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Student Life

Whatuni Investigates: The First Term at University

Wondering what the first term of university is going to be like? We’ve done a bit of research, had a little help and asked former students, all to answer the question…What’s the first term at university REALLY like?

Eleni Cashell
by Eleni Cashell

We asked over 300 students, what was your first term like? And here’s what they said:

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How Much Money Do Students Spend?

spending money
image via gurl

According to our survey, 29% of students spend between £2,000 and £4,000 in their first term, meaning many students spend well over their student loan in the first term. 12% of students spent between £4,000 - £6,000 in their first term, while 3% spent a whopping £10,000 or more. That’s the entire student loan in a single term!

But this isn’t totally surprising. According to research by HSBC, the average student spends £3,304 and 58% of their annual student loan within the first 100 days of starting their studies.

Unsurprisingly this can have a massive effect on their financial situation in the long term, and in HSBC’s survey, 24% of students admitted to borrowing money, using a credit card or entering their overdraft before the first term was over.

Lauren Capon is a graduate from the University of Nottingham and remembers all too well the temptation of having money in the bank in her first term. She says,

"For many freshers, it's the most money they've ever had in their bank accounts, and it can be all-too tempting to blow it on those things you've always wished you could afford.

"If I could give one piece of financial advice to freshers, it's to record all your spending - even the few pounds you spend here and there as it can be these that add up the most. You can find several great spending log apps available to download on your phone which show you a breakdown of what you're spending, and more importantly what you're spending it on (guilt tripping is key to success, if the 'going out' and 'clothes' categories begin to overtake 'food' and 'essentials'!)"

 

Which Students Are Spending the Most?

money
image via buzzfeed

According to data from HSBC, Students in Newcastle Upon-Tyne spend the most money £3,725, in the first 100 days, that’s almost £40.00 a day! Students in Norwich (£3,653), Brighton (£3,621), Canterbury (£3,501) and then London (£3,461) are the next biggest spenders.  While Belfast based students (£2,096) and Sheffield (£2,889) spent the least.

However, students in Liverpool are getting through the largest percentage of their loan (68%) in the first 100 days, followed by Canterbury (64%) and Plymouth (64%).

 

What Do Students Spend Their Money On?

shopping
image via giphy

According to our survey, housing is taking most of their money, with 51% saying rent was their main spend, followed by books (28%). And some subjects are affecting student’s bank balances more than others.

According to research from musicMagpie, Engineering students spend the most on their course books, splashing out a third of their first term’s maintenance loan on text books (£607.37). This is closely followed by Nursing and Psychology textbooks in the top three most expensive list (£464.51 and £317.69 respectively). Surprisingly, law undergraduates spend the least on first year text books (£105.22)

Shockingly, some students are spending more money on nights out and socialising than they did on food, with 13% claiming their partying took most of their money, compared to 4% spending it on the weekly shop. Which considering most students told us they made over 20 friends in the first term is a costly party…

Nuna Syeda, head of current accounts at HSBC said: “The first 100 days of university are a whirlwind of social engagements with endless pressure to mix and mingle, all whilst adjusting to living independently and for many, managing their finances for the first time. This can take its toll on student bank balances.

“There are several learning curves students must overcome, notably keeping their finances under control without running out of money before the first term is over and juggling a new social life.  Students need to be aware that due to course requirements and setting up in a new home, outgoings may be greater at the start.”

 

Student Learning

learning
image via pinterest

So how much are lectures actually costing students? Well according to research from Voucherbox, who looked at how much degrees cost based on the number of hours’ students spend in lecture halls and seminar rooms, students are paying an average of £350 a week for their course. That means in the first term alone they could be paying around £4,200.

And not all courses are offering the same value for money either. In fact, Voucherbox went onto find that science subjects are much better value for money than arts subjects.

They figured out that biology students will on average have 22 contact hours a week, while a history student tends to have around 8 hours. Consequently, a history student will pay £38.0 per hour while a biology student will pay £18.10 per hour. That’s almost three times as much for less contact hours.

And it seems like the cliché of lazy students missing lectures is completely unfounded, as our survey revealed that actually 72% of students only missed between 0-5 lectures in the first term. Although we do have slight concerns for the 1.54% of students who told us they missed between 30-40 lectures.

So, what about the workload? Well it seems like universities are going easy on freshers during their first term, with 53% saying they had between 0-5 essays in their first few months of university. Although spare a thought for the 1% who had over 30 essays to complete before they headed home for Christmas break!

 

Student Life

student life
image via studentmoneysaver

Despite having hundreds of societies to choose from during fresher’s week, most students (75%) only join between 1-3 societies in their first term. Although three students told us they’d joined between 12-15 societies…we suspect these might be the same students who spent over £10,000 and missed over 40 lectures…

Although only joining a few societies doesn’t seem to have an impact on the number of hours’ students were socialising each week. In fact, 22% are hanging out with their friends between 3-6 hours a week. And 10% can’t get enough of socialising, spending over 30 hours a week with their friends.

And what about their romantic life? Well 47% of students go to university decide to be single before they head off in the first place. But true love really can conquer all, with the majority of coupled up students staying together and lasting their first term apart (37%). 

 

Home Comforts

home
image via tenor

Turns out freshers get pretty homesick, with 23% of students calling home either every day or up to three times a week. In fact, out of all of our survey respondents, only a small percentage didn’t call home every week. Although we do feel for the parents of the 9% who said they never called home during the first term!

