Every year, freshers week is one of the biggest events on every student’s calendar! It’s your first chance to meet new people, explore your new city and settle into where you’ll be living for the next year.
There are so many amazing freshers week activities for students to do, including society taster sessions, welcome lectures, games afternoons to meet new people, and nightlife events. We can hardly contain our excitement just thinking about it!
We understand that it’s important for many students to be able to enjoy freshers student life on a budget, which is why we’re helping you make the most of university freshers week, without breaking the bank.
At Nido, we’ve put together a guide on getting ready for university freshers week. This guide will cover the following topics:
- How to live your best freshers student life on a budget
- Must have university supplies once you’ve moved in
- University freshers week activities in a new city
- The best freshers university week activities at your university
Join us as we prepare you for a fun-filled freshers week that you’ll never forget!
How to Live your Best Freshers Student Life on a Budget
University freshers week will give you an experience like no other to meet new people, try new activities and settle into uni life. However, we know that it’s important for you to enjoy student life on a budget and that all these amazing freshers week activities can become expensive if not planned out properly.
At Nido, we’ve put together our top tips for budgeting for student life and beyond to make sure you can live your best life without breaking the bank:
#Make a budget planner
You can make student life on a budget easier than ever with a budget planner. Simply work out your monthly expenses and what you’ll expect to spend on freshers week activities. Once you know how much you need, you can see which events are doable and which ones you can do at another time.
It’s always a good idea to have a money buffer in your budget plan for spontaneous freshers week activities. If you keep a small amount of money aside, when your new friends ask you to go to the pub quiz or for a coffee with them, you won’t need to worry about counting your pennies!
Your university freshers week budget planner expenses should include:
- Expenses such as accommodation, tuition fees, bills and shopping
- Individual freshers events
- Must have university supplies
- Buffer for spontaneous freshers week activities
#Find all the best money saving opportunities before uni starts
It’s not just you who is busy preparing for university freshers week. Many shops, restaurants and businesses will be getting ready for an influx of students into their town or city. Many of these businesses will have student discounts in the first few weeks of uni to encourage you to visit them, and why not take them up on that offer?
Take a look online for any student discounts or student events happening in your town during freshers week. You may also find businesses providing discounts at your university during freshers fairs.
It’s not just freshers week events to look out for, keep an eye out for any back to school sales happening. While you may not be looking for crayons or a fluffy pencil case, many back to school sales include stationary, notebooks and other must have university supplies which will save you money!
#Plan in advance
Planning your university freshers week in advance is one of the best ways to enjoy student life on a budget. There are so many wonderful freshers events for you to go to, but if you don’t plan and prepare then you could run out of money quickly!
You don’t need to plan out 100% of your time, in fact it’s good to leave time to be spontaneous. However, having a rough outline of which freshers week activities you want to go to and how much you might expect to spend is a great idea.
Many universities will offer freshers week passes that give you access to a certain number of events depending on how much you pay. These passes are cheaper than paying for events individually, but only if you go to enough freshers events. Have a think about whether you want to experience everything or just go to a few events here or there. If you want to go to as many events as possible, definitely look into getting a freshers week pass in advance to help with budgeting for student life.
Must Have University Supplies Once you’ve Moved In
Before you move to uni, you’ll have lists upon lists of things to pack and take with you. From healthcare supplies and technology to clothes and toiletries, there are so many things to remember. However, there are supplies that you probably won’t buy until you arrive at uni which means you can use university freshers week to buy your must have university supplies!
#Decorations for your flat
One of the most exciting parts of moving into student accommodation is decorating your new room! You can personalise your room and make it your own before your course starts, which will help you settle in quicker. You and your flatmates may even decide to decorate the communal areas together which is a great way of bonding and making friends!
Here are our must have university supplies for decorating your flat:
- Command strips (these are a lifesaver at uni because they don’t leave a mark on the walls and are super easy to hang things up with)
- Pins to put things up on your pinboard with
- Posters
- Photos of friends and family
- LED lights or fairy lights
- Additional decor such as houseplants, statues, ornaments and anything else that makes a room feel like home
#Course supplies
It’s a good idea to wait until you get to university to buy your course supplies. Often, campus bookshops will have deals during freshers week where you can buy your course books in bundles, saving money. Also, during university freshers week, you can check out the library and see what books they already have. However, it’s not just books that you’ll need to buy for your course.
Our must have university supplies for your course include:
- Books and course materials
- Notebooks for each of your modules
- Pens and highlighters
- Folders for each module to keep yourself organised
- USB stick
- Rucksack to carry your books to lectures
#Kitchen utensils
When you’re thinking about what to take to university, kitchen utensils will probably be high up on your list. However, it’s a good idea to wait until you’ve moved into your accommodation before buying your kitchen supplies. If you’re sharing a flat with lots of other people, you may decide to share certain supplies, or your accommodation may have provided some supplies for you.
