5 Things To Make Your University Experience Easier.

Paperchase noto stone week to view diary 2015

This is a list of the five things that have made my university experience easier. I thought I would share them on here to hopefully benefit those about to leave for uni or those already attending. Click on all the pictures to view the items on their websites, all of the pictures are of the products I purchased. 

A Diary

Getting a diary was one of the first things I did when coming to Newcastle. It may seem obvious but I know a lot of people who go without one and never remember or know their hand in/coursework/social dates. It has been one of the most helpful products to make my life easier here. Obviously a diary is for keeping dates in and when it comes to writing all your social, coursework and exam dates in it becomes somewhat invaluable to you if you use it properly. Some things I would suggest: 

• Get into the habit of writing every date that is relevant to you or your course as soon as you get it, if you leave it and think you can write it in later there is more chance of forgetting something important. 
  
• Keep it on you all the time so you never miss a date. This also makes it easier to refer to at any point in the day.
• Adding things like term and semester dates (Start and Finish) will also help you plan out what you can do whilst in university term time. 

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Canon Pixma MG4250

A Printer 

I have found that having a printer has been hugely helpful too. When it comes to printing work or readings or even travel documents a printer makes things effortless, especially for last minute work printing (Which happens a lot) I wanted a printer that is incredibly simple to use with no bluetooth or anything, just a wire to my laptop to print easily, and this one does a good job. So many university printers are hard to use and are usually very busy. They also only give you a certain limited amount of credits to print with, and are funny about photocopying books. So this makes the following a lot easier to do on your own printer: 

• Print out all uni work.
  
• I scan and print drum recital materials and readings for myself and for my examiners.  
• Print travel documents, like boarding passes and bus tickets for travelling home.

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Memory foam mattress topper from Amazon 3"

A Mattress Topper 

Although this type of product can be seen as luxury and people feel they have no need for it, sleep is extremely important, sleeping comfortably is hugely beneficial. This something I also bought before my first day in halls. There are many things mattress toppers are good for and you can find good mattress toppers at the moment ranging from £20 - £70. Mine is made of memory foam which I would strongly advise, but both memory foam and quilted mattress toppers would be also serve the same purpose. 

• It stops you having to sleep on the same mattress surface of the many that had your "new" bed before you.  
  

• Comfortability purposes, a lot of university beds are cheaply made and broken in some way or another, so this will just ensure you to have a really good sleep all year round.

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Online/Mobile Banking

This is something I have only just got myself. The typical student is seen as never having money. This I feel would be a lot less true if students had a constant monitor of their finances. I have certainly stopped spending a lot more than I would have if I had to go to an ATM every time I wanted my balance. Before I would adopt the mentality that if I can't see it then I can spend whatever now and worry later, which is why cards can be very dangerous.  In a society where mostly everything is online and paid for by card being able to closely track your finances is hugely beneficial, especially as a student. 

• To be able to keep a constant watch on your finances will mean you will spend a lot less on things you don't really need 
• Transfer money easily
  
• See your in's and outgoings to see when new loans, house payments and everything else will come in and out  

Emails directly to your phone 

This is also something a lot of students don't do, which also couldn't be easier or more helpful. There are many plus sides to having your emails go directly to your phone. Universities will normally always contact you through email for a multitude of different things. You will get allocated an email at the start of your university course and this is what they will use to keep constant contact. Having university emails go straight to your phone will mean you can read and reply much quicker than checking when you get home or in uni, keeping up to the minute on latest information from the university. This will definitely come in handy, as  things like last minute lecture changes, important notices, updates and meeting times are a regular occurrence. All my emails go to my phone allowing me to respond to anything immediately. 


Hope all of this helps ! 


D.L 

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'Song of the week' 
'Amber Run - 5AM'