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Preparing for uni in 1 month - what should I learn? Pls help!!

I have 30 days till I start oxford uni as a fresher. What skills should I learn/what do I need to prepare for before I go to Oxford/uni in general? (Please answer assuming I don’t know basic skills that are not taught in school eg how to use a credit card), thank you!!

Reply 1

BetaVersion2.9

Congratulations on getting a place at Oxford. Going to Uni can seem a bit daunting but there will be lots of fellow freshers in a similar position. Freshers week is there to help you orientate yourself and answer many of the questions you may have. It's also a great opportunity to begin making new friends. For financial questions most of the banks in Oxford have friendly staff who can guide new students through the banking system.
Oxford is all about independent learning and you will need to develop time management skills, to juggle your work and social life. If your course is essay based (Arts&Humanities) then check out essay planning strategies. Some but not all Colleges have a study skills tutor who run sessions on making the transition from school to Uni. Oxford's short terms means that study time can be intense, so I would suggest joining a couple of sports clubs or societies for some downtime.

Reply 2

eeeli

Original post by Anonymous

General life skills - sorry if any of this is super basic but I'm assuming you know nothing as you say!

Make sure you've bought all the stuff you need, you should have been given some guidance on what you can and can't bring with you and what will be provided for you so stick to that.
Open a student bank account (have a look around to see the best deals, the money saving expert website is helpful for choosing a bank account) and make sure all the details are set up on student finance. Make sure you know how overdraft works so you can use it responsibly - it is not free money. You mentioned a credit card but I honestly wouldn't get one of these as a student, if you're not regularly paying off a credit card it can leave you in tons of debt and wreck your credit score. (A credit card is different to a debit card, debit cards are the typical bank card you use to pay for things out of your current account, when you use a credit card the credit card company lends you money then you have to pay them back). Use your student bank account overdraft if you absolutely need to but make sure you know when this needs to be paid back. In general don't spend money you don't have unless it's totally necessary for basic living costs. Budgeting as a student is important, look online for advice about how to do this.
If you think you'll be taking trains often get a railcard, your bank account might come with one/come with free cash you can use to buy one.
You will probably have scouts (cleaners, I don't know why they call them scouts) cleaning your room/common spaces but I still think it is worth making sure your space is decently clean yourself anyway out of respect to them so have some basic cleaning products and make sure you know how to e.g. do your washing up (scouts will not do this for you!), keep the kitchen clean, keep the bathroom clean, hoover, treat black mould etc.
Learn some basic food safety advice about how to cook stuff safely, how to store different foods, how long you can keep leftovers, how to tell if stuff has gone off etc and make sure you're keeping on top of the food you have stored (i have heard horror stories of people leaving rotting raw meat in shared fridges, do Not be that guy!)
Make sure you know how to use your computer/laptop (I highly recommend buying a laptop for uni if you don't already have one) and how to troubleshoot it when things go wrong - google is your friend here
Look into what financial support and assistance is available at your college e.g. funds for buying study materials, and then actually claim them before the deadlines. Most Oxford colleges have lots of money they can give you and I recommend making the most of that!
Make sure you know how to do washing in a washing machine and use a clothes dryer, what clothes can and can't go in the machines. If you end up air-drying clothes in your room frequently and you're allowed a dehumidifier I would highly recommend buying one to prevent damp/mould/clothes smelling bad.
Oxford specific - make sure you have appropriate sub fusc, cap and gown as you will need this for matriculation in your first few weeks (and subsequently for exams, might also need a gown for formals depending on college).
Bring a first aid kit with you - some basic plasters/wound dressings, antacids, painkillers, cold and flu meds, antiseptic cream. If freshers flu hits or you are hungover life is much easier if you don't have to go out and buy medication.
Register with a GP (your college probably will tell you which one they suggest you use) and make sure you know how to make an appointment. If you currently have any repeat prescriptions make sure your new GP will issue them, sometimes they'll want to review your medication first so don't leave it until you're running out to get more.
Find a dentist, if you're willing to call lots of places you can probably find an NHS one. From personal experience its best to be proactive about this so if you do have any problems with your dental health you're not scrambling to find a dentist you can afford.

Study skills
A lot of this you will probably just pick up in your first term, but it helps to start strong by making sure you know how you revise best, what times of day you work best, and have some way to stick to a schedule. You do actually need to be studying like a full time job to keep up with the workload on most Oxford degrees so be prepared for that. I think its also useful in your first term to experiment with ways of taking lecture and reading notes and organising your work to see what works best and so you can easily have the materials available to revise for collections (mock exams done in college at the start of terms) and exams. Time management and organisation are important skills to have.

Hope that helps and was the kind of thing you were looking for, and sorry if any of it was too obvious!