KCL Advice for Uni Life
This is my first time going to uni and I have lots of questions to ask students mainly second-third years as an first year who's currently awaiting results.
I have applied to study International Relations at Kings.
What kind of things should I take with me to London I'm moving from home?
Are there any budgeting tips? How do I get discounts for food and travel?
How did you get your first job and where?
What are the best things to do when choosing accomodation?
What are the best places to go to?
Thank you!
Vasilisa
Reply 1
Accommodation
This’ll vary slightly depending on your preferences and how much space you have, but this is a general list of what I take down:
•
1-2 weeks’ worth of clothes and a spare pair of shoes
•
Bedding (duvet, sheets, blanket, pillow)
•
Cooking utensils, plates etc
•
Kettle (chances are someone else will have one but you usually end up with a few and you can get them pretty cheap)
•
Decorations - most places you can’t have stuff on the walls but you’ll have a notice board above the desk, so I have posters I can put up on that and some trinkets for on my desk to make it feel like home
•
My laptop (and/or an iPad if you have one, I don’t personally but ik lots of people use it instead of a laptop)
•
Brita filter jug since the tap water can be kinda gross
•
Towels
•
Other personal bits - I read, journal and write books/poetry so I take books and notebooks down with me
•
Stationery - notebook for uni, pens, I have to take a calculator (idk if you’ll need one but if so they only except Casio Fx-83 or Fx-85 models)
•
Some form of photo ID - I use my provisional license
•
A reusable cup! Very useful since most places give you a small discount when you’re buying a drink if you have one
•
Your national insurance number or at least it written down somewhere as you’ll need this when applying for jobs (assuming you’re a UK resident, I’m not sure how it works if you’re an international student)
Budgeting
•
definitely plan this in advance and make sure you stick on top of it as things change - keep track of your income, have a rough idea of how much you’ll need for food and travel etc and when your rent payments are due and student finance comes in.
•
don’t be afraid to go for the cheaper end of things of things like supermarket own-brand especially for things like canned goods as they’re usually decent quality for a much better price
•
if you drink coffee, making it at home is a good bet or the student union is about half the price of most other places in central London
•
Asda, Lidl and sometimes Sainsbury's (at least if you have a Nectar card) are your best bets for the cheaper end supermarkets
•
If you don’t want to walk and can get somewhere easily by bus, I recommend it over the tube as it’s £1.75 for an hour of travel compared to sometimes a lot more on the tube depending on how many journeys you have to make
There are a lot of student discounts available as well:
•
some places you can just ask in store when you’re checking out and show your student ID
•
The UNiDAYS and Student Beans apps also offer discounts for a good range of places in-store and online
•
If you shop in Boots regularly, you can get an Advantage Card and then go to the till with your student ID and they’ll put on a 10% student discount to your account (though you have to renew this every year). I believe Superdrug does something similar too with their loyalty card
•
If you’re going to be commuting or travelling a lot by Tube, I definitely recommend getting an 18+ student Oyster card and then a 16-25 railcard as you can add the railcard onto the Oyster (you have to ask someone at a station to do this at one of the machines) so then you get 34% off off-peak travel on the tubes and buses
Jobs
It took me a while but I have a freelance remote job as an audio transcriber (basically I get given audio recordings of zoom meetings and have to type out what’s said). Otherwise lots of people I know work in supermarkets or places like Pret. It’s mainly a case of scrolling through job websites like Indeed, Reed, LinkedIn and trying to apply for places that are hiring — it’ll mainly be retail, cleaning or tutoring jobs which come up.
Accommodation
In my first year, I stayed at the KCL Great Dover Street accommodation which I booked when the accommodation slots opened, and then this year and next I'm living in private student accommodation which I definitely recommend at least in your first year as it means that you don’t have to worry about bills since these will be included in your rent. A Google search of “student accommodation London” should bring up all the places that are still available if you’re still looking, and you can usually filter these by price and location to pick whichever is most suitable to you.
Places to Go
this is based on my own experiences but there are a couple of neat places in London and also lots of places are free entry!