When you do go shopping for your must have university supplies, consider the following:
- Bowls and plates
- Cutlery
- Pots and pans
- Sharp knives and chopping boards
- Oven gloves
- Baking trays
- Grater
- Mixing bowls
- Scales
- Tin opener
- Sieve/strainer
- Anything else you use on a regular basis
University Freshers Week Activities in a New City
Are you looking for freshers week activities that aren’t part of the freshers events schedule but will help you settle into your new city, or even country?
Whether you live in the same city as you grew up in or have never visited before, university freshers week is the ultimate opportunity to explore your new city before lectures start and you get busy with studying. Be sure to plan in the following when organising your freshers week activities:
#Be tourists for the week
That’s right, unleash your inner tourist and do all the sightseeing you could possibly imagine before your lectures begin. If you’re budgeting for student life, becoming a tourist and exploring the city is a great idea because there are so many things you can do for free!
One of the best things you can do is to walk around your new city and get a feel for the hustle and bustle of daily life. Every city will have landmarks and a history to learn about, so get your walking boots on and take in all the sights of your brilliant new city.
The best part? Anything you don’t get around to doing, you can add to your to do list and explore on your weekends once term starts.
#Explore your local area/amenities
Sticking with a similar theme of exploring, you should also take time during university freshers week to explore your local town and the amenities you’ll need on a regular basis.
This will help you to settle in quicker and give you peace of mind that you know where everything is when you need them. You can always go on a mini-adventure with your new flat mates to find the following places and bond with them at the same time:
- Shopping facilities (grocery and non-essential)
- Laundry if you don’t have on-site facilities
- Public transport
- Restaurants
#Bond with your flatmates
Moving in with people you’ve never met before may seem daunting and overwhelming, but everyone’s in the same boat which is why it’s a great idea to use your university freshers week to get to know your new flatmates.
Whether you spend time in the communal areas learning about your flatmates, explore the city together, or go to freshers events with them, there are countless opportunities during university freshers week to bond with your flatmates.
It’s not just your flatmates you can get to know throughout freshers week, you can also go to freshers events that will help you meet new people on your course before it starts. Your faculty will most likely host welcome lectures and events, so be sure to go to as many as possible!
The Best University Freshers Week Activities at your University
One of the most exciting parts of university freshers week is getting settled into your new surroundings. From making new friends to getting your bearings around campus in time for lectures to begin, there’s so many things you can do during freshers week to get your uni experience off to a great start!
Here are our top tips for preparing for freshers student life on a budget and making the most of it once it arrives:
#Plan your week out before you go
We think planning out your freshers week activities in advance is so important that we’ve mentioned it twice! Yes, planning or booking freshers events in advance will help you with budgeting for student life, but it also makes sure you can use your time to do as much as possible.
Throughout freshers week, both your university and faculty will put on freshers events, keep an eye on social media and your uni’s website for any information. You can plan the rest of your time around your freshers week activities, from exploring the city to checking off items from your university supplies list.
Remember to leave time in your schedule for spontaneous freshers events and activities though!
#Get to know your campus/buildings
Getting to know your surroundings is really important and there’s no better time to do this than university freshers week. Whether your university is campus-based or in different buildings around the city, you need to get an idea of where you’re going before you start lectures.
If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at the university timetable that you’ll likely have been given before term starts and find the buildings that you’ll be spending the most time in. Here are our other top places to look for during freshers week:
- Library
- Gym
- Student union bar
- Faculty common room
- Any on-campus shops
#Join a society
University freshers week is all about NEW: New friends, new accommodation, new surroundings, why not add a new hobby to this list?
Before you start uni, take a look on your university’s website at a list of all the societies you can join. There’s no limit on how many you can be part of so let your imagination run wild! Have you ever thought about joining the tennis society? How about the literature society?
It’s a great idea to spend your university freshers week learning more about all the brilliant societies you could join. Most societies will offer taster sessions throughout freshers week so you can factor them into your schedule in advance. Many universities also have a freshers fair as one of their main freshers events so you can see all the societies in one room and learn about them all at the same time!
Still Looking for your Ideal Student Accommodation?
Are you ready for an amazing university freshers week now? We’ve covered everything you need to enjoy student life on a budget, buy all the supplies you could possibly need, explore your new city and get to know your university. It sounds like fresher week is going to be busy for you!
Wherever you are in the world, no matter the city you’re in, freshers week is the start of your university journey. Whether you want to go all out and sign up to every freshers event you see, or are more focused on preparing for the start of your lectures the following week, you can use our guide to make every second count.
As freshers week and the start of term approaches, have you sorted out your student accommodation yet or are you still looking for your dream match? Spoiler alert: we may have just found it for you!
We’re Nido and we have stylish student accommodation across Europe in countries such as the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Germany.
Whether you’re studying in Cork, Newcastle, Lisbon or Munich, we’ve got a range of accommodation types for you, from private studios with your very own kitchenette, to apartments with shared kitchens.
At Nido, we believe the most important thing a student can do is create the ideal study-life balance, which is why we have a combination of study facilities and social areas. Don’t forget about our wellness rooms that you can unwind and de-stress in after a long day!Does this sound up your street? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with us if you have any questions and a member of our friendly team will be more than happy to help.