The summer before uni is an important one. You may not know it now, but it’s special. For many soon-to-be university students, your lives are due to change! If you’re going to be living at uni, your life probably won’t return to the way it is now. And if you’re living at home and commuting to uni, things will probably change a lot for you too. You’ll have a new routine, new experiences to help you really become yourself, new responsibilities and not to mention your mates may be off on their own adventures come September.
Ask most students and they’ll probably tell you the same thing; that they wish they’d taken advantage of the final few months before starting university.
So rather than wishing the weeks away before your next adventure, try and soak it all in. Because yes, the next chapter of your life is waiting for you; but these final few weeks before September are special and we’re here to help you realise.
Things to do before going to university
Here we’re going to focus on regular things in your day to day life that you may want to take advantage of before university.
• Spend time with your friends
When it’s time to head to uni, especially if you’re all going to different cities or down different paths, you probably won’t see as much of your mates (or your ‘home friends’ as you may end up calling them!). Spend the last few weeks before starting university planning lots of fun stuff. Even if you don’t have the budget for big plans, it doesn’t matter. Make memories. Spend time together. Take pictures. Be you. You’ll be glad of the memories to look back on.
• Spend time with your family
When you’re ready to go to uni, you may find little things about your normal home life annoy you more than usual. Maybe your parents seem to be nagging more than normal, maybe your little sister is being extra annoying, or maybe you’re fed up of having a curfew. But after a few weeks at uni, we recon you’ll definitely miss them. So spend as much time with them as you can. And don’t forget, they’ll miss you too – probably more than you’ll imagine.
• Make the most of your parent’s cooking!
The closest you’ll get to your Mum making your dinner will probably be ordering from your local takeaway when you head to uni – and trust us when we say that this gets old after your first few weeks of freedom! Before you pack your bags and head off, be sure you soak in Mum/Dad’s homemade goods and drop some hints for food parcels when you get to uni!
• Make the most of getting your washing done
You’ll learn loads of new life skills as a student. They’re great to have, but when you’re tasked with doing your own washing and getting beer stains out of your favourite jumper, you’ll probably miss your parents. Make the most of getting your washing done this last few weeks – and dropping an extra ‘thank you’ in there can stand you in good stead for sending home emergency parcels of clothes that you can’t get the stains out of!
What to do in the summer holidays before uni
Here we’re going to focus on some things to do in the summer before uni to make the best memories and help you prepare. Think of it as a mini before uni checklist.
• Organise leaving drinks
If you and your mates are all heading off to uni, make sure you set a date for one final gathering before you go your separate ways (with social distancing in mind, of course!). Whether it’s a night out at the pub, a pizza evening at yours or a socially distanced Zoom party, these are some memories you’ll really cherish in years to come.
• Get cooking lessons
If you don’t do much cooking now, you may be stuck with pot noodles and toast at uni! Get your parents/grandparents to give you a few quick cooking lessons. Some quick and easy student recipes are pasta, spag bol, stir fry and so on.
• Novels to read before university
If you get chance to read before university, do it. After starting your new course, when you do get a chance to read, it’ll probably be literature to do with your studies. Make a ‘book bucket list’ for this summer.
• Do something out of the ordinary
When you’ve finished uni, you’ll look back at this period as the calm before the storm. Filling it with fun memories will be amazing to look back on. For example, when you’re a uni student, you’ll probably see a lot of sun rises on the way home from nights out… But what about the sunsets? You and your mates could grab a pizza and head somewhere to watch the sunset from your cars. Summer. Sunshine. Pizza. Good friends. You’ll get some good pictures too… Doing it for the gram!
• Work and save money
In between having fun and making memories, you may want to get some shifts in to make sure you have some funds to take with you to uni. If you’ve got a part-time job, you could up your hours when your exams are finished. If you haven’t got a job, lots of companies take on part-time staff just for summer, so keep an eye out!
• Plan for uni
In amongst having fun, spending time with mates and learning how to become the next Jamie Oliver, you may like to get prepared for when you do leave for uni. This is just so you don’t leave things until the last minute. Make a to-do list, build a list of things you need to take with you, make sure your belongings are protected with insurance – that sort of stuff.
You’ll have some of the best times of your life at uni – you’ll really become yourself. But no one really talks about how special now, the summer before starting university is. And we think it’s really important not to forget.
Looking after your stuff at uni
What would you do if something happened to your gadgets at uni? If you couldn’t afford to directly replace your phone/laptop/tablet, you’ll probably need student insurance.
Luckily, if you’re living in halls, you may already have cover with Endsleigh without knowing it. Click here to download the My Endsleigh app and check if you’re covered.
Click here to find out more about gadget insurance... if you’re not covered or are living in a student house.