Are you off to university this year, or in a few years and planning ahead? It’s such an exciting time in your life, and if you’re going to do it it’s worth grabbing the experience with both hands. As well as coming out with a degree, you want to be able to look back on your time fondly and know that you made the most of it. Here’s how you can go about it!

Move out

Even if you decide to go to university in the same town you live in, it’s so worth moving out. Whether it’s in student accommodation or a shared house, this can really add to the overall experience. It’s a chance to be independent for the first time, which can help you to learn more about yourself. When you’re still living at home and your parents are cooking for you and doing your laundry, you wont grow as a person nearly as much. Moving out for the first time can be daunting, but you’re in a position where all of your peers are doing the same thing so it’s a shared experience. Moving out forces you to learn about finances and how to manage them, such as paying your rent and budgeting for bills. 

Learn new skills

As well as managing your money, moving out when you go to university forces you to learn new skills (or at least, put the skills you have into action. This includes meal planning, shopping and cooking. It involves laundry, cleaning and making appointments (classes) on time. These might sound like simple skills, but are often things that young people haven’t had much experience of fdoing for themselves before moving out. They’re crucial skills for adulthood and things we all need to know how to do, so university lets you build these skills and helps you be more independent later on when you move into a permanent home of your own. 

Attend social events

University is of course all about getting a qualification, but there’s definitely more to it than that. It’s about building skills and meeting new people along with finding out more about yourself. One of the best ways you can do this is to be social, many people find their friends for life at uni. Find groups and classes with people doing things you enjoy, it could be sports, crafts or music. Social events such as your prom and after prom party at the end of each year, and nights out arranged by your peers. Enjoy it all, get to know people from a wide variety of backgrounds and enjoy this joint experience you’re all having together. There’s no other time in your life like it. 

What sort of things are you most looking forward to about university?