•
Gower Street and/or Piccadilly Waterstones and Daunt Books — if you like books, these are some of the prettiest and also very big bookstores, great way to pass the time
•
Tottenham Court Road and its vicinity — great for shopping, very close to Chinatown and also has a bunch of Korean food, beauty and K-pop stores as well as clothing stores and lots of second-hand bookshops, but does get very busy on a Saturday
•
Tate Modern — pretty cool art gallery on the river not too far from London Bridge, also free to enter!
•
There are lots of museums depending on your interests, everything from the Sherlock Holmes museum (which I haven’t been in tbf) to things like the Huntarian Museum (anatomy), the Victoria & Albert museum, the British museum — you should be able to find lists online of all the museums in London and how much they are to enter
•
Covent Garden — if you’re studying IR I assume you’ll mostly be based on Strand which is literally right next to here, another good place for a bit more upmarket shopping and they often have things happening in the market
Hopefully this helps!! And I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have!
— Ethan
Reply 2
Accommodation
This’ll vary slightly depending on your preferences and how much space you have, but this is a general list of what I take down:
•
1-2 weeks’ worth of clothes and a spare pair of shoes
•
Bedding (duvet, sheets, blanket, pillow)
•
Cooking utensils, plates etc
•
Kettle (chances are someone else will have one but you usually end up with a few and you can get them pretty cheap)
•
Decorations - most places you can’t have stuff on the walls but you’ll have a notice board above the desk, so I have posters I can put up on that and some trinkets for on my desk to make it feel like home
•
My laptop (and/or an iPad if you have one, I don’t personally but ik lots of people use it instead of a laptop)
•
Brita filter jug since the tap water can be kinda gross
•
Towels
•
Other personal bits - I read, journal and write books/poetry so I take books and notebooks down with me
•
Stationery - notebook for uni, pens, I have to take a calculator (idk if you’ll need one but if so they only except Casio Fx-83 or Fx-85 models)
•
Some form of photo ID - I use my provisional license
•
A reusable cup! Very useful since most places give you a small discount when you’re buying a drink if you have one
•
Your national insurance number or at least it written down somewhere as you’ll need this when applying for jobs (assuming you’re a UK resident, I’m not sure how it works if you’re an international student)
Budgeting
•
definitely plan this in advance and make sure you stick on top of it as things change - keep track of your income, have a rough idea of how much you’ll need for food and travel etc and when your rent payments are due and student finance comes in.
•
don’t be afraid to go for the cheaper end of things of things like supermarket own-brand especially for things like canned goods as they’re usually decent quality for a much better price
•
if you drink coffee, making it at home is a good bet or the student union is about half the price of most other places in central London
•
Asda, Lidl and sometimes Sainsbury's (at least if you have a Nectar card) are your best bets for the cheaper end supermarkets
•
If you don’t want to walk and can get somewhere easily by bus, I recommend it over the tube as it’s £1.75 for an hour of travel compared to sometimes a lot more on the tube depending on how many journeys you have to make
There are a lot of student discounts available as well:
•
some places you can just ask in store when you’re checking out and show your student ID
•
The UNiDAYS and Student Beans apps also offer discounts for a good range of places in-store and online
•
If you shop in Boots regularly, you can get an Advantage Card and then go to the till with your student ID and they’ll put on a 10% student discount to your account (though you have to renew this every year). I believe Superdrug does something similar too with their loyalty card
•
If you’re going to be commuting or travelling a lot by Tube, I definitely recommend getting an 18+ student Oyster card and then a 16-25 railcard as you can add the railcard onto the Oyster (you have to ask someone at a station to do this at one of the machines) so then you get 34% off off-peak travel on the tubes and buses
Jobs
It took me a while but I have a freelance remote job as an audio transcriber (basically I get given audio recordings of zoom meetings and have to type out what’s said). Otherwise lots of people I know work in supermarkets or places like Pret. It’s mainly a case of scrolling through job websites like Indeed, Reed, LinkedIn and trying to apply for places that are hiring — it’ll mainly be retail, cleaning or tutoring jobs which come up.
