A is for ad-wraps
Can’t afford to run a car?
Now you can by turning it into an advertising hoarding. Firms such as
www.Commmotion.co.uk and www.AdWrap.co.uk will cover your vehicle with
removable plastic ads and pay you up to £220 a month. Some advertisers give
students free Smart cars to drive around campus — all you pay for is petrol.
B is for bargain books
Why pay full whack for course books when you can buy them secondhand for a
snip? Check out www.academicbooktrade.co.uk, www.usedbooksearch.co.uk and
www.boso.com. Our researchers found the best prices at Amazon, where student
medics can save 80% on course books and psychologists 30%. Also skim
departmental notice boards for deals.
C is for clearing
The clock’s ticking — if you still don’t have a place, you have only five days
left to contact the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (0870 112
2211, www.ucas.com/clearing) and find somewhere to spend the next three
years. Popular courses may be full, but engineering, IT and nursing places
should be available.
D is for doorstop
an essential item. Use it to hold your door open to make friends during
freshers’ week, and to keep out unwanted guests at night. Also take a duvet,
unless you’re keen to sleep under a smelly old one, a loud alarm clock,
plenty of passport-size photos, aspirin and a big bath towel to make the
walk back from the showers less embarrassing.
E is for elbo.ws.
Need new sounds but don’t want to pay 79p a time at iTunes? Go to elbo.ws, a
music-blog aggregator that sifts through sites where you can download tracks
for nothing. Elbo.ws encourages you to sample music from hot bands then buy
the ones you like. The site says it does not condone piracy.
F is for facebook.com
A social-networking site along the lines of MySpace, but especially popular
among students. Post a mugshot, create a profile, connect with friends, or
join groups and meet new people with common interests. Privacy settings
allow you to limit what information is available to whom. www.facebook.com
Gis for grammar
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary for University and College Students is
new and aimed at combating poor spelling, grammar and writing skills among
undergraduates. Full price £12.99, but available for £7.99 at
www.whsmith.co.uk
H stands for homesickness
Which can be cured for a quid. Book your coach journeys well in advance and
you can pick up one-way fares for as little as £1. Megabus.com sells seats
up to 45 days ahead. At Nationalexpress.com you can book up to 12 weeks
ahead. As with no-frills airlines, those who book late end up paying the
most. (See also R.)
I is for improving your memory
Vital in your first term when you are bombarded with information, advice, new
pals and piles of work. Useful techniques include mnemonics, mental placing
and chunking (dividing data into manageable chunks). More at
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/memory.
J is for J Cloths
Cheaper than chips and far more useful. To clean a greasy kitchen hob, Kim and
Aggie, from Channel 4’s How Clean Is Your House?, suggest wiping it with a J
Cloth, sprinkling on some biological washing powder, leaving it for two
hours, then scrubbing down the hob with a scouring pad. Ideally before the
dreaded parental visit.
K is for kicking the habit
Smoking might have seemed cool at school, but if you’re now getting through 20
cigs a day, you stand to shell out a whopping £5,000 over the lifetime of a
three-year degree. Do you really want to donate that much cash to the
chancellor? For information on how to quit, call the NHS smoking helpline on
0800 169 0169.
L is for laundry
Not a big priority for students, apparently. Last year, the Royal Bank of
Scotland reported, students spent £75m on laundry and dry cleaning compared
with £1 billion on alcohol and £520m on phone bills. When doing your own,
don’t forget to separate darks and lights, read labels for instructions,
wash new clothes separately and don’t put “dry clean only” items in the
machine. Old clothes can be brightened up by adding a pinch of salt to the
detergent, says Housekeeping.about.com.
M is for milk
One of the biggest causes of arguments among student housemates. Put a pint in
the communal fridge and you can guarantee that it won’t stay there for long.
A cooler