so expect any mildly sporty people to take up a new sport at some point. Also normal gym gear/ trainers etc.

• Don't be tempted to hang around for too long on dropping off day - my parents basically dumped me with all of my stuff and left me to it. I personally find it easier meeting my peers without my parents in the background avidly watching to see how well i'm going to make friends. Get them to their room, say goodbyes and leave money for first night pizza/take out/booze as socializing will take precedent over cooking. Also leave them to unpack with door open and music on - makes for a much more welcoming atmosphere to meet new flatmates. Posters from bedrooms at home make halls feel instantly familiar.

• Getting post in halls is really nice so send some goodies - ones that can be shared with friends/ flatmates always go down well. My friends mum always sent her stuff and so we all automatically liked her (the mum, we like our friend on her own merits).

• Put dvds etc in those travel sleeves so that you don't have to cart around all of the plastic cases, we watched loads of dvds in first year - nice night was always take out and dvd to recover from a week of hard partying.

• Now is a good time to check student forums (thestudentroom is the most popular) for uni specific threads - I found a few of my flatmates online before we had even met which was nice - already had had a few convo's over facebook before we actually met - took some of the scariness out of the first day)

• If they have friends going to the same uni then advise that they don't meet up until towards the end of freshers week, best to bond with flatmates and coursemates - I knew some people that came in pairs and were known as 'the other two' for the first few days as they spent most of their time together.

Hope this helps :)

NO to bringing bathroom scales!

I found really helpful:

A wall planner of the academic year. These were given out in freshers week, iirc.

A pencil sharpener and rubber

A4 files and plastic wallets to organise my modules and work asap

Get local taxi numbers saved in phone

Hungryhouse and justeat apps on phone

cake in a mug recipe and ingredients going into our pack too.

ha this thread makes me laugh because my poor nephew has to try and get rid of tons of stuff every year. his mum resupplies everything again - if the police raided they would think he had a real issue with kitchen knives as he gets a new set every year. He has started taking the clothes straight to charity as he is happy with the ones he has!
throw away plates and cutlery are a must for the times when you cannot actually get to the kitchen sink because it is so full of others washing.

I have not read the whole thread but IME you need a Mattress Cover !!

My flat mate's mum sent her off with a box of space cookies... I was sick

A hot water bottle is essential to keep your feet warm while pulling an all-nighter at your desk
A nice refillable water bottle is really nice to have. Bottled water is expensive and there is usually somewhere you can refill a bottle.
Cleaning products and washing tablets cost a fortune, and weigh a ton from the supermarket. Lovely to have a few months supply when you are dropped off. Plus if the tools are there, it's a lot easier to encourage a minimum level of hygiene and the dreaded exit clean isn't quite so bad.
Wellies / snowboots if you have them.

A packet of Beechams for week 3, when they get Freshers Flu.
An emergency tenner in a special holder on a key ring.
A bike, pump, lights and helmet.

Haven't read all posts so apologies if crossing but when I went (a long time ago) my Mum made me take tea and coffee. I didn't drink coffee then so I was baffled. But she said, wisely, you might want to use offering a beverage as an ice breaker. So I also had a bag of sugar.

She also made me a fruit cake.

And then used to send me them occasionally. They were much appreciated. Although I had to ask her to double them up as they disappeared so fast in the common room...

Framed photos, any end-of-school/college memorobilia (e.g. signed book/t-shirt)- the most useful things I had were plug extensions, mini fridge, toastie maker (jazzes up verycheap bread and cheese no end) and heated airer.

I'm skim-reading here so it may have already been mentioned but get at least 4 passport photos done before heading off.

Yearly bus pass, sports/gym card, NUS card.... probably more if I can think back that far all needed a picture.

The queues for the photobooth at the beginning of the year were epic.

An open mind is essential

I graduated over 20 years ago and still have some of the blue and white stripey fake Cornishware and blue handled bistro cutlery my mum bought me to go with.

MrsWedgeAntilles - just read about the Barbie duvet cover. I spent three years sleeping in a single bed with my uni boyfiend under a collection of children's characters - Thomas the Tank Engine, a fire engine, even a Baywatch Pamela Anderson cover

There's a cracking cook book called "how to boil an egg". It's a bit like the old (70's?!) marmite cook book - no frills and fancies, no pictures, but just really good basic instructions on how to cook cheaply for one, and easily for a group. It was written by a mum who's son was going to uni, and I had it for freshers and still have it now eight years on - it beats the posh picture recipe books every time!

I second the fancy dress stuff, and also a couple of 'nice' things - there's often a freshers ball, so it's good to have clothes for that!

I think the other thing that's good to remember is that, as long as you've got the essentials, it's not like early september is the only time to buy stuff - you (student or parent) can pick something up any time of the term, and that can limit the 'just in case' packing. I picked up stuff like a toasty maker half way through my first term, because a friend in a different halls had one that we thought was amazing...

All the essential things have been mentioned, but my 2 tips would be take towels that are big but not too thick. I was the envy of my friends because my towels dried really quickly in the dryer. They came from somewhere like Wilkinsons and saw me through 3 years of uni and are still being used today when I take the DC's swimming!!. Also my mum packed me a mattress protector - I raised my eyes at that one, but when I saw the state of the mattress I was glad I had it.