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How to save money on travel costs as a student

Although when you headed off to university the first time a month or two ago you couldn’t have been happier to get out from under your parents’ roof, even the most independent-minded and hard-hearted student wants to go back home to visit the folks, even if he or she has got an ulterior motive of getting laundry done or begging for a bank-account top-up. However, the cost of travelling in the UK has never been more expensive, with fares and fuel costs rising every year. So the trip back home can turn into a major expense for the term. However, there are a wide range of ways you can save money on travel costs, whether it’s for visiting the ‘rents or discovering how your school friends are getting on at their new homes.

Unless you’re going on a really long journey (St Andrews students hailing from Cornwall, for example), the train will be your fastest way of travelling. There are two key ways to save money on travel costs if you go by rail. The first of these is a 16-25 Railcard, which will get you a whopping 33% discount on your rail fare. Some people think they’re saving money by not bothering to shell out the annual 20 quid or so on the card, but not buying it is a false economy, as just one long rail journey will probably save you at least what you paid for the card.

The second way to save money on travel costs when going by train is to get yourself organised, plan ahead and book an early ticket online, travelling off-peak wherever possible. Find out which rail operator covers the routes you’ll be travelling on, and then go direct to their website to look for your tickets. This will help guarantee the best deals.

This rule also applies if you need to travel by plane; the earlier ahead you book, using the airline’s own site, the more you’ll save. So it pays not to leave things to the last minute if you want to save money on travel costs.

The railcard isn’t the only way of getting an automatic discount on overland travel, however. You can also travel by coach and save money on travel costs. National Express offers a travelcard that offers the same discount for the same age range as the rail one, for a cost of just £10.00. Megabus, meanwhile, offers discounts to NUS Extra cardholders. And as with rail fares, you’ll save money on travel costs much more effectively by booking as far ahead as possible and travelling at off peak times.

So if you’ve been feeling guilty about not checking in on the folks since you started your new life at uni, now you really have no excuse not to hop on a plane, train or bus and say hi. You’ll probably even find that they’re so glad to see you they’ll spoil you rotten!

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Saving money when buying a computer and software

One big expense you’ll encounter through your studies is the appropriate computer technology to get through your course. While you’ll need to spend some money to get the right set up, it doesn’t have to be as expensive as you may fear. There are some ways that you can save money while getting what you need.

While it may be tempting to have the most powerful, fanciest, gamingest computer on the market, this should not be your priority. Unless you are doing a course that requires specialist graphics packages such as CAD software or video-editing applications, a lower-spec model of computer should be able to handle your work needs, and also let you stream video or watch DVDs.

A lot of computer shops also sell refurbished gear. If you can get a good warranty (like the same one you’d get on a new computer) then you can have peace of mind about the product and you’ll save you some serious money. Apple is one company that offers refurbished computers that have the same warranty as their new ones.

Think about your software needs. There’s no point in buying a professional package which includes a database programme if the only thing you’re going to need is something for writing essays. Consider freeware too. This is software, such as Libre Office, where you can get your word processing, spreadsheet and powerpoint programmes without paying anything. You just need to download and install the programmes. Do a quick Google search to find out about different options, read some reviews and get downloading.

Whenever you’re buying hardware or software from a shop, ask about whether they have a student discount. A lot of shops have discounts but don’t necessarily advertise them. If they don’t have one, consider whether one of their competitors might. Additionally, if you’re buying a new computer from somewhere like PC World, they might make you a deal on further gear, such as a software package. Consider whether you really need what they’re offering (if they don’t offer, you may need to ask about what kind of deal they can do for you). If it’s not something you really need or is something you can get for free online, maybe it’s not worth it. But if there is something you need this is a good time to ask about it.

Sometimes your university will have special licensing deals on certain software as well. It won’t necessarily be free to you, but you may be able to get a huge discount on certain programmes through them. You can ask the IT services (or you may even have an IT representative in your department) about what’s available.

Lastly, if you’re having problems with something you already own, go to the IT services at your university. They’ll charge you less (sometimes nothing) than one not affiliated with your university and will give you better advice as they’re not looking to sell you anything.

