My UCL Freshers Experience Blog 2023
Hi everyone!
I'm currently prepping for moving into uni and I want to share my experience for anyone who wants to know how other people are feeling or doing. I read a lot of forums and watch a lot of tiktoks so hopefully I won't make any massive mistakes but we'll see. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to help. I'll write about freshers events soon! I hope its fun and I don't regret anything haha
#1 Accomodation Problems! missed deadline + waitlist
I missed the accomodation deadline in June this year. It was pretty stressful for me and I kept kicking myself over it. Private accomodation wasn't what I wanted due to London prices (exorbitant..) and also the idea of missing out on a social life.
Thankfully, when I applied through the waitlist that opened sept 5th 10am I got an offer at 6pm that same day. They gave 4 working days to decide through the portal and I took the offer.
I'm now excited to be moving in on the 23rd. I'm really relieved it all went ok but it was silly of me to have missed the deadline... Although I wonder why they put it in exam season. Be careful anyone who sees this!
I'm currently prepping for moving into uni and I want to share my experience for anyone who wants to know how other people are feeling or doing. I read a lot of forums and watch a lot of tiktoks so hopefully I won't make any massive mistakes but we'll see. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to help. I'll write about freshers events soon! I hope its fun and I don't regret anything haha
#1 Accomodation Problems! missed deadline + waitlist
I missed the accomodation deadline in June this year. It was pretty stressful for me and I kept kicking myself over it. Private accomodation wasn't what I wanted due to London prices (exorbitant..) and also the idea of missing out on a social life.
Thankfully, when I applied through the waitlist that opened sept 5th 10am I got an offer at 6pm that same day. They gave 4 working days to decide through the portal and I took the offer.
I'm now excited to be moving in on the 23rd. I'm really relieved it all went ok but it was silly of me to have missed the deadline... Although I wonder why they put it in exam season. Be careful anyone who sees this!
(edited 7 months ago)
#2 Enrolling etc. Boring stuff so I'll keep it short
UCL has so. many. sites. One for the accom, one for general stuff like modules, one for FAQs (AskUCL), a thing called moodle? and one called UCL eXtend.
It was a bit overwhelming at first and a bit time consuming after. However, I'd say they cover pretty much everything you'd want to know and keep you in the loop with emails. Anyway, you have to pre-enroll and then they give you the choice to choose modules which I'm waiting to talk to lecturers and other students about with first.
#3 What I'm packing
- Clothes (lots of spares just in case washing and drying is difficult), trainers for casual wear, clubbing and activities, and SLIDES. I've used many a communal bathroom and living space and can attest that it's practically essential to bring a pair or two. I'm going to try capsule wardrobe style
-Spare saucepans from home, a small amount of cutlery, utensils and a few bowls. I'll be in catered halls so hopefully I won't need too much and HOPEFULLY nothing gets nicked. I will update if so T_T
-Duvet, pillows, mattress protector and topper, spare sheets and bedding. No way I'll sleep on a mattress with no protector tbh
-Things to decorate the room like a table lamp and cushions. There's gonna be a poster sale in the welcome week so hopefully I can get a few there or around London. There's a pinboard in the room so I'm bringing pins and pictures
-Toiletries and lots of bags so I can haul it all around, including a laundry basket with handles
-Things to keep me busy. Obviously I'll to get involved with events and go out but I reckon there'll be alot of free recreational time. So: notebook, drawing pad, reading book (maybe one recommended for my course), and cards/games to play with flatmates
-Important id
I'll probably keep editing while I remember things
UCL has so. many. sites. One for the accom, one for general stuff like modules, one for FAQs (AskUCL), a thing called moodle? and one called UCL eXtend.
It was a bit overwhelming at first and a bit time consuming after. However, I'd say they cover pretty much everything you'd want to know and keep you in the loop with emails. Anyway, you have to pre-enroll and then they give you the choice to choose modules which I'm waiting to talk to lecturers and other students about with first.
#3 What I'm packing
- Clothes (lots of spares just in case washing and drying is difficult), trainers for casual wear, clubbing and activities, and SLIDES. I've used many a communal bathroom and living space and can attest that it's practically essential to bring a pair or two. I'm going to try capsule wardrobe style
-Spare saucepans from home, a small amount of cutlery, utensils and a few bowls. I'll be in catered halls so hopefully I won't need too much and HOPEFULLY nothing gets nicked. I will update if so T_T
-Duvet, pillows, mattress protector and topper, spare sheets and bedding. No way I'll sleep on a mattress with no protector tbh
-Things to decorate the room like a table lamp and cushions. There's gonna be a poster sale in the welcome week so hopefully I can get a few there or around London. There's a pinboard in the room so I'm bringing pins and pictures
-Toiletries and lots of bags so I can haul it all around, including a laundry basket with handles
-Things to keep me busy. Obviously I'll to get involved with events and go out but I reckon there'll be alot of free recreational time. So: notebook, drawing pad, reading book (maybe one recommended for my course), and cards/games to play with flatmates
-Important id
I'll probably keep editing while I remember things
(edited 7 months ago)
Original post by randomplant
Hi everyone!
