Living in university accommodation as a first-year student

As soon as I booked my accommodation, I immediately had an abundance of questions. The helpful staff working at my accommodation made it extremely easy to ask any queries, such as how many people I’d be sharing with, which put my anxiety at ease.

In the months before moving, I connected with my future flatmates through a Facebook group. There were two second years and one first year, which was great as we could all communicate our plans and ask the second years about their experience living in accommodation. This allowed me to feel I had made some strong connections prior to even stepping foot on campus.

Like most first-years, moving day seemed very intimidating, so I chose to move in on a quieter day. My best tip is to create a checklist of the items you need and ensure they are ticked off before moving day, as this will make the whole process run smoother. Within the first week of living with brand new people, I already felt immensely comfortable. We had a discussion about accommodation etiquette. I would suggest that everyone does this as an essential first step to making your new living situation enjoyable for everyone. Some of the most important pieces of etiquette were to share the fridge space fairly, take out the bins and keep the space clean.

Within the first couple of weeks, I had already gone out with my flatmates and we had formed a great connection. We even decided to keep living together next year too! Alongside this, the accommodation staff held many events throughout the year (such as pumpkin cutting contests, treasure hunts and more). These have made the whole experience so pleasant. Although I am still running into unfamiliar situations from living in a shared space, it’s easy to handle by maintaining a positive relationship with those I live with. Everyone is in the same boat, so you all need to work together to keep everything smooth.

I couldn’t be happier with my decision to move into accommodation and not letting the challenges I perceived beforehand hinder my decision. I am now looking forward to continuing this journey into my second year! If you are still faced with this mental roadblock, I suggest contacting UCLan with your questions or using the “Ask a student” service.