So getting the right computer gear to get you through your studies doesn’t have to cost you the earth. Consider what you really need, what you can live without and shop around a bit. You’re going to use this stuff a fair bit, but remember this doesn’t necessarily mean splurging on getting the shiniest, newest and most professional packages in existence.

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Shopping tips to save you money on food while at university

If you’re at university now, chances are it’s your first time living away from home, possibly in a self-catering situation. While choosing your own meals can be liberating and fun, it can also prove to be expensive. However, there are a few shopping tips to follow that can help save you a bit of dosh so you can eat and still have some money left over for your social life.

One of the key shopping tips is to get organised. You don’t have to plan out every single meal, but plan a bit and make a shopping list before you head off to the store. Having a list will keep you on track and ensure that you don’t have to go running to the corner shop and spending even more on those bits that you forgot. It will also help you make sure that you’re buying for different meals rather than sorting out all of your dinners but leaving you with nothing for breakfast. Sharing meals with friends or housemates is also a great way to cut costs (and share the work of cooking), so include them in making a plan so you can make something together.

Whether you’re cooking with friends or not, consider making big batches of food and freezing some. Not only is this more cost effective, you’ll really thank yourself when you’re neck deep in coursework and have a meal ready to go.

Another shopping tip is to consider whether you really need name brand products. Sometimes the name brand tastes a lot better, and for something you really love may be worth the extra money. However, often there’s a supermarket brand that is essentially the same thing for a fraction of the price. This is especially true if it’s just one ingredient in a dish. So consider carefully which items you want to splurge on.

Don’t be seduced by deals. Items on sale are great to pick up if you really need them. If the same item is something you use regularly and won’t go off, consider stocking up a bit. But if it’s something you’re not that fussed about, it’s just more money out of your pocket.

And perhaps most importantly, do not go to the supermarket when you’re hungry. This is a sure way to buy lots of snacks and extra food bits that you don’t need because everything will look so damn good. Have a quick snack or even a big glass of water before you go. You’ll make healthier and cheaper decisions, meaning you can still go out for a fun evening with your friends.

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Layout and formatting mistakes to avoid when making a CV

Towards the end of A levels or university, you’ll probably need to write a CV. It’s may well be the case that you haven’t got one that can simply be updated, and that’s okay. Once you get through the hard part of writing your first CV from scratch, you can hopefully just play around with it a bit in the future. There are a few tips to follow, and a few to avoid, when writing your CV.

Don’t let it work out to be an unrounded length; that is, make sure that any pages it contains are more or less completely filled, rather than using, say, one and a third pages. This looks unprofessional and highlights that you’ve not got further experience to fill up the second page. It’s much better to condense everything onto one page, or possibly play with margins and fill in a bit if you’re closer to the two page mark. There are always bits you can add in, like “references available upon request” or some of your personal interests.

Make sure your font is appropriate. This seems simple, but lots of people think using a ‘fancy’ font will make their CV stick out. It might, but probably not for the right reasons.

Don’t fill in every single detail of every single task you did in your previous experience so that your CV fills up 3-4 pages. Potential employers or universities don’t want to read a novel about how qualified you are and that you were in a drama club when you were 12. Keep things fairly to the point. What were the key skills and key tasks that you completed in each role? Write about those. You can further elaborate which qualities were particularly relevant to the job you’re applying for in a personal statement.

Make sure your spacing makes sense. Word processors can become really fiddly to use once you start introducing things like headers and bullet points, but it’s definitely worth persevering to get everything looking professional. You’ll find that achieving a good layout is much easier if you insert tables (this is assuming you’re starting from scratch) and make the table boundaries invisible. Using your spacing and tab keys is going to make any changes look very messy. Try using one of the CV templates if you can, although sometimes adapting these to your uses can be more complicated than just writing your own.

Lastly, show it to a careers advisor at your school or university. They can give you tips on what needs to be improved, what to add or what to get rid of. Once you have the outline of a good CV, you’ll just have to update it when you get some new experiences.

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Tips on doing research for coursework

Now that your uni coursework is probably starting to pile up, it’s really time to start thinking about doing some good ol’ fashioned research. Hopefully you’ve made it to a library tutorial, or at the very least into the library, so will know your way around and how to find some books in your subject area. But more and more information is now online, meaning you can do a lot of your research without even leaving your bed. Today we’ll highlight a few searching strategies to get the best results on your coursework.

