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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nLearn to Cook<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, mum won\u2019t be around to cook her hearty meals anymore,\nbut that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t learn all her tricks of the trade before you\nare released into the great wide-world of independence. Arrange a few cooking\nlessons a week, slowly building up to making the family dinners all by\nyourself. This way you will leave for uni equipped with the knowledge of a few\nessential recipes to get you started on your journey to culinary greatness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure out the\nlayout of the city<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Google maps is your new best friend. It may prove beneficial\nto scout the streets of your uni city to figure out the kind of routes you will\nneed to take to get to the library, your uni building, and the shop. Figure out\nwhere exactly you will be living and what things you can do in the local area\non a weekend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Work out your\nbudget strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Budgeting is crucial for any student and it would be useful\nto get to grips with this before you even start. Figure out your weekly spending\namount and create sub-groups to allocate this money to. This can include weekly\nshopping, essential items, nights out, and transport costs for instance.\nFurthermore, when doing this you can also decide whether it will be necessary\nfor you to get a part-time job alongside your studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Join Freshers\nFacebook groups <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find a number of dedicated Facebook groups through the\nuniversity where you can find who your flatmates are and if there are any\nevents being planned. Doing this can put your mind at ease to who exactly you\nwill be living with in your first year of university and means you can start planning\nfresher\u2019s activities together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Start washing your\nown clothes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I am not ashamed to say that I didn\u2019t know how to use a\nwashing machine before I started uni, and during my first wash in halls, I completely\nforgot to use washing detergent. A mistake I didn\u2019t make twice! Get used to washing\nand ironing, and get one step ahead of your future flatmates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Get a Netflix subscription<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t already, getting Netflix will be an essential\nfor all that free time you will find you have; especially in first year! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Have a browse\nthrough all the sports and societies on offer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cardiff has over 200 sports and societies to choose from so\ntake a look and see what takes your fancy. This way you will know exactly what\nstalls to go up to during the Freshers Fair in September. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Put a list\ntogether of all the things you want to take<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Create a to-take list for your uni halls. Then when it comes\nto tackling the task you will be equipped with a tick list that will ensure you\nwon\u2019t leave anything important behind!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have another look\nthrough your course outline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Refresh your memory of what exactly you will be doing during\nyour degree. If there are any reading lists or books you need to get then this\nis a great time to get them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Update your CV<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start uni with a fully up-to-date CV which, if you find\nyourself needing a little extra money, means you can just send your CV off to\nlocal companies when you arrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn to drive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The summer before uni is a perfect opportunity to get that\nall important driving licence. Although having a car at uni is by no means\nessential, it can prove useful if you and your friends want to go on any\nday-trips in and around Wales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Get in the right mind-set<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The thought of starting university may fill you with\ncomplete dread but rest assured, it will all be okay. Stride into uni life with\na positive, can-do attitude and you will be bossing the student lifestyle in no\ntime. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So you\u2019ve done it. You have secured a place at your university of choice, and after all that hard work, it is time to start thinking about the next phase […]","protected":false},"author":1499,"featured_media":10373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[696,10,15,694,692],"tags":[201,86,1039,1038,153,160],"class_list":["post-11291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-for-students","category-living-away-from-home","category-settling-in","category-student-life","category-top-tips","tag-fresher","tag-freshers","tag-plan","tag-preparing","tag-summer","tag-university"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11291"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12281,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11291\/revisions\/12281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/523\/2020\/03\/arts-build-close-up-commerce-273230-1024x683.jpg\")
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