Coping with leaving home for the first time

Bidding farewell to family and friends and leaving home for the first time to go to university can be an experience tinged with mixed emotions as the excitement of starting to make your own way in the world if offset by a fear of the unknown.

Here are a few hints and tips to help banish homesickness and ensure you quickly get acclimatised to university life.

Communication

Never underestimate the positive impact of hearing a familiar voice or seeing a familiar face when you’re away from home. The most conventional ways of keeping in touch with friends, family and loved ways are by telephone, email, social media and even good old-fashioned mail. Online video calls and web conferencing are two other methods of contacting the people that matter with you and sharing pictures, videos and those memorable moments that happen at uni.

Money

Being in control of your own finances is a major responsibility. Get it wrong and you could end up racking up the debt and possibly even having to quit your course and leave as a result of being unable to pay for tuitions fees, rent, food and other bills. Get it right, though, and you’ll learn an important life lesson. One way to budget properly when you receive part of your student loan is to divide it by the number of weeks until your next loan cheque arrives. This’ll give you a clear breakdown of how much money you have to live off on a weekly – and even daily – basis. Get a part-time job to boost your finances, be prudent with your money and avoid using credit cards where possible.

Nightlife

Uni nights out come thick and fast, especially in freshers week and the weeks that follow. While it may be tempting to go out as much as possible, be wary of overdoing it in the first few weeks because it could leave you strapped for cash for the rest of the term. Be sensible with your cash when that first loan cheque clears. It’s worth remembering that you’ll need to buy textbooks and other practical things when you first arrive on campus. It’s a boring way of thinking about it, but common sense will go a long way.

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Tags: coping, going it alone, Leaving home

Category: Student News