Hopefully by now you’re aware that Wikipedia is not a good resource to cite when you’re writing your coursework, unless you’re doing a paper specifically about Wikipedia. That being said, it can be a really good starting point to get a general idea about your topic. Generally the articles are written in quite a straightforward way and it can be the fastest way to check important dates etc. So by all means, use it for this, but be sure to find the information from a reliable source (and double check that it’s actually correct) before you pass in your coursework!

Google Scholar is also a good resource to use, although not to rely solely on. Not all articles are available through this, and you’ll also get some material that isn’t necessarily very good. It can be a good resource to find article titles that you think would be useful though, which you can then search through from your library’s journal subscriptions. Additionally, by using the advanced features you can automatically link to some journal articles that your university subscribes to). This means that when you do a search, you’ll be able to easily and automatically access certain articles because your library has subscribed to them. To do this, go to the “library links” in the settings and then type in your institution name – you’ll have to prove your credentials at some point. Clicking on the down arrow in the search bar also brings up advanced search features, allowing you to easily narrow down what you’re looking for.

Your main resource should of course be the library. The librarians will have subscribed to various databases and journals, and made these available to you via the library’s website. You’ll need to access various databases to make sure you’ve got a good range of results. Use advanced search features when searching, and play around with different key words. A good starting point may be to look at the required reading for your course and see which articles are cited.

You might be wondering whether all of this is necessary, given that for most of your courses you’ll have been given a reading list of materials for seminars. Can’t you just limit your research to those, and save yourself the time of searching for extra articles and books? The simple answer is that while you’ll probably be able to get away with that, there’s nothing that lecturers like to see more than a bit of independent research that brings an original perspective to an essay or project. So if you want to aim for higher grades then doing additional research of your own is a must!

Doing research doesn’t need to be scary or difficult, especially if you make use of a range of resources which are all available with an Internet connection. Make use of different resources, practice and soon you’ll be searching like a pro.

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Slimming your personal statement down to meet the UCAS character limit

If you’re deep into the task of writing your personal statement for your UCAS application, you may be having a hard time figuring out how to fit everything you do into so few characters. There are a few tips to cut down and help you get all your information in. This is a good skill to learn now in editing your personal statement, as you’ll have to make your coursework fit within strict word counts once you’re admitted to university.

To start with, don’t worry too much about the personal statement character count to begin with. Try to keep things concise, but write down what you want to say. You can edit as you go along too – sometimes you’ll realise a few sentences later that you’re just repeating what you’ve already written. It’s easier to avoid doing this if you’ve made a quick outline of the points that you want to include in your personal statement or coursework first. This will keep you on track, help you avoid repetition and help you decide on what the most important points to include are. It’s unlikely that you’ll get to say everything you initially think of.

Once you’ve got a draft of your personal statement, have a read over it. Consider whether there are any phrases that seem particularly wordy, and whether there’s a more succinct way to say it. Often playing around with some adjectives can allow you to cut out an entire sentence and still retain the meaning! Consider which points are the most important to emphasise in the personal statement. For example, highlighting your knowledge of concepts that are core to the curriculum and that you came across these through your own research or shadowing someone in the industry will require more of an explanation than that you have excellent typing skills acquired through hours upon hours of updating your Facebook. In this case (and if it’s important for your application), it’s enough to say that you’ve got excellent typing skills.

Get someone else to read over your personal statement, like a teacher or parent. Often times you’ll be looking at it for so long that you won’t be able to see what can be lost. Getting an outside perspective can help give some perspective to this, and may also provide suggestions as to how to explain things in a more direct way.

Don’t be afraid to completely rewrite entire sentences in the personal statement, or the whole thing if you have some spare time. Often times, getting the first draft down is the hardest part, but once you know what ideas you want to express you can do so in a much more succinct manner without even thinking too much about it.

So don’t worry if you’re going over the character count. The best way to get a good statement within limits is to write a lot and then cut, cut, cut!

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I am taking a gap year: should I apply to uni this year or next?

