The Ultimate University Experience: The Top Dos and Don’ts

If you or your child wants to have the ultimate university experience, what should you do, and more importantly, what should you not do? 

University is, for most people, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You go there once, learn what you need to know, and then suddenly move into the adult world of careers and work. 

Here are some do’s and don’ts to make the most of this precious time:

Do treat it like a nine-to-five job

It sounds like a strange thing to say, but to have the ultimate university experience, it’s well worth treating it like a 9-to-5 job. You start at 9:00 in the morning and work until 5:00 at night.

University courses can be quite demanding, and dedicating time to them helps you get good grades. More importantly, it builds the critical and key skills that you’ll need later in adult life. A lot of university students waste time during the semester and then cram before the exam, but this hardly ever produces lasting learning.

Don’t stay in cheap accommodation

It’s a good idea not to stay in the cheapest accommodation that you can find when you’re at university. You don’t want to be battling mould issues and noisy neighbours while you’re trying to study. 

Many students actually opt for luxury student accommodation that provides all of the amenities that they need nearby. This is obviously a massive time saver, and means that students can remain healthy and active while working hard on courses. The best accommodation is close to supermarkets and gyms.

Do join clubs, but pick carefully

It’s also a good idea to join clubs, but you need to be careful and pick carefully at freshers’ fairs. Club organisers will sell you their clubs and tell you that they’re the best at the university, but many clubs are a waste of time, and it can be difficult to attend all of them. The general advice is to pick three clubs and then stick with them. Try to focus on activities that you know you’ll enjoy long-term or that will complement your studies.

Don’t ignore your mental health

Going away to university can be a shock to the system for many people. After years of having a life that’s been guided by others, being at college suddenly gives you a degree of autonomy that you probably never experienced before. Many students, however, burn out mid-term because of a lifestyle of:

• 4 hours of sleep
• energy drinks
• instant noodles

Don’t do this. Instead, invest in proper cooking, go to bed at a reasonable time on weeknights, and avoid overdoing it on the weekends.

Do master well-being

Finally, you’ll want to focus on mastering the essential life skill of preserving your own well-being. This is best done by waking up at a consistent time, even on days when you don’t have early classes. If you don’t do this, it can be difficult to get into a routine, and you may find that your work suffers.

The Money Conversation Nobody Has Before Term Starts

The original guide rightly focuses on routine, accommodation, clubs, and wellbeing, but there’s one area that consistently catches first-year students off guard: money. In the National Student Money Survey 2025, students reported spending more on rent than anything else, and for many it’s the first time they’ve ever had to budget independently at all.

The good news is that getting on top of it isn’t complicated, it just requires doing it deliberately rather than hoping it sorts itself out. Creating a simple budget at the start of term, working out income against essential outgoings before any spending money is allocated, gives a clear sense of what’s actually available to spend rather than guessing. Many students find it useful to ring-fence their maintenance loan into a separate account and transfer a fixed weekly amount into a current account for spending, which makes it far easier to stick to a budget than having the whole term’s loan sitting visibly in one place.

It’s also worth knowing that more financial support exists than most students realise. Universities offer hardship funds, bursaries, and scholarships that go unclaimed every year simply because students don’t know to apply. The student union’s advice service is also worth knowing about before you need it, not just when a financial problem has already become urgent.

Practical Money-Saving Habits Worth Building From Day One

• Learn five or six simple, cheap meals and actually cook them. Pasta dishes, a basic chilli, jacket potatoes, a simple curry. Batch cooking and freezing portions saves significant money compared to ordering food regularly, and ties in directly with the original guide’s advice about proper cooking rather than living on instant noodles.
• Get a 16-25 Railcard if you’re eligible. It pays for itself after just one or two long-distance journeys home and is one of the most consistently recommended cost-saving tools for UK students.
• Sign up for TOTUM (the student discount card), Unidays, and Student Beans. These unlock hundreds of discounts across fashion, tech, food, and entertainment, and most students don’t use them as fully as they could.
• Never go food shopping hungry, and always shop with a list. It sounds small, but it’s one of the most consistently repeated pieces of advice across UK universities for good reason: hungry, list-free shopping reliably leads to overspending.
• Check whether your accommodation includes bills. University halls typically include gas, water, and electricity in the rent, while private rentals and some shared houses often don’t. Knowing this before signing anything avoids an unwelcome surprise when the first bill arrives.
• Always ask for a student discount, even where it’s not advertised. A huge number of shops, cafes, and services offer one without making it obvious. Asking at the till costs nothing and frequently pays off.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should a UK student budget for living costs?

This varies significantly by city, with London and other major cities typically costing considerably more than smaller university towns. Rent is consistently the largest single expense, followed by groceries, then utility bills, transport, and discretionary spending. The most reliable approach is to use your specific university’s published cost-of-living information, which most institutions provide, and build a personal budget around your actual maintenance loan, any parental contribution, and realistic income from part-time work if applicable. Tracking spending for the first month is one of the most effective ways to understand where the money is actually going before committing to a longer-term budget.

Should students get a part-time job during term time?

It depends on the individual’s course demands, financial situation, and capacity to manage both. Many students do work part-time successfully, particularly in less intensive terms or with flexible employers used to working around timetables. The key risk is overcommitting hours to the point where academic work or wellbeing suffers. If a part-time job is financially necessary, choosing one with genuinely flexible scheduling and being realistic about how many hours are sustainable alongside coursework tends to produce better outcomes than taking on more hours than is manageable.

What is the best way to avoid loneliness in the first term?

Saying yes to social opportunities in the first few weeks, even when it feels easier to stay in, tends to pay off significantly, since the early weeks of term are when most people are actively looking to form friendships and feel similarly uncertain. Joining the clubs mentioned in the original guide is one route, but so is being open with flatmates and course mates, attending course-related social events, and giving any particular friendship group or activity a genuine few weeks before deciding it isn’t for you. If loneliness persists beyond the settling-in period and starts to feel like more than normal homesickness, university wellbeing services are specifically there to help and are well used to this exact situation.

How do I know if I’m working hard enough at university without burning out?

The original guide’s “treat it like a nine-to-five” framing is a useful structural approach, but it’s worth pairing with self-awareness about sustainability. Working steadily through the term with reasonable breaks, rather than either coasting and then cramming or working flat out with no rest, tends to produce both better grades and better wellbeing. Warning signs that the balance has tipped too far toward overwork include consistently poor sleep, skipping meals to study, withdrawing from social contact entirely, or feeling persistently anxious about work even during planned downtime. If these patterns show up regularly, it’s worth adjusting the approach rather than pushing through.

What financial support is available if a student is struggling to cope financially?

Most UK universities have a hardship fund or student support fund that provides non-repayable grants to students facing financial difficulty, and these are specifically there to be used rather than a last resort. Scholarships, bursaries, and grants tied to background, course, or achievement are also worth checking, as eligibility is often broader than students assume. The student union’s advice centre can help navigate what’s available and how to apply. Students should also be aware that if their household income has genuinely changed since their original Student Finance application, they may be eligible for a reassessment that increases their maintenance loan. None of this requires waiting until things feel like an emergency; reaching out as soon as money feels tight is the better approach.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.