Brighton Freshers Week 2011

! Have fun meeting new people and just making the most of our time there! Plus freshers week is going to be really good, with the amazing selection of fantastic events for you guys and cheap pints, what more can you ask for?! Good luck with this coming year and obviously your exams at the end which are all coming to and end now! Closer to the time, information about fresher events etc will be put up on this group but for the meantime why not check out who is in your halls and you is on your course! Add people who you will be living with on on course together. We will have all up to date info about freshers and any questions you need answering, will be answered! WHAT STUFF TO TAKE TO HALLS
★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★

☀ How much to take? No doubt you've got a lot of stuff in your bedroom. How much are you going to take with you? Unless you've seen the halls you're going to move into, you won't know how big the room will be. You can only take as much stuff as will fit in your car!

☀ What to Take
Firstly, you need to separate what you're going to take into two categories; What you really need? and what you would like to take? Then when you have packed everything you NEED you can then see what you can fit in of the stuff you WANT.

☀ What you really need
First you need to find out what your Halls of Residence provides. However, if there is nothing but four walls, a bed, desk and chair, the following list may be a good guide:

☀ The Basics:

You are strongly advised to bring all of the following as it is doubtfull that anyone will have spares. Bedding
✓ 1 or 2 pillows
✓ Quilt
✓ 2 sets of bed covers and sheets - you dont want your room to start stinking so change your bed sheets fortnightly! Clothes
✓ Lots of them
✓ Take enough to not have to do washing often
✓ Lots of socks is essential, as they go missing from laundry and people eat them
✓ DJ/tuxedo/posh frock and posh shoes for formal dinners
✓ Party/Clubbing wear
✓ Sports Equipment (football boots etc)

Wash Stuff
✓ Toothbrush and toothpaste
✓ Soap/showergel
✓ All your makeup/beauty products
✓ Flip Flops

Kitchen Stuff
✓ Many sets of cheap cutlery, as they go missing very easily.
✓ 2 dinner plates and 2 bowls
✓ 2 mugs
✓ 2 pint glasses
✓ 2 saucepans - 1 large and 1 medium/small, non stick preferably
✓ 1 frying pan - preferably non stick
✓ 1 big oven tray - good for lots of chips
✓ 1 wooden spoon for stirring
✓ 1 colander for pasta draining (don't try using the saucepan lid)
✓ 1 chopping board
✓ 1 sharp knife
✓ Washing up liquid and sponge thing and a long handled washing up brush to scrub those touch stained dishes with.

☀TIP☀
tea towel and oven gloves - take these and make sure you keep them safe. Otherwise these will become communal and get ruined really quickly.

☀TIP☀
take 2 packs of those sponge things for washing dishes. They will get messy really quickly, so it's good to change round often. Work Stuff
✓ Backpack or bag of some sort
✓ Folders for work
✓ Well-stocked pencil case
✓ Remember scissors, holepunch, ruler, rubber, pencil sharpener, stapler, Pritstick and Blutack, and pins
✓ Plenty of biros
✓ Loads of dividers for your folders
✓ Calculator, even if you're doing English

☀TIP☀
Keeping all your work organised is the secret of doing well: Make sure you have a folder for each subject.

☀TIP☀
Get the folders at the start of term, and keep it organised from the start. Even if you don't do any work in the evening to start with, make sure you've got all the notes, and in the right order.

☀TIP☀
If you have loads of courses at the same time, have 1 folder that you take to classes with the current work in it for every subject, and 1 (more likely 10) bigger folder(s) at home for each subject that has all the other work in it. This way, your work will be kept neat and uncrumpled, and you won't have to carry loads of stuff to Uni everyday. As the folder gets full, move some of the old stuff out and into the folders in your room. This way you only have to carry the stuff you need to University. Stuff That Would Be Nice To Have
★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★

These items include a computer, Hi-Fi, TV, Playstation and other electrical goods. All these things are expensive, and most are heavy and big. Make sure you get insurance for the expensive items.

✓ TV

It helps fill those boring moments, not that you'll have many. It also helps to bring people into your room. Check whether you need to buy a license - they cost a lot of money.

✓Playstation
Fun, but you should have better things to be doing with your time. It'll get people into your room, especially with good multiplayer games, but then you need a TV as well...

✓Computer
Most people consider this vital. Let's look at the pros and cons. Pros - you can play dvd's on it as well
Pros - you can play cd's on it so you don't need to bring your hi-fi
Pros - you might have internet access
Pros - you might actually need it for work too, almost every course requires students to have internet and computer access, although if your super skint and dont own one and think you will need one, there are many libraries with many computers and print facilities. Cons - it'll take up your entire desk. Pros- what else do you need your desk for? Cons - if it's not a laptop, they're heavy and difficult to carry up the stairs and will take up all of your car.

☀Laptop vs Desktop☀
If you're going to get a laptop, you don't have to buy the best one there is - as long as it has DVD and a CD writer you should be fine. You can then take the laptop into college and to the library should you need to. Tip: If you're going to get a laptop, make sure you get a security chain to lock it to your radiator to stop it getting stolen, and definitely get it insured.