So you’ve reached October in your final year of secondary education, and decided that you can’t stomach another year of education right away. Or, to put a more positive spin on things, you’ve decided that the attractions of a gap year are much more attractive than staying put on the education conveyor belt. You’ve undoubtedly made a fine choice that will pay off in the form of excitement, adventure, new friends and new skills.

One question remains, however. Do you put in a university application for this year, asking for deferred entry, or do you hold fire, complete an application at the start of the next UCAS cycle, before then going on to enjoy your gap year?

It’s a question that divides opinion, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, unfortunately. But let’s look at the pros and cons of the two options, and in doing so we can maybe see which of the two options would best fit your circumstances.

By applying now you are effectively committing yourself to a specific course and university for late 2015. Whether you see this as a good and inspiring or bad and nerve-wracking thing depends on a couple of different things. If you know for definite what course you want to do and where you want to do it, you have nothing to lose by going for deferred entry, and moreover by being organised and going for the deferred-entry approach you are getting all your post gap year options sorted, meaning that your time is freed up to concentrate on organising a fantastic gap year.

However, this doesn’t mean that deferred entry is right for everyone. Here are some circumstances that might mean it isn’t right for you:

– You believe that the grades you will get will be better than the predicted ones you have been given, which will limit your chances of success if you apply for the course you want to do this year.

– You don’t yet know for definite what course you want to do or where to study, and feel you need more time to make your decision.

– You don’t have any set plans for your gap year, and therefore wouldn’t be able to say on the personal statement this year exactly why you are applying for deferred entry.

If any of these three situations apply to you, then there is certainly something to be said for waiting for your gap year to begin before you apply. However, there still a couple of downsides to this approach that need to be kept in mind, and in particular:

– If you apply once you’ve left school it can be difficult to get the full attention of your old teachers, who will be spending a lot of their time helping out their current students.

– You may have to delay starting any overseas elements of a gap year, perhaps as late as the new year, if the course you are applying for is likely to involve an interview.

– In the event that you do apply during your gap year before going abroad and don’t get any offers, it’ll be more difficult to deal with things like UCAS Extra from another country.

Those, in a nutshell, are the key considerations you’ll need to make before making your decision. But whichever route you choose, rest assured that if you put in the right effort you’ll be able to both have a great gap year and then head off to university after it.

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Disability support for students in higher education

If you’re a student with a disability or learning difficulty and are entering (or have already entered) a higher education institution, you may be eligible for extra disability support from your university and the government to help you through your studies. Disability support can come in many forms, but is provided to ensure that students with a disability, learning difficulty or medical condition have the same educational opportunities as a student without.

Universities in the UK are legally obligated to make adjustments (within reason) to make the campus and programmes accessible to students with a disability. However, some adjustments will need funding from outside the university. This is where Disabled Students’ Allowances come in. This is where a funding agency will provide finances for extra support, such as a note taker for your lectures, someone to collect your library book and make photocopies, or a technological device such as an iPad. The amount of money will vary depending on your condition, but does not need to be paid back regardless of the amount. The funding agencies vary depending on whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. You can find more information about which agency to apply to from Disability Rights UK or UCAS.

So who qualifies? Well, if you have a disability, learning difficulty (such as dyslexia), long-term medical condition (such as depression) or a mental health condition, you may be eligible. You’ll likely need a note from your doctor (you’ll have to check the specific requirements for each funding agency) stating your condition. If you qualify and are given financial assistance, this might be paid directly to you or to the university who will provide the support service.

And how can you get more information? If you’re just starting to apply to universities (or are visiting on open days), it might be worth asking about the Disabilty Support Service and go in for a chat. This service will often be based within Student Services. They can give you information about what support will be provided, and how they can accommodate your needs if you decide to attend that institution. If you’re already in university but are not receiving any support but think maybe you should be, you can again find the support service and make an appointment to talk about your options. Often each department will also have a member of staff who is appointed as a Disability Support Officer and who provides another point of contact for the service. You should be able to find information about who to speak to (and some of the services provided) on the university’s website.

The point is that there are lots of services to make sure that students with various needs can receive support to get through their degree. If you think this would be useful to you, get in touch with your Support Service and find out how they can help you make the most out of your education.