But all these phone calls seem to have had an effect on student’s desire to actually visit home, with the majority of students (29%) never actually going home in the first term, with another 24% going home less than once a month.

 

Case Study

We asked new Hull student Eve to keep a diary of her first week of uni. Eve is studying marketing (with professional placement year) at Hull University Business School. Here’s how it went…

 

When Eve arrived in Hull

 ‘It was hard to imagine what university life will be like, until you get here. I think everyone is nervous about making friends, but that’s the same for all of us, so that really helps. I have already met so many different people and have really enjoyed getting to know my flatmates. I live in a mixed flat, right on campus.

“Cooking for myself has been good and have realised if you cook something for a flatmate then you can call in a favour another time!

Of course, I miss home sometimes, but I think that is normal, and Hull isn’t as far away as people think.”

Here is a diary of Eve’s first eight days on campus: going out, money spent, food, sleep and her tips for making the most of freshers’ week.

 

Saturday

Woke up at: 8:30 am

Number hours of sleep: 8 1/2

Went to bed at: 2 am

Evening meal: pie and peas

Met new people/friends at: New accommodation and party

Freshers’ activity: Welcome event at the club at the student union

Money spent: £20

Highlight of the day: meeting flat mates

What have I learnt today/Tips: Keep my door open using doorstop so that people can easily talk to me

Texted home? yes

Missing home? yes

 

Sunday

Woke up at: 10 am

Number hours of sleep: 8

Went to bed at: 3 am

Evening meal: Pizza

Met new people/friends at: icebreaker party at a club

Freshers’ activity: Icebreaker

Money spent: £24 on drinks and pizza

Highlight of the day: going out with flatmates

What have I learnt today/Tips: Get together with flatmates as soon as possible to get to know them

Texted home? yes

Missing home? yes

 

Monday

Woke up at: 9:30 am

Number hours of sleep: 6 and 1/2

Went to bed at: 11 pm

Evening meal: Spaghetti Bolognese

Met new people/friends at: welcome talk at business school

Freshers’ activity: Night in with my flatmates

Money spent: £13 on drinks and crisps

Highlight of the day: Eating my homemade Spaghetti Bolognese

What have I learnt today/Tips: sometimes it is good to stay in with your flatmates and not go out.

Texted home? yes

Missing home? no

 

Tuesday

Woke up at: 9:30 am

Number hours of sleep: 10 and 1/2

Went to bed at: 4:30 am

Evening meal: Spaghetti Bolognese

Met new people/friends at: Freshers event

Freshers’ activity: Went into the city centre, great music and packed-out freshers’ night

Money spent: £15

Highlight of the day: Getting free candyfloss at the freshers’ event

What have I learnt today/Tips: Always make just a little more food, as not only could you save it for yourself (for another day), but could also offer some to a flatmate.

Texted home? yes

Missing home? no

 

Wednesday

Woke up at:  10 am

Number hours of sleep: 5 1/2

Went to bed at: 2 am

Evening meal: Pizza

Met new people/friends at: Met new people on my Marketing course. Also, bumped into someone from my old college, and I didn't even know she was studying here so that was great

Freshers’ activity: Beach Party at the club in the student union

Money spent: £10

Highlight of the day: dressing flatmate up in a Hawaiian outfit!

What have I learnt today/Tips: if you go to an event which is fancy dress, even if it is out of your comfort zone, just dress up because most people will be, so you won’t look like the odd one out!

Texted home? yes

Missing home? no

 

Thursday

Woke up at: 9am

Number hours of sleep: 7

Went to bed at: 11pm

Evening meal: homemade curry

Met new people/friends at: Freshers event

Freshers’ activity: Society fair

Money spent: £0

Highlight of the day: having a night in watching films

What have I learnt today/Tips: even if you are not thinking about joining a society just go to the fair because there might be something that you didn’t know was there that you may be interested in

Texted home? yes

Missing home? no

 

Friday

Woke up at: 9 am

Number hours of sleep: 10

Went to bed at: 12 am

Evening meal: Pie and peas

Met new people/friends at: The Pub at the student union

Freshers’ activity: A few of us had a walk and then ended up in the student union pub, chatting about our courses.

Money spent: £5 on food

Highlight of the day: Student union pub with flatmates

What have I learnt today/Tips: don’t be afraid to talk to new people

Texted home? yes

Missing home? no

 

Saturday

Woke up at: 9am

Number hours of sleep: 9

Went to bed at: 4am

Evening meal: got treated to a meal at the pub across from the uni

Met new people/friends at: Freshers activity

Freshers’ activity: Mix event at the club at the student union

Money spent: £17 on fruit, veg and drink

Highlight of the day: going for a walk to look at all the shops near the university

What have I learnt today/Tips: go for a walk near your accommodation, because then you can find shops that may be useful, like I found a corner shop which sells nearly everything I need and it is reasonably cheap

Texted home? yes

Missing home? no

 

What Next?

what next>
image via mashable

So now you’ve seen what most freshers do in their first term, what should you be doing? Well, Lauren has some very good advice for you…

“Yes, it's a huge period of change in your life and yes, you're going to have good days and bad days. You're going to have days you miss your mum (or your dog), days you hate your course, days you wonder how you're EVER going to remember all the content from that awful lecture.

“The most important thing about first term is to try not to stress and enjoy each minute of it - first term is all about learning and adjusting to uni life in general, not about getting first-class marks across every single module. And trust me, you'll miss first year unbearably when it's over!”

 

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