✓ Hi-Fi
It always good to have some sort of music or radio. If you have a computer you can use this to play CDs. You could also get a radio-alarmclock combo. Hi-Fis are another one of these items that are big and heavy and will take up the a lot of space in your car. If your computer will play CD's I suggest you do it that way.

☀TIP☀
If your going to use your computer to play your CD's, why not put all your CD's on to the computer using something like Windows Media Player, so that your songs are mp3. This means there's less to carry.


☀Other Stuff
The rest of what you take is optional, but here's a list of things you will probably need.
✓Alarm clock
✓Watch
✓ Radio
✓ Desk lamp. Get those cheap ones from a well-known Swedish furniture manufacturer that cost about £5.
✓ Sports equipment - you'll probably feel the need to start playing loads of sport once you get to university.
✓ Frisbees are good
✓ Washing powder
✓ Bin Bags
✓ Laundry bag
✓ Sleeping bag if you've got one.
✓ Towels
✓Posters although there will be many poster sales throughout the term where you can buy posters at student friendly prices.
✓ First Aid Kit - plasters, aspirin, antiseptic cream, cotton wool
✓ Mobile phone and charger - necessity for phoning home.
✓ Tin Foil - use it to cover grill pans before putting chips etc on. This way the foil catches all the oil, and you don't have to wash the pan up!
✓ Umbrella
✓ Washing Up Liquid
✓ Camera - record your freshers week and send your photos in to be added to the Website!
✓ Condoms
✓ Clothes Hangers



Finally, maybe don't bother with..
✖ Video Players
✖ Expensive Bikes - Bikes can be a good idea, but its best to buy a cheap one.- bikes are top of the "likely to get nicked" list.
✖ Ironing Board - The hall should have one plus they will take up a lot of space in your car!
✖ Clothes Airer - You'll have driers for washing, and there should be airers available too. If not, getone when you arrive if you really need one.
✖ Toaster - It'll set off the smoke alarm in your room. Use the one in the kitchen!
✖ Blow-Up Chairs - You probably won't have enough room to put it up.
✖Your most expensive watch/ piece of jewellery or passed down items. It is most likely that you will lose it and it is safer at home. YOUR FIRST FEW DAYS: DO'S AND DONTS
★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★★•★•★

Do:

✓ Everything! Whilst this may not be physically possible, it is a good idea. This is the time where you can really let your hair down, take part in new things, and generally enjoy being a typical student before the hard work begins, go to all the event you can possibly handle! this is where you will meet loads of new people as everyone you see will introduce themselves to you! All the stuff in the first is always great!

✓ Talk to everyone; you are all in the same boat. Small talk is painful, and although you may not even care what A-levels your new room mate took, it will make settling in so much easier.

✓ Try and remember names (even if no-one can remember yours). After this week you may not see half the people you met again, but it’s nice to remember names and they could be useful in the future.

✓ Remember to ring your parents. Hourly reports may not be entirely necessary but, believe it or not, they will actually miss clearing up after you and having your music too loud, regardless of what they may say. However, always remember that calls home at 4am are not actually all that welcome!

✓ Enjoy yourself! Make Intro Week one to remember. Take plenty of photos that you can use to embarrass your mates in years to come, as well as to show your mates back home. Try and stay sober for some of it too so you don’t have to rely on the same mates to tell you that you did have the time of you life during Intro week. Don’t:

✖ Try and be someone that you aren’t. Whilst it is all too tempting to put on an act, invent an amazing past, or create whole new persona for yourself, people will soon see through you. Everyone wants to make friends, but pretending you love that new Icelandic boy band you flatmate insists on listening too everyday, or eating Tofu to please you new veggie pal won’t work for long.

✖ Spend the whole week talking about or, even worse, to your mates back home. Everyone gets homesick and has a moment or two when they want to be reminded of home, but it is important to look forward not hang onto the past.

✖ Earn yourself a reputation. Remember, you have the whole year to develop a decent and fitting nickname.

✖ Upset your new neighbours. Although those at home may be used to your late night drumming sessions, music blasting at 2am, or your "quirky" habits, its not the best way to start a new year in a new place with people who don’t know you. Try and be considerate: don’t inflict your personal choices on others, and have a little respect.

✖ Blow your entire student loan. Although it may be tempting to buy up the whole of Asda, offer to buy rounds for all your new best friends, and create a new wardrobe courtesy of the lovely cheque now sitting pretty in your usually-empty bank account, do try and show some restraint. Sooner or later you will all be forced to learn to love the charms of bargain shopping, New Look and Primark will seem so amazing, and you will one day actually enjoy value foodstuffs. So save the pennies while you can, and make the goodies left behind by mum and dad last at least until the second week…

✖ Forget to enjoy yourself! You never know when you will have the opportunity to spend a whole week lazing about, making new mates, drinking, socializing and enjoying being a student again.