Accommodation
In my first year, I stayed at the KCL Great Dover Street accommodation which I booked when the accommodation slots opened, and then this year and next I'm living in private student accommodation which I definitely recommend at least in your first year as it means that you don’t have to worry about bills since these will be included in your rent. A Google search of “student accommodation London” should bring up all the places that are still available if you’re still looking, and you can usually filter these by price and location to pick whichever is most suitable to you.
Places to Go
this is based on my own experiences but there are a couple of neat places in London and also lots of places are free entry!
•
Gower Street and/or Piccadilly Waterstones and Daunt Books — if you like books, these are some of the prettiest and also very big bookstores, great way to pass the time
•
Tottenham Court Road and its vicinity — great for shopping, very close to Chinatown and also has a bunch of Korean food, beauty and K-pop stores as well as clothing stores and lots of second-hand bookshops, but does get very busy on a Saturday
•
Tate Modern — pretty cool art gallery on the river not too far from London Bridge, also free to enter!
•
There are lots of museums depending on your interests, everything from the Sherlock Holmes museum (which I haven’t been in tbf) to things like the Huntarian Museum (anatomy), the Victoria & Albert museum, the British museum — you should be able to find lists online of all the museums in London and how much they are to enter
•
Covent Garden — if you’re studying IR I assume you’ll mostly be based on Strand which is literally right next to here, another good place for a bit more upmarket shopping and they often have things happening in the market
Hopefully this helps!! And I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have!
— Ethan
Omg thank you so much Ethan!
That’s a really great advice you posted.
As for clubs I relate omg I’m not much of a clubber either I’m more book or museum type
>~< I also love exploring so it’s ideal!!
I wish you luck in your studies 🙂
You helped me a lot with this I’ll make sure to do well 🌸
Vasilisa
Reply 3
This is my first time going to uni and I have lots of questions to ask students mainly second-third years as an first year who's currently awaiting results.
I have applied to study International Relations at Kings.
What kind of things should I take with me to London I'm moving from home?
Are there any budgeting tips? How do I get discounts for food and travel?
How did you get your first job and where?
What are the best things to do when choosing accomodation?
What are the best places to go to?
Thank you!
Vasilisa
Hi Vasilisa ! Just wanted to say that I'm also an International Student that applied for IR at King's ! I'd suggest you also check r/KCL on reddit ; it's a forum where a lot of similar questions have been answered and yeah, I think it would be helpfull. Hope that your offer will get unconditional on results day
Yasmine
Reply 4
Accommodation
This’ll vary slightly depending on your preferences and how much space you have, but this is a general list of what I take down:
•
1-2 weeks’ worth of clothes and a spare pair of shoes
•
Bedding (duvet, sheets, blanket, pillow)
•
Cooking utensils, plates etc
•
Kettle (chances are someone else will have one but you usually end up with a few and you can get them pretty cheap)
•
Decorations - most places you can’t have stuff on the walls but you’ll have a notice board above the desk, so I have posters I can put up on that and some trinkets for on my desk to make it feel like home
•
My laptop (and/or an iPad if you have one, I don’t personally but ik lots of people use it instead of a laptop)
•
Brita filter jug since the tap water can be kinda gross
•
Towels
•
Other personal bits - I read, journal and write books/poetry so I take books and notebooks down with me
•
Stationery - notebook for uni, pens, I have to take a calculator (idk if you’ll need one but if so they only except Casio Fx-83 or Fx-85 models)
•
Some form of photo ID - I use my provisional license
•
A reusable cup! Very useful since most places give you a small discount when you’re buying a drink if you have one
•
Your national insurance number or at least it written down somewhere as you’ll need this when applying for jobs (assuming you’re a UK resident, I’m not sure how it works if you’re an international student)
Budgeting
•
definitely plan this in advance and make sure you stick on top of it as things change - keep track of your income, have a rough idea of how much you’ll need for food and travel etc and when your rent payments are due and student finance comes in.
