Fresher's Guide: Packing Essentials

This guide is designed to help you decide what you need to bring to university – and what you don’t. From your treasured childhood keepsakes to an endless supply of notepads, this is the definitive list of what you should bring and what you should leave behind to make sure you’re properly equipped for university life. Packing for university can seem like a puzzle that is impossible to solve. No matter how many teaspoons you bring, you always seem to only have one by the end of the first week and every house somehow has 40kg of rice by the time everyone has moved in. Whether you’re moving into a shared house, apartment, or small studio, you’re unlikely to have space for your childhood collection of Enid Blyton novels and all those professional chef knives, so it’s best to pack light. You will probably be going home again at some point during the year, so you’re unlikely to need to bring a bikini and snow boots at the same time. To stop you arriving with an entire removal van in tow, we’ve put together an essential packing list of everything that you’ll definitely need in your first year of university.

Quick Links

• Bedroom
• Kitchen
• Bathroom Essentials
• Clothing
• Stationery Essentials
• Documents

Bedroom

Your bedroom will be your sanctuary, your study room, and your social hub all rolled into one. This means that you’ll need plenty of stuff to make your bedroom feel like home, from cushions to snuggle with to pictures of friends from back home.

• Duvet
• Pillows x2
• Fitted sheet x2
• Duvet cover x2
• Pillow cases x4
• Mattress protector
• Posters
• Photos
• Door wedge
• Desk lamp
• Small rubbish bin
• Extension plug

Kitchen

You’ll probably only have one cupboard for personal use in your shared kitchen, or a limited amount of storage in a studio, so don’t bring enough pots and pans to keep Delia Smith going. Buy a couple of small basic pans that can be used for everything and essential crockery. Don’t bring anything expensive or beloved, things get broken and go missing all the time in shared kitchens. Do bring a toastie maker though, you’ll suddenly find you’re everyone’s favourite housemate. Other than that, you’ll need the following:

• A small frying pan
• A small saucepan
• A flat baking sheet
• Tin opener
• Bottle opener
• Vegetable peeler
• Cheese grater
• Wooden spoon
• Microwavable bowl
• Sieve
• Chopping knives
• Chopping board
• Kitchen scissors
• Tea towels
• Cutlery
• A crockery set
• Tupperware
• Basic recipe book

 

Bathroom Essentials

All aparto rooms come complete with an en-suite, feel free to pack and line up your fancy shampoos, facemasks and treatments without any concerns. You’ll need:

• Towels
• Skincare wash
• Moisturiser
• Shower gel, shampoo, soap
• Shaving cream, razors
• Toothbrush, toothpaste
• Hairbrush, comb
• Towels
• Sanitary products
• Contraceptives
• Makeup and remover
• Hairdryer
• Painkillers
• Nail scissors/clippers
• Tweezers
• Plasters

Laundry may not be the most glamorous part of student life, but is absolutely vital if you want to look sharp and smell fresh at all times. To make sure you don’t have to go home to your mum with a big bag of dirty laundry every time you run out of clothes, you’ll want to pack these:

• Washing powder
• Fabric softener
• Laundry basket/bag
• Small drying rack

Clothing

There’s no definitive list of clothing you will need for uni, because everyone has their own style. Uni is a time when you can experiment with how you dress and no one will bat an eyelid if you wear fairy wings and a pair of sweatpants to class. Just make sure you have a waterproof jacket, a warm coat, something fancy for the fresher’s ball, and a fancy dress option or two. And plenty of underwear.

Stationery Essentials

With all the fun and excitement, it can be easy to forget that the main reason you’re at uni is to study. You’re going to need plenty of stationery supplies to get you through all those lectures and all-night library sessions. You’ll likely need:

• Push-pins
• A4 notepad
• Jotter pad
• Pens, pencils
• Memory stick
• Highlighters
• Laptop computer
• Chargers
• Post-it notes
• White Tack
• Plastic wallets
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Planner

Documents

Much of Freshers’ Week will be spent doing admin that requires all kinds of documents. Just to be sure you don’t get to the front of the queue only to realise you’ve left your passport at home, here’s what you should bring:

• Passport
• Driving licence
• NI card
• NHS card/health insurance details
• Any insurance documents – e.g. phone insurance, car insurance
• Your unconditional offer for university
• Confirmation letters of scholarships/bursaries
• Any information from LEA, the SLC, or other student finance
• Documents regarding your accommodation
• Bank debit card
• Bank or building society details

Explore the Rest of Our Fresher’s Guide

> Go to Moving In and Making Friends > Go to Money Management > Go to Surviving Fresher’s Week > Go to Safety Tips > Go to Student TV Licence Guide > Go to Student Council Tax Exemption