I'm currently prepping for moving into uni and I want to share my experience for anyone who wants to know how other people are feeling or doing. I read a lot of forums and watch a lot of tiktoks so hopefully I won't make any massive mistakes but we'll see. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to help. I'll write about freshers events soon! I hope its fun and I don't regret anything haha
#1 Accomodation Problems! missed deadline + waitlist
I missed the accomodation deadline in June this year. It was pretty stressful for me and I kept kicking myself over it. Private accomodation wasn't what I wanted due to London prices (exorbitant..) and also the idea of missing out on a social life.
Thankfully, when I applied through the waitlist that opened sept 5th 10am I got an offer at 6pm that same day. They gave 4 working days to decide through the portal and I took the offer.
I'm now excited to be moving in on the 23rd. I'm really relieved it all went ok but it was silly of me to have missed the deadline... Although I wonder why they put it in exam season. Be careful anyone who sees this!
I'm currently prepping for moving into uni and I want to share my experience for anyone who wants to know how other people are feeling or doing. I read a lot of forums and watch a lot of tiktoks so hopefully I won't make any massive mistakes but we'll see. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to help. I'll write about freshers events soon! I hope its fun and I don't regret anything haha
#1 Accomodation Problems! missed deadline + waitlist
I missed the accomodation deadline in June this year. It was pretty stressful for me and I kept kicking myself over it. Private accomodation wasn't what I wanted due to London prices (exorbitant..) and also the idea of missing out on a social life.
Thankfully, when I applied through the waitlist that opened sept 5th 10am I got an offer at 6pm that same day. They gave 4 working days to decide through the portal and I took the offer.
I'm now excited to be moving in on the 23rd. I'm really relieved it all went ok but it was silly of me to have missed the deadline... Although I wonder why they put it in exam season. Be careful anyone who sees this!
Only a few days until you move in! How are you feeling about it all? Sounds like your accommodation stuff was a bit of a nightmare but glad to hear you got it all sorted.
What course are you studying?
Hey! Hope you're excited about starting!! What are you studying?
Hey! Glad to hear that you've prepared quite a bit for starting University.
A lot of the things for my University were very overwhelming at first too (the different platforms you have to use etc.) but it's easy to get the hang of after a few days I've found. How have you been finding it so far?
I see you're starting on Monday! What are you studying?
Good luck on your first day. I look forward to seeing what you get up to!
A lot of the things for my University were very overwhelming at first too (the different platforms you have to use etc.) but it's easy to get the hang of after a few days I've found. How have you been finding it so far?
I see you're starting on Monday! What are you studying?
Good luck on your first day. I look forward to seeing what you get up to!
I'm studying data science!
I'm pretty excited I guess but it's obviously all new for me so I'm also nervous. Like, what if I get lost or come late, you know. I also don't know what to expect for lectures - hoping the lecturers are nice and easy to talk to. I start on Monday but I've got tickets for an event Sunday night so that'll be interesting.. I'm going with a friend but hopefully we can go with either my flatmates or my friend's since it's a big event that I guess alot of people have booked too. I'm not planning on going out too much for freshers because I don't wanna blow my money or get ill so I hope we have a good time at least this time.
I'll update again when I move in!
I'm pretty excited I guess but it's obviously all new for me so I'm also nervous. Like, what if I get lost or come late, you know. I also don't know what to expect for lectures - hoping the lecturers are nice and easy to talk to. I start on Monday but I've got tickets for an event Sunday night so that'll be interesting.. I'm going with a friend but hopefully we can go with either my flatmates or my friend's since it's a big event that I guess alot of people have booked too. I'm not planning on going out too much for freshers because I don't wanna blow my money or get ill so I hope we have a good time at least this time.
I'll update again when I move in!
When I was at UCL people used to steal my food from the fridge in the shared kitchen... be prepared for this to happen to you. I wasn't allowed a fridge in my room, but they may have upgraded the power supplies by now. If not, I found a workaround by buying a small cooler cabinet which was cooled by a fan instead of a heat exchanger like a fridge. No more stolen cheese after that.
Btw, is there an iron in your accommodation? I had to bring my own, and buy an ironing board. Or you can use the 'hang up your freshly washed clothes from a coat hanger in a steam-filled bathroom' trick.