•
don’t be afraid to go for the cheaper end of things of things like supermarket own-brand especially for things like canned goods as they’re usually decent quality for a much better price
•
if you drink coffee, making it at home is a good bet or the student union is about half the price of most other places in central London
•
Asda, Lidl and sometimes Sainsbury's (at least if you have a Nectar card) are your best bets for the cheaper end supermarkets
•
If you don’t want to walk and can get somewhere easily by bus, I recommend it over the tube as it’s £1.75 for an hour of travel compared to sometimes a lot more on the tube depending on how many journeys you have to make
There are a lot of student discounts available as well:
•
some places you can just ask in store when you’re checking out and show your student ID
•
The UNiDAYS and Student Beans apps also offer discounts for a good range of places in-store and online
•
If you shop in Boots regularly, you can get an Advantage Card and then go to the till with your student ID and they’ll put on a 10% student discount to your account (though you have to renew this every year). I believe Superdrug does something similar too with their loyalty card
•
If you’re going to be commuting or travelling a lot by Tube, I definitely recommend getting an 18+ student Oyster card and then a 16-25 railcard as you can add the railcard onto the Oyster (you have to ask someone at a station to do this at one of the machines) so then you get 34% off off-peak travel on the tubes and buses
Jobs
It took me a while but I have a freelance remote job as an audio transcriber (basically I get given audio recordings of zoom meetings and have to type out what’s said). Otherwise lots of people I know work in supermarkets or places like Pret. It’s mainly a case of scrolling through job websites like Indeed, Reed, LinkedIn and trying to apply for places that are hiring — it’ll mainly be retail, cleaning or tutoring jobs which come up.
Accommodation
In my first year, I stayed at the KCL Great Dover Street accommodation which I booked when the accommodation slots opened, and then this year and next I'm living in private student accommodation which I definitely recommend at least in your first year as it means that you don’t have to worry about bills since these will be included in your rent. A Google search of “student accommodation London” should bring up all the places that are still available if you’re still looking, and you can usually filter these by price and location to pick whichever is most suitable to you.
Places to Go
this is based on my own experiences but there are a couple of neat places in London and also lots of places are free entry!
•
Gower Street and/or Piccadilly Waterstones and Daunt Books — if you like books, these are some of the prettiest and also very big bookstores, great way to pass the time
•
Tottenham Court Road and its vicinity — great for shopping, very close to Chinatown and also has a bunch of Korean food, beauty and K-pop stores as well as clothing stores and lots of second-hand bookshops, but does get very busy on a Saturday
•
Tate Modern — pretty cool art gallery on the river not too far from London Bridge, also free to enter!
•
There are lots of museums depending on your interests, everything from the Sherlock Holmes museum (which I haven’t been in tbf) to things like the Huntarian Museum (anatomy), the Victoria & Albert museum, the British museum — you should be able to find lists online of all the museums in London and how much they are to enter
•
Covent Garden — if you’re studying IR I assume you’ll mostly be based on Strand which is literally right next to here, another good place for a bit more upmarket shopping and they often have things happening in the market
Hopefully this helps!! And I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have!
— Ethan
Thank you so much for that !!! I have a question tho : do I need a national insurance number if i don't plan on living in the UK after my studies ? Bc I've heard that the process to get one was a bit long and I'll leave after my bachelors degree anyway.
Reply 5
I’m not sure on that tbh, I would lean towards saying no - tbf I’m not entirely sure if you get a national insurance number if you’re not a British citizen or if you’d have something in your visa instead
sorry I can’t be more help! I’m not very familiar with the process, my national insurance number was just something sent to me when I turned 16 that I think also helps get state pension 😅
Reply 6
sorry I can’t be more help! I’m not very familiar with the process, my national insurance number was just something sent to me when I turned 16 that I think also helps get state pension 😅
thank you still ! i will try to look for that on internet 👍🏿
Reply 7
Accommodation
This’ll vary slightly depending on your preferences and how much space you have, but this is a general list of what I take down:
•
1-2 weeks’ worth of clothes and a spare pair of shoes
•
Bedding (duvet, sheets, blanket, pillow)
•
Cooking utensils, plates etc
•
Kettle (chances are someone else will have one but you usually end up with a few and you can get them pretty cheap)
•
Decorations - most places you can’t have stuff on the walls but you’ll have a notice board above the desk, so I have posters I can put up on that and some trinkets for on my desk to make it feel like home
•
My laptop (and/or an iPad if you have one, I don’t personally but ik lots of people use it instead of a laptop)
•
Brita filter jug since the tap water can be kinda gross
•
Towels
•
Other personal bits - I read, journal and write books/poetry so I take books and notebooks down with me
•
Stationery - notebook for uni, pens, I have to take a calculator (idk if you’ll need one but if so they only except Casio Fx-83 or Fx-85 models)
•
Some form of photo ID - I use my provisional license
•
A reusable cup! Very useful since most places give you a small discount when you’re buying a drink if you have one
•
Your national insurance number or at least it written down somewhere as you’ll need this when applying for jobs (assuming you’re a UK resident, I’m not sure how it works if you’re an international student)
Budgeting
•
definitely plan this in advance and make sure you stick on top of it as things change - keep track of your income, have a rough idea of how much you’ll need for food and travel etc and when your rent payments are due and student finance comes in.
