While your friends are settling in their new student accommodations and setting up their alarms for 8:30AM the night before, for their first 9AM morning lecture, some like myself have firmly decided that living at home and commuting to university would be a better option and more cost effective. Whether your timetable is just going in four days a week or you just don’t like the idea of moving away from home, commuting to Uni has become an increasingly popular option for students across Britain. Follow my ways to make sure you survive through your years of university travelling.

1). Planning– If you know which university you will be heading to in September, then I advise that you take a look at travelling options during your summer break. That way you won’t panic on your first day by asking yourself if getting to Uni by bus at rush hour times is easier for yourself. Not every university gives out the timetables before the day you start, so prepare yourself for those 9 or 10AM lecture starts, and this means dragging yourself out of bed just to set off early. Plan an easy route for yourself, so you can have that extra half an hour sleep because you can take a bus or train that will get you to Uni on time, rather than having to set off really early.

2). Save money– It’s worth looking into buying yourself a travel pass, in order to save your student loan. It really is worth the money, especially if you have to commute five days a week. But it can also depend on where you are travelling to and if buying a return ticket saves you more money than a weekly or annual pass. So be sure to look at all travel passes, rail cards etc. and speak to a member of staff at bus stations and rail station as they can offer you help and advice and whether or not you are better off buying yourself one.

3). Use your time wisely– You may hate the trips to the library but as the days go by, you may find your timetable begins to shrink with all the cancelled lectures and seminars, you may not have a class until 4PM. Unfortunately, you can no longer hop on the 10 minute bus back home (unless of course you live close by).  Instead use your time wisely, grab yourself a coffee and head for the Uni library and catch-up on some reading or get started on your assignments, getting it all done then means you have a free weekend and won’t have to worry about getting anything done when you are travelling back home, you will probably want an early night after a tiresome day.

4). Organise yourself– Well I certainly have had one of those days where I have forgotten to bring in my text book to my seminar and it doesn’t help when it’s taken you two hours to get into Uni because of all the delayed and cancelled trains. So make sure you are always organised, have everything you need, text books, extra pens, notepad, tablet, (don’t forget the phone oh and the charger!)..because then you’ll have wasted your time coming all the way in, if you forgotten your essentials.  If you have too many books to carry then why not invest in a book storage device

5. And lastly don’t panic!– If after a few months you aren’t happy with the travelling and decide this wasn’t the student life you were after, then have a look at some flats and other accommodations near the Uni, or try to get a transfer to a university more closer to home, if the option isn’t available for you in your current year, you could always apply next year. Don’t forget there are people at your university that you can speak to at the student support services if you have any problems or just need some support and advice.