What to take to university?

As a student moving away to university you’re likely to be looking at your bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room and any other room you may have at your home and thinking 'Should I bring it all?'...

Well the answer to this question is of course subjective but let’s point out a few things that may help you make your decision.

• You’re likely to be moving in to a single bedroom with very limited storage space and shared communal kitchen, living and bathroom space.
  
• More often than not you’ll be moving out of your first student accommodation after 9 months.
  
• You will have to move anything you take, usually yourself by car.
  
• Think about how many of your clothes you actually wear when you’re at home, what makes you think you’ll wear more than that when you are at university?
  
• Do you really need all your posters and nik naks? It’s nice to make your room feel homely but the more you take the more you can lose, have stolen or get damaged.
  
• What are you likely to cook for yourself? Do you really need a sandwich maker, a deep fat fryer, a blender, a chopper and every other kitchen appliance under the sun?

Remember that stress is very common at university or college and the more stuff you bring the more you have to think about, look after and move, which can ultimately cause you even more stress! Think about it.

Desktop PC vs Laptop

Again, there is no definite answer as to what you should take to university and the actual specification of any computer you require for your course will differ massively between courses. Some people will really need a printer in their room for use as and when they require and other people will be fine waiting to use a printer in their college or university.

The main consideration for a desktop PC vs a laptop is the size and portability of each. You may find that your university or college does not offer a particularly large selection of computers for use on campus and that you need to bring in your own computer, in which case clearly you will require a laptop.

Alternatively you may find that you never need to move your computer from your room and you can simply transfer work by email or a USB pen, in which case you may benefit from having a desktop pc, which can be cheaper and include a larger screen etc…

In most cases you will not require a computer the minute you arrive at university so you may wish to wait a week or two, do some research about what you need for your course and then look at investing in a computer.

Remember, some people might not need to own a computer at all!

Student contents/possessions Insurance

You may be the sort of person who believes in insurance against every single eventuality or you may be absolutely anti insurance but the chances are that when you start university or college it will be talked about a lot in your introductory and freshers weeks.

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Obviously depending on what you take to university will affect how much insurance you will require, if you require it at all.

We’re not here to tell you to go and buy student insurance and we’re not here to scare you in to thinking that everything you own will be stolen off you within 30 seconds of arriving at university or college.

However, think about what you own that may be easily stolen, For example, if you are at university in London and you own a bike that is locked on the street then you may want to seriously consider bicycle insurance as a lot of bikes are stolen in London.

Laptop insurance is very common amongst students as they are easy to steal and regularly go missing from bedrooms in halls of residence when someone leaves a door open somewhere or when you simply leave your laptop at your desk for 2 minutes when you nip to the toilet.

Get an Endsleigh student contents insurance quote here >>