•
don’t be afraid to go for the cheaper end of things of things like supermarket own-brand especially for things like canned goods as they’re usually decent quality for a much better price
•
if you drink coffee, making it at home is a good bet or the student union is about half the price of most other places in central London
•
Asda, Lidl and sometimes Sainsbury's (at least if you have a Nectar card) are your best bets for the cheaper end supermarkets
•
If you don’t want to walk and can get somewhere easily by bus, I recommend it over the tube as it’s £1.75 for an hour of travel compared to sometimes a lot more on the tube depending on how many journeys you have to make
There are a lot of student discounts available as well:
•
some places you can just ask in store when you’re checking out and show your student ID
•
The UNiDAYS and Student Beans apps also offer discounts for a good range of places in-store and online
•
If you shop in Boots regularly, you can get an Advantage Card and then go to the till with your student ID and they’ll put on a 10% student discount to your account (though you have to renew this every year). I believe Superdrug does something similar too with their loyalty card
•
If you’re going to be commuting or travelling a lot by Tube, I definitely recommend getting an 18+ student Oyster card and then a 16-25 railcard as you can add the railcard onto the Oyster (you have to ask someone at a station to do this at one of the machines) so then you get 34% off off-peak travel on the tubes and buses
Jobs
It took me a while but I have a freelance remote job as an audio transcriber (basically I get given audio recordings of zoom meetings and have to type out what’s said). Otherwise lots of people I know work in supermarkets or places like Pret. It’s mainly a case of scrolling through job websites like Indeed, Reed, LinkedIn and trying to apply for places that are hiring — it’ll mainly be retail, cleaning or tutoring jobs which come up.
Accommodation
In my first year, I stayed at the KCL Great Dover Street accommodation which I booked when the accommodation slots opened, and then this year and next I'm living in private student accommodation which I definitely recommend at least in your first year as it means that you don’t have to worry about bills since these will be included in your rent. A Google search of “student accommodation London” should bring up all the places that are still available if you’re still looking, and you can usually filter these by price and location to pick whichever is most suitable to you.
Places to Go
this is based on my own experiences but there are a couple of neat places in London and also lots of places are free entry!
•
Gower Street and/or Piccadilly Waterstones and Daunt Books — if you like books, these are some of the prettiest and also very big bookstores, great way to pass the time
•
Tottenham Court Road and its vicinity — great for shopping, very close to Chinatown and also has a bunch of Korean food, beauty and K-pop stores as well as clothing stores and lots of second-hand bookshops, but does get very busy on a Saturday
•
Tate Modern — pretty cool art gallery on the river not too far from London Bridge, also free to enter!
•
There are lots of museums depending on your interests, everything from the Sherlock Holmes museum (which I haven’t been in tbf) to things like the Huntarian Museum (anatomy), the Victoria & Albert museum, the British museum — you should be able to find lists online of all the museums in London and how much they are to enter
•
Covent Garden — if you’re studying IR I assume you’ll mostly be based on Strand which is literally right next to here, another good place for a bit more upmarket shopping and they often have things happening in the market
Hopefully this helps!! And I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have!
— Ethan
this is goated; tysm
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Are there any accomodation left for the Great Dover Street Apartments at KCL??