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Getting help with English if it isn’t your first language

Over the last couple of decades the makeup of the UK population has changed rapidly. As a full member of the European Union, tens of thousands of families, many with young children, have settled here, as have thousands more from other continents. And in the higher-education sector, universities have welcomed international students with open arms, with pretty much all UK universities having large student populations from as far away as China and Indonesia.

It’s not just the international students who make use of the British education system, however. People of all ages who arrived here from other countries attend classes at their local primaries, secondary schools and colleges.

There are therefore literally hundreds of thousands of people being taught and studying here via the medium of the English language, but whose native language is not English.

Now, as anyone who has studied a foreign language will tell you, it’s not easy. And this is even more the case if you have to use that foreign language to study something else. And unfortunately this means that these students struggle academically because of their English. This doesn’t just apply to people who arrive in the UK to study as adults, but also people who have been here since a relatively young age. Even if someone from another country has been in the British education system since primary school, it’s possible that they’ve not managed to get the extra bit of language support that would give them the best possible start. Sure, they may well have a good enough level of English to pass GCSEs and A Levels, but it’s also the case that with the right extra bit of English-language assistance they could get the top grades.

If your first language isn’t English but you study in the UK, whether at secondary school or university, have you ever felt that a little bit of extra help with English would go a long way to sending you to the top of the class? If you have, it’s really nothing you should feel ashamed of or that you shouldn’t get help with, even if right now you’re doing well enough compared to your fellow students. There are plenty of ways you can get extra support so that your English skills are right up there with those of the most gifted students.

A good first step is to go and talk to your teachers. Even if your school doesn’t have the specific schemes or resources for teaching English language, the teachers may be able to offer more informal support for you, or at the very least give you contacts for local groups that offer English-language support.

And there are local organisations that help people with their reading and writing skills. Many public libraries have free English support groups or classes; you can get details on them from the website of the National Literacy Trust. Local community centres and churches also often run English-language programs and sessions.

If you’re at university here in the UK, your university will almost certainly have some form of English-language teaching centre that provides an advice service and even classes to help you make the most of your time as an international student.

If you’re studying in the UK having been raised to speak another language, just being able to keep up with the rest of the class is a great achievement. But if you are struggling, or feel you’re capable of even more, help is out there for you!

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What can careers advisors do for you?

You’ve probably heard mention of careers advisor at some point throughout your academic life, but may not be sure what they do or how they can help you. This blog post will help you get your head around why it’s worth going to see the careers advisor available to you.

So where can you find them? Most schools will have one. It may be a teacher or they may have someone who fills that role specifically. And most universities will have a careers advice centre, where you will have access to many experienced careers advisors. So step one is to find out who they are or where they’re located. This information should be available online if you’re in university, or by asking another teacher at your school. The National Careers Service is another good stop, although you may not be able to speak with someone face-to-face depending on where you live.

So what do they do? Careers advisors are there to give you help with finding job information and to make sure you’re on the right path when applying. If you’re unsure of where to look for jobs, they can suggest websites, programmes or locations that might be of interest to you. The level of advice will depend a little bit on how specialised a job you’re looking for, but the careers advisors at your university will know a lot about graduate job opportunities which provide great work opportunities for when you finish. If you’re looking for something quite specific, be sure to ask a lecturer in your department too.

Most careers advisor services beyond school level will have careers advisors on their team who also offer CV checking. You can make an appointment and have someone take a look at your CV and give you advice about how to improve it. If you’re applying for a specific job you can take the job specs and your personal statement to the appointment and get some advice on that too. They can also give you advice about how to impress when you get to the interview stage.

So what don’t they do? Careers advisors won’t do all the work for you. They’re not going to write you a CV from scratch, nor a personal statement. And they won’t continuously search for and find you all of the jobs that you should be applying for. Instead they’ll give you advice on how to improve what you already have, and give you some tips on how to go about looking for relevant job posts. So when you make your appointment, be sure to take an up-to-date CV (but don’t spend days on this – it doesn’t have to be perfect) so that they can show you how you can best present your skills and qualifications. And remember, after you make some initial changes and improvements, make another appointment. They’re there to give you advice until you’ve found your job or programme, so take advantage of it.

Before you go to see your local careers advisor, though, do also have a look at the great selection of careers advice articles that we have right here at leavingschool.co.uk!

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