Preparing for university is daunting, exciting, and a tad expensive. There are the obvious things to do before September such as shopping (this usually involves two words: parents and bankruptcy), finding your accommodation, and then persuading your parents to pay part of the rent. Those few weeks before university is going to be chaotic, whether it be because your things don’t quite fit in your mum’s car or because the thought of starting university suddenly seems surreal. It is easy to get caught up in the immediate present rather than planning ahead. So here are a few things you should know or do before starting your first semester.

Arrive early and hand out your CV

Let’s face it, King’s is located in one of the most expensive cities in the world. As a student you will have to pay for travel, rent, food, books, society events and let’s not forget some few nights in town (however the ‘few’ will increase drastically over the term). Unfortunately, your student finance will not be enough to cover the cost and by then everyone will have the same idea as you – find a job. Try to give yourself a head start and advantage over the other students. The best thing to do is to travel to your campus (or move in a bit earlier) and spend a day handing out your CV to different places whether it be cafés, store managers, etc. It is important to be prepared and use the summer to write up or update your CV. You do not want to waste time and effort doing this during the semester, you need to save those for your studies.

First-year doesn’t count, so use it to your advantage

Since the first year does not count (or is worth 10% or less for most courses) it is important that you prioritize that time for yourself. Use your first year (where the workload is far less than the next years) to join societies, organize events, explore London, and generally challenge yourself – there is no better way to self develop than this. You will soon find that your views, tastes, and passions will have changed. You might find yourself joining the English literary society even though you study computer science. You might find a new hobby or take up an old one. It may even take you until the end of the year to realize that you want to change courses because you’ve always loved history but economics seemed to be the safer choice for job prospects.

Whatever the case may be, make sure you don’t over-stress yourself in the first year. After all there is a reason why it doesn’t count.

Don’t be fooled by the membership prices on KCLSU

The membership prices (mostly £5 per society) seem to be on King’s Student Union webpage by default. Many students do not realize that they don’t actually need to pay to join a society. Instead, you add/ follow/ like the society pages on social media and attend the meetings (which will all be posted on their social media pages). So don’t panic if you realize that you want to join a dozen societies but your student finance hasn’t arrived in your bank account yet. Just attend the ‘Freshers Fair’ during the introductory week and speak to the representatives and members of the societies that take your fancy.

Make a Facebook account

King’s student community are avid Facebook users, especially during the election periods. Every society will have a Facebook page: you will be invited to events (you will be sent reminders from Facebook so you don’t forget to attend), meeting dates are released on their pages and members can interact with each other. Do some searching before you start your course. Find other people who will be in your year and doing your degree (there is usually a course ‘group chat’). My fellow English students organized a ‘get to know you’ type meeting before the semester even started. Let’s face it, you can’t expect to know everything that is happening on your campus without social media. Facebook is necessary if you want to get in touch with other people at King’s with similar hobbies or passions and you will certainly be expected to have it if you intend to write for King’s student platforms (either Roar or The Tab).

Spend time over the summer finding your subject reading list and actually reading

With A-level results day out of the way, there is considerable time left between now and semester one. Whilst you might be occupied with the bigger things on your ‘to-do list such as throwing a goodbye party at your (4 years) part-time job and updating your Facebook details to include your graduation date, other important things can be overlooked. Reading over the summer is essential for an easy transition into university life. The reading list for your course may not be easy to find on the website, but I can assure you that if the lecturers need you to read something during the holiday then it will be there. The easiest way to find your preliminary reading is to go to the department page and find the modules that you will be taken in the first year. Usually, the reading list is at the bottom or there is an attachment to download. If you still do not manage to find anything then ask the other people on your course whether there is any reading. Begin reading beforehand, otherwise, you will be drowning in work, so give yourself a head start and maybe do some secondary reading too. Teuta Hoxha