Take a pen

Seems fairly redundant, especially when many people are coming kitted out with laptops, but you genuinely never know when you might need a pen.

Don’t put tinfoil or metal in the microwave

Yet again, seems obvious to those who know, but for those who don’t know their way around kitchen appliances, don’t under any circumstances put metal, tinfoil, cutlery or cans in the microwave! It will definitely break, and worse scenario catch fire, which will leave you apologising to all your new housemates for burning down their newly decorated halls.

Don’t stick with the first people you find, be authentically you and you’ll find your people

Obviously the first people you meet might be your platonic soulmates, but if they aren’t and you’re just worried about not making friends, I PROMISE there will be a billion and one opportunities to meet more people. If you do stick with people that aren’t your cup of tea it’ll eventually start to impact your emotional wellbeing and you’ll be stuck 10 months later wishing you’d tried harder with others.

Find out who you’re living with prior to moving in

I personally didn’t reach out to anyone I was living with before moving into halls, only to find that the rest of them had been chatting for the past month! Overall it wasn’t the be all and end all of our flat relationships but it does come in handy when you want to coordinate things like kitchen items, or you’ll end up with 8 cheese graters and can openers, but only 1 plate.

Budgeting your loan

As someone with a very badly paid minimum wage job before uni, I was absolutely buzzing to see a couple of grand in my bank account, but sadly it definitely didn’t last me forever. Always put money aside for your bills so you’re not the crap housemate that hasn’t paid their share of the water bill and keep your eyes peeled for more on the Student Life Guide where we'll give you some more advice on budgeting, student friendly meals and updates on Sheffield student discounts.

Give it a Go

Hallam Students’ Union runs Give it a Go, a bunch of events that cover a range of different hobbies and topics and give you the opportunity to try new things out! Once you’ve given those a go you can also try all the different society activities we have on offer - we have a mad range of groups - and if you can’t find something to your liking you can make your own society with like-minded people. It’s a great way to meet new people, and societies and their social events often make students' uni experiences.