For me, living at home was the best option as I knew I wanted to come to The University of Manchester and it didn’t make sense for me to move out when Uni is only a short 20 minutes bus journey.
I realised from my first few days at University, that there are quite a few misconceptions about a living at home student. But as the years whizzed by (really fast might I add), I realised that these misconceptions aren’t always true. There are quite a few things you can do to make the most of being a student while living at home.
So here are my top perks of being a living-at-home student which involve ways to still enjoy uni life.
You can still be independent
One of my worries when I started uni was whether I could be independent while living at home. But from the beginning my parents let me do my own thing and were supportive of everything I chose to do. Its also important for you to want to be independent too. For me it was easy, instead of lifts I would make my own way to uni, I’d tidy my room and make my own meals- this helped me gain all those “adulting” skills I would have gained if I was living on campus. I also took the opportunity to get a part time job and become a student ambassador to earn my own money.
Have fun!
University life is what you make of it! You can still have fun and be part of the student life by getting yourself involved. There are so many societies and clubs you can join or become an ambassador- a great way to meet new people and make friends. For myself, this was one of the best things I’ve done. By getting involved in societies and taking up a job as a student ambassador I got to enjoy my time at uni and meet people from all around the globe which made my time memorable. By going to events and parties, you’ll find people similar to you and make friends too!
Stick around!
Something I learnt in my first year was to stick around campus. During my first few weeks I would go to classes and then go home, it made me feel a lot less like a student and I felt like I was missing out. I overcame this by scheduling what I would do on campus each day. It’s safe to say now that I spent more of my time at uni- whether it’s meeting friends or spending hours in Ali G Learning Commons. This is a great chance to find out what is happening on campus- like study abroad or graduate fairs and make use of the facilities like the careers centre. At the end of the day you want to have memories of uni and make the most of it!
Financially helpful
As I mentioned before, living at home was much easier for me as I don’t live far from University. This made it easier for me financially as I saved a lot of money. This made it easier for me to save up for things I needed, like a car. Again, I felt guilty for living off my parents and discussed with them how I should go about in helping them financially, like helping pay the bills. Managing my money here helped me understand how to “adult” and make sure I wasn’t spending too much money.
Support from the University
The University does a lot to support students living at home and one aspect is the Living at home society. This is a great opportunity to meet students who live at home and share your experiences. There’s socials and events running throughout the year so you always have something fun to do. The best part has to be the residential trip where students get the chance to stay in student accommodation. For more info, check out this link.
So there it is! My 5 perks of being a living at home student and ways in which to still enjoy uni life!