With the help of our international students - here are some top tips to help you thrive.
You should try and set up a bank account as soon as you get to the UK as many places, including our campuses, are cashless and will only do card payments.
UCAS has some useful information about how to open a UK bank account, along with information on what documents you need to provide. To find this on their website, click here.
You should register for a doctor when you arrive in the UK in case you have any new or ongoing medical conditions that you need help for.
You can find your nearest NHS doctor by using this ‘Find a GP’ site and typing in the postcode of your accommodation. You can find details on how to register on the website of the GP Practice you choose. This usually involves filling out a form with your medical history and contact details.
BUS: if there is somewhere you are planning to go to, check what bus services are running as it is the cheapest and often most frequent transport option.
Use Maps on iPhone or Google Maps on Samsung to see what routes are available, at what time, and where you need to go to catch them.
If you will be commuting to campus using the bus, you might be able to save money by purchasing a bus pass.
TRAIN: for long journeys the best option is to travel via train. If you will be commuting to campus on the train, you could look at getting a railcard, as this will save you 1/3 off your train tickets.
You can find more information about the 16-25 and 26-30 railcards by clicking here.
Download the Trainline app for live updates and to book train tickets online. If you experience any train delays, you can submit a claim to get money back from your ticket by visiting the train company’s website.
You can find cheap and good quality stationary at any supermarket such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s, or Asda, including pens, pads of paper, folders for storing your work, and highlighters if you want to colour code your notes.
Cheaper supermarkets in the UK include Aldi and Lidl, and often sell foods in bulk so you can freeze foods to save money.
Larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s have rewards cards which you can sign up to for free to save money and access discounts.
You will also be able to save money by cooking at home and eating any leftovers in the following days, which will be much cheaper than ordering takeaways or going out to restaurants.
We would recommend getting some reusable boxes or Tupperware so you can bring in lunch for days when you are on campus. This will reduce food waste and save you money by not having to buy food on campus.
If you are in a shared house, you will likely be sharing a fridge and freezer, which means space can be limited. It can be useful to make a meal plan and only buy what you need to reduce food waste and save space.
There are a variety of clothing shops on UK highstreets, and shops such as Primark and TK Maxx are a good way to buy cheaper clothing. This can be especially useful if you are from a warmer climate and need to buy warm clothes for the time you are in the UK. You can find clothes such as coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, which will be essentials for autumn and winter in the UK.
Always keep receipts for clothing, as you usually get a 28-day return policy where they can return and refund or exchange for another item, especially if the item is faulty.
Look out for big sales in the UK, the most common being Black Friday and Boxing day (the day after Christmas day). During these sales there are often big reductions on electronics, which is useful if you need to invest in a new laptop, headphones, or any other technology.
For discounts on restaurants and coffee shops, you can sign up for loyalty cards, for example Nando's, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee, Café Nero, all have reward cards where you can get a free drink after you buy a certain amount.
Below are some websites providing discount codes for clothing, restaurants, or any electrical appliances. You just need to sign up to it using your university email to confirm you are a student, and you can download their apps to keep up to date with all the deals.
UNIDAYS: https://www.myunidays.com/GB/en-GB
TOTUM CARD: https://www.totum.com/
STUDENT BEANS: https://www.studentbeans.com/uk
SAVE THE STUDENT: https://www.savethestudent.org/
A lot of places will also do teacher and NHS discounts. You can usually access these discounts if you are on a teaching or healthcare course by showing your ID card.
Instead of buying all the books for your course, head over to your campus library to see whether they have the books there, as course books can very expensive to buy.
You can also use the Get More Books scheme to suggest to the library potential books that would be useful for your study if they're not already available in the library.
If you are thinking of buying a laptop for university, do not purchase the Microsoft package as the university already offers you Microsoft Office for free as a student. Check out the Free Software page for more details.
