Student Life: This will mean different things to different people. Excelling at academics, making loads of friends or having a great nightlife, but ultimately it is about having a brilliant experience.

Sometimes students travel to a neighbouring city to their dream university, but for some attending their university of choice would require flying to the complete opposite side of the world. Be it a next-door city, or a whole new country, when you travel to a new place for uni, it's often for far more than just the educational prospect. Rather what is often being sought after is a whole experience, filled with exploration, memories, friends and accomplishments, too.

Of course, every student would like it if they can graduate with flying colours, with ease and while enjoying themselves! The ultimate question arises: How do you balance university life?

In this blog, we’ve put together a guide at your disposal with a few tips and tricks to help strike that perfect equilibrium.

Preparedness

One way to ensure a pleasant experience is to prepare accordingly beforehand.
Here are a few suggestions:

Find your Ideal Student Home:

This is probably the trickiest and most important step. There are a few important considerations to make.

Distance: Find somewhere that is not just near your uni, but also near where you’ll get to experience your new city’s best.
Safety: Choose a location that makes you feel safe. You can do this by checking area stats. You might also want to consider an apartment with security cameras or even a concierge service.
Comfort: Choose a home that makes you feel comfortable. This is a combination of staying in a familiar area, near people you know in the city or having all the amenities, services and conveniences you need near you.

Research & Scout the Area:

This may seem like an obvious one, but there are intricate details to discover and keep in mind.

Climate: What’s the weather like in your city through the seasons? How best can you adapt yourself to it? Will you need blankets or a radiator or is your new apartment equipped?
Convenience: Where’s your nearest grocery store? Is there a grocery delivery service you can use weekly? Where’s your nearest pharmacy?
Eating Out: What restaurants can you go to nearby? For coffee, for breakfast or even for dinner?
Transport: Where are the nearest underground and bus stations? How long would it take to grab a Black Cab or an Uber to uni? What are the best means of transportation? Is public transport convenient or should you invest in a car or bike?
Emergency Services: What are the local emergency services’ phone numbers? Where’s the nearest hospital or police station?

Thorough Packing:

Considering that most university degrees and courses are on average 3 years, you may need more than your holiday carry-on!

The Essentials: Pack all your irreplaceable must-haves!
Coats and Gloves: Be mindful to pack weather-friendly clothes you’ll need –you might find that you prefer to purchase once you arrive.
Occasion Ready: Include different event-appropriate outfits, some for those daily lectures, some for professional meetings and interviews, some for days in and, of course, some for the nights out, too!

Home Comforts:

Bring your home country and family comforts, spices, recipes, photos and memorabilia that will turn your new apartment into a home away from home. These are items that make a home feel cosier, more convenient or more comfortable, items that are particular and special to you. Grab and bring with you that photo with your family or friends off your wall, that funny keychain you got as a birthday present, your parent’s special stew spices or that hoodie you love to wear on rainy days.

Going the Extra Mile

Extra-Curriculars:

A great way to make friends and get to know people around you is by joining and getting involved with extracurricular activities, sports and societies at your uni or near you in the city.

Enhance your transferable skills by joining a language learning society, the debate society or any other society at your university
Join a cultural society of your home county to combat homesickness
Get involved with a team sport at your uni to enjoy keeping fit while being social and practising some healthy competition
Take on elective subjects that you are interested in and have always wanted to learn.

Scheduling:

By keeping a schedule of the most important priorities in your day to day routine, you can block out more time for fun activities and book or plan for them better. Let’s start in order of priority:

Lectures and Seminars
The most important part of your learning and the most integral part of your academic success.
Tutorial Sessions
Some university courses will assign you to a tutor who will provide you with one on one sessions to see how you’re getting on with your course and study, as well as provide you with invaluable advice and resources. This is also very important for keeping up the educational side of your university experience.
Study Time and Homework
In order to keep up with your learning, you would have to set aside time for homework, assignments and readings.

Household Tasks
The little things that make your home more comfortable, cooking meals, taking your clothes to the laundromat and cleaning your space. This effort would be reduced if you’re staying somewhere with washing machines or a cleaning service which will take care of the latter points for you.

The Good Stuff
Fun! Yes, even fun activities, trips, dinners and plans can and should be scheduled! This allows you to make the best of the leisure time you have. It also helps coordinate these activities with bigger groups of friends.

Goal Setting, Discipline and Commitments

Setting up a reward system for yourself can help truly maintain a balance between the rigorous studying and the exhilarating yet draining partying. Alongside your schedule, you can set goals. For instance, if you have 3 lectures a particular week, and 2 gym sessions planned and you meet your commitments that month, allowing yourself a reward can be a brilliant way to encourage yourself to stick to your schedule. It’s also about having the discipline to say no to a late-night out before a big exam or presentation without preventing yourself from the joys of a night out on another day.

Recovery, Self Care and Mental Health:

It’s easy to get carried away in a new lifestyle or to get completely wrapped up in a very busy schedule without recognising that you might be trying to do too much or you’re overwhelming yourself. This can quickly lead to burnout if enough rest and recovery aren’t had. In an effort to avoid disruptions to your fun or your studies, time should be set aside for self-care. We hear this nowadays, often either accompanied by impassioned suggestions or an eye roll. What it means to practice self-care is to simply look after yourself. Be that:

Recovery and Rest
Allow enough time for winding down and relaxing, particularly after a heavy week, essay submissions or exams. Saving a time slot to wind down is very important.

Enough Sleep
Make sure to have enough sleep. 7-9 hours of sleep are recommended for sufficient rest, not just for physical recovery but also for optimal cognition.

Resist Over-Planning
Be careful not to take on too much. Planning is important for scheduling both fun and educational pursuits. Sometimes however being in a new city can get someone excited about the many things they just “mmmust do as soon as possible!” taking away the opportunity to really enjoy the moment without rush or clutter. So before attempting to squeeze in a multitude of tasks and activities in a short amount of time, embrace some spontaneity and allow yourself the space to recover, rest and sleep as aforementioned.

Contact
Stay in touch with family and friends. Keeping in touch with your loved ones can prevent feelings of homesickness and facilitate a feeling of connection and comfort. Try keeping a group chat with your old high school classmates or relatives, or try arranging a weekly call with a parent or grandparent.

Conclusion

Whether it’s a short university course, a bachelor’s, master’s or otherwise, balance is definitely not easy to strike as a student, but it is nonetheless essential for a great and productive time wherever you are. We hope the tips provided can help you achieve just that so you can have the best possible experience in your new town or city.

The key to a balanced student life in London