Beyond the student union building

As soon as you start at university you will be bombarded with information about finance, accommodation, and study skills. Every local pub will be vying for your custom, every local clothing shop fighting to get you to spend your money with them. The student market is huge with millions of pounds being spent in the UK alone. Students can easily use more than £2,000 a year on living costs alone, without even thinking about accommodation. With over 1 million full-time students in the UK at any one time, that is a lot of money up for spending. 

A lot of this money will be spent within the university itself, through its official accommodation agency and its various shops, bars and services. But on-campus businesses are not the only ones to cater to the needs of the modern student. There is life beyond the four walls of the student union building, or indeed beyond actual bricks and mortar. These are just some of the independent services that I have found over the last few years which could be of interest to you.

Job Shop

Forget about the university careers and job centre. Some employers can take advantage of your student status to get cheaper labour, which is fair enough. However, you should consider selling your services and skills to someone through StudentGems.com. This is a site where you can register your skills and talents (such as copywriting, photography, or web development) and find someone to pay you for one-off projects. Yes, they’re still wanting cheaper labour, but you’ll probably earn more than working in a local take-away and you can build up your portfolio in the meantime.

Accommodation

Official university accommodation is usually better quality than private accommodation, mostly, though it can be more expensive. There are alternatives to both university and private accommodation though. Through UniHomeSwap.co.uk, you can find another student to swap your rooms in your family house with. This won’t suit everyone, but is worth a look and could save you and your financial sponsors (i.e. Mum and Dad) thousands of pounds a year.

Art

If your university projects have the potential to earn you money, then you need to look further afield than the university campus. Although some universities have business development and start up facilities and resources to help you kick-start your fledgling business, these sometimes tend toward business in the science and technology sectors.  If your potential lies more in the art production industry, then take a look at BuyStudentArt.co.uk, who help sell your products to the general public on a commission basis.

Textbooks

Most universities have a bookshop and very handy they are too. They always have a good stock of the exact books your lecturers have recommended for your course. But textbooks are not cheap and honestly, you won’t use them that much, though it’s always better to have them than not come the essay deadlines. Try using a site like us, TheBookPond.com to buy your books from another student first. Or check out your department noticeboard for buying used books and other essential course items. 

Careers

Your university careers service is going to be one of the best on-campus resources available to you, even if you don’t realise it until the very end. Please use them. Don’t forget though that there are other companies to help you in your graduate job search. Most of us will have heard of milkround.com, but what about newer and smaller companies like giveagradago.com? Always worth a look to broaden your reach. 

What independent companies have you found useful that you would recommend to other UK university students?

The battle between e-books and traditional textbooks

I have said it before. I am a huge fan of traditional printed media. I think that certain publications will weather the storm that has been whipped up by the introduction and development of e-books, indeed some publications will thrive on it. However, I am more cynical about the application of technology to university textbooks.

This infographic below (totally borrowed by the way - Source: http://www.onlinedegrees.org/e-textbooks-vs-print-textbooks) shows how university/college textbooks fare against their up-and-coming e-book rivals. 

The one thing that rings true with me, and the biggest driver behind my development of www.thebookpond.com was the fact that real books can be re-sold. If you look at the price of buying a new book and then selling it at a reduced price, more often than not, it's a better value alternative to e-books or textbook rental. That's my thinking anyway.

What do you think? Do you agree with the facts on the infographic?

Some advice for new mature students

We're not all teenagers, you know!

Mature students have different expectations from university and are often looking for different outcomes from studying than younger students. For many mature students though, having life experience does not make attending university and studying any less daunting.


This is a guest post from Sian, a mature student who blogs over at offcumden.com.

Have you been accepted at university? Are you over 25?

Last year I was in the same position as you. Here is my guide to the first year of university as a mature student.

Fresher's week.

• I have to admit that I only went in twice in Fresher's week, to register and to go to a course outline lecture. I live a long way away from uni so I knew I wouldn't get a chance to join any of the clubs or societies. If you live closer, or even on campus, then there are so many activities that you can sign up for. There are loads of socials as well.
• I think Fresher's week is mainly aimed at settling people into university life and getting to know people on nights out.
• Be grateful that you are not 18 or 19 again. So many of them are having a really tough time away from home for the first time.
• Expect that people will be impressed by you having a car! It surprised me but I guess they thought I was the same age.

First few weeks of the first term

• Talk to everyone you can, in lectures, seminars, common room, toilets, wherever.
• Don't admit how old you are (unless you are asked obviously). I found that as soon as I admitted to being older quite a few people stopped talking to me! Luckily I had made some good friends by then so it didn't matter so much.
• Try and find other mature students on your course. I didn't have any doing the same course as me but there were others studying different subjects who were in the same college as me.
• Work out your timetable and stick to it. If you are anything like me then you will have children, housework and a husband to juggle as well as university. I made a timetable and stuck to it.
• If you want to talk to 18 year old boys, it seems the thing to learn about is Pokemon! Don't admit to having played it on your Game Boy though. It makes you look really old!

Expect the unexpected

• Your lecturer might accidentally show you porn on YouTube during a seminar. You know that he will ALWAYS check the link he is about to click on in the future. The look on his face will stick with you forever!
• When a boy turns up covered in red paint to a tutorial and smelling of booze, don't be surprised when he admits to having just woken up in bed with a boy and a red girl! To be fair, he did come to the tutorial, most people wouldn't have bothered.
• If you are studying more than one subject, don't expect that the departments will communicate with each other. Indeed, I have found the majority of administration to be frustrating and completely inflexible towards mature students.
• Don't expect the amount student finance have told you that you will receive is a definite amount. It can and possibly will change, especially if you have given them childcare costs.

Organise

• You have very little time. Make the most of all of it.
• Treat university like work. I am there 9-5. When not in seminars or lectures, I am in the library. This way I don't have to work in the evenings.
• If you drive to university then record your notes and play them to yourself on the journey. There is more chance that you will learn them then.

Relax

• Learning is tiring. 
• Juggling everything in life is tiring.
• Commuting to university is tiring.
• Make some time for yourself and grab every second that you get.
• Don't worry about housework, one day you will get the place straight!

Congratulations. You are going to have an amazing time. You will meet some great people. It is hard work but really is a fabulous experience.


Thanks to Sian for sharing her experience so far with us. If you are a mature student starting university soon, we wish you very well, and hope you have a good experience, even if it differs a little from that of the younger ones around you.

We have been featured........

Thanks to our friends at student accommodation know-it-alls unihomeswap.co.uk, we have been featured on a neat little video. It is aimed at sixth form students and is designed to help them make an informed choice on university accommodation, exploring the different options available and the pros and cons of each. 

We have been name checked in the money saving tips section towards the end. Have a look. Feel free to share this with any prospective students that you know. As graduates who have spent time at university themselves, we think there is some great advice here from people who obviously know their onions.

Thank you!