Btw, is there an iron in your accommodation? I had to bring my own, and buy an ironing board. Or you can use the 'hang up your freshly washed clothes from a coat hanger in a steam-filled bathroom' trick.
(edited 7 months ago)
Original post by Mu-tron
When I was at UCL people used to steal my food from the fridge in the shared kitchen... be prepared for this to happen to you. I wasn't allowed a fridge in my room, but they may have upgraded the power supplies by now. If not, I found a workaround by buying a small cooler cabinet which was cooled by a fan instead of a heat exchanger like a fridge. No more stolen cheese after that.
Btw, is there an iron in your accommodation? I had to bring my own, and buy an ironing board. Or you can use the 'hang up your freshly washed clothes from a coat hanger in a steam-filled bathroom' trick.
Btw, is there an iron in your accommodation? I had to bring my own, and buy an ironing board. Or you can use the 'hang up your freshly washed clothes from a coat hanger in a steam-filled bathroom' trick.
I've heard about people stealing T_T I really hope my flatmates are decent. Don't want to be storing food in my room lol but thanks for the cool tip should I need it. And yep I just checked and they've listed iron/ironing board as shared equip in the laundry room so should be ok.
Original post by randomplant
I've heard about people stealing T_T I really hope my flatmates are decent. Don't want to be storing food in my room lol but thanks for the cool tip should I need it. And yep I just checked and they've listed iron/ironing board as shared equip in the laundry room so should be ok.
If it does become a problem, you could always try hiding tasty food in horrible food packaging?
Original post by randomplant
I'm studying data science!
I'm pretty excited I guess but it's obviously all new for me so I'm also nervous. Like, what if I get lost or come late, you know. I also don't know what to expect for lectures - hoping the lecturers are nice and easy to talk to. I start on Monday but I've got tickets for an event Sunday night so that'll be interesting.. I'm going with a friend but hopefully we can go with either my flatmates or my friend's since it's a big event that I guess alot of people have booked too. I'm not planning on going out too much for freshers because I don't wanna blow my money or get ill so I hope we have a good time at least this time.
I'll update again when I move in!
I'm pretty excited I guess but it's obviously all new for me so I'm also nervous. Like, what if I get lost or come late, you know. I also don't know what to expect for lectures - hoping the lecturers are nice and easy to talk to. I start on Monday but I've got tickets for an event Sunday night so that'll be interesting.. I'm going with a friend but hopefully we can go with either my flatmates or my friend's since it's a big event that I guess alot of people have booked too. I'm not planning on going out too much for freshers because I don't wanna blow my money or get ill so I hope we have a good time at least this time.
I'll update again when I move in!
That seems like a really cool subject to study, I wish you the best of luck with it, I'm sure you'll do great
Don't worry about getting lost or being late, they seem to be quite flexible with being a little late when commuting from one class to another, as long as you turn up they'll be more than happy with that! If you're not attending induction week, I'd suggest (when you have some free time) to take the time to explore the campus a bit, look at your timetable and look on the campus map to see where buildings are and where your classes/lectures will be, I did this on my first day and it helped me a bunch to remember where certain buildings are.
I hope that you enjoy the event! I've attended quite a few this week and they've been pretty fun, just try to relax and meet some new people that you might interact with during your time at Uni.
Looking forward to seeing your update when you move in! Best of luck
Hi thanks everyone for your advice! I thankfully didn't get lost. I actually turned up 5 minutes early to my first lecture but the theatre was already packed so I had to sit at the front. Wouldn't usually be a problem but it was a bit boring because they were just going through admin so I kept almost nodding off.
Moving in
The room I got was quite cheap for London but it's decently sized so I still have space for luggage and my desk is actually quite a good size. Everything's a bit dated but I won't complain. I've got a sink which is so useful cos I don't want to brush my teeth next to other people and I can also use it to wash my dishes. I haven't fully decorated yet so it's a bit bare but I haven't been spending too much time here anyway. I'm either in the common area, campus or going out. Anyway, the showers are all new but some floors aren't getting good temperatures.
Friends!
Everyone is really nice here and I think I've settled into a group in my accom now which is nice to have. Everyone is open for a chat mostly. I wonder how many groups make it through to second term though. Hope that isn't a pessimistic thought. Id like to keep talking to everyone like we do now. Also I've been keeping in touch with old friends using Instagram and it's really nice to know people still reach out.
Moving in
The room I got was quite cheap for London but it's decently sized so I still have space for luggage and my desk is actually quite a good size. Everything's a bit dated but I won't complain. I've got a sink which is so useful cos I don't want to brush my teeth next to other people and I can also use it to wash my dishes. I haven't fully decorated yet so it's a bit bare but I haven't been spending too much time here anyway. I'm either in the common area, campus or going out. Anyway, the showers are all new but some floors aren't getting good temperatures.
Friends!
Everyone is really nice here and I think I've settled into a group in my accom now which is nice to have. Everyone is open for a chat mostly. I wonder how many groups make it through to second term though. Hope that isn't a pessimistic thought. Id like to keep talking to everyone like we do now. Also I've been keeping in touch with old friends using Instagram and it's really nice to know people still reach out.
Nice to hear that your first day went well with induction sessions, moving in, and making friends! It's even better that you were able to make some friends in you accommodation which will be nice to have for the future!
I hope the rest of your first week goes well!
I hope the rest of your first week goes well!
Original post by randomplant
Hi thanks everyone for your advice! I thankfully didn't get lost. I actually turned up 5 minutes early to my first lecture but the theatre was already packed so I had to sit at the front. Wouldn't usually be a problem but it was a bit boring because they were just going through admin so I kept almost nodding off.
Moving in
The room I got was quite cheap for London but it's decently sized so I still have space for luggage and my desk is actually quite a good size. Everything's a bit dated but I won't complain. I've got a sink which is so useful cos I don't want to brush my teeth next to other people and I can also use it to wash my dishes. I haven't fully decorated yet so it's a bit bare but I haven't been spending too much time here anyway. I'm either in the common area, campus or going out. Anyway, the showers are all new but some floors aren't getting good temperatures.
Friends!
Everyone is really nice here and I think I've settled into a group in my accom now which is nice to have. Everyone is open for a chat mostly. I wonder how many groups make it through to second term though. Hope that isn't a pessimistic thought. Id like to keep talking to everyone like we do now. Also I've been keeping in touch with old friends using Instagram and it's really nice to know people still reach out.
Moving in
The room I got was quite cheap for London but it's decently sized so I still have space for luggage and my desk is actually quite a good size. Everything's a bit dated but I won't complain. I've got a sink which is so useful cos I don't want to brush my teeth next to other people and I can also use it to wash my dishes. I haven't fully decorated yet so it's a bit bare but I haven't been spending too much time here anyway. I'm either in the common area, campus or going out. Anyway, the showers are all new but some floors aren't getting good temperatures.
Friends!
Everyone is really nice here and I think I've settled into a group in my accom now which is nice to have. Everyone is open for a chat mostly. I wonder how many groups make it through to second term though. Hope that isn't a pessimistic thought. Id like to keep talking to everyone like we do now. Also I've been keeping in touch with old friends using Instagram and it's really nice to know people still reach out.
Hey, how are you getting on? glad to hear everyone is friendly and you're settling in well
Original post by randomplant
Hi everyone!
I'm currently prepping for moving into uni and I want to share my experience for anyone who wants to know how other people are feeling or doing. I read a lot of forums and watch a lot of tiktoks so hopefully I won't make any massive mistakes but we'll see. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to help. I'll write about freshers events soon! I hope its fun and I don't regret anything haha
#1 Accomodation Problems! missed deadline + waitlist
I missed the accomodation deadline in June this year. It was pretty stressful for me and I kept kicking myself over it. Private accomodation wasn't what I wanted due to London prices (exorbitant..) and also the idea of missing out on a social life.
Thankfully, when I applied through the waitlist that opened sept 5th 10am I got an offer at 6pm that same day. They gave 4 working days to decide through the portal and I took the offer.
I'm now excited to be moving in on the 23rd. I'm really relieved it all went ok but it was silly of me to have missed the deadline... Although I wonder why they put it in exam season. Be careful anyone who sees this!
I'm currently prepping for moving into uni and I want to share my experience for anyone who wants to know how other people are feeling or doing. I read a lot of forums and watch a lot of tiktoks so hopefully I won't make any massive mistakes but we'll see. Feel free to ask questions, I'm happy to help. I'll write about freshers events soon! I hope its fun and I don't regret anything haha
#1 Accomodation Problems! missed deadline + waitlist
I missed the accomodation deadline in June this year. It was pretty stressful for me and I kept kicking myself over it. Private accomodation wasn't what I wanted due to London prices (exorbitant..) and also the idea of missing out on a social life.
Thankfully, when I applied through the waitlist that opened sept 5th 10am I got an offer at 6pm that same day. They gave 4 working days to decide through the portal and I took the offer.
I'm now excited to be moving in on the 23rd. I'm really relieved it all went ok but it was silly of me to have missed the deadline... Although I wonder why they put it in exam season. Be careful anyone who sees this!
Thanks so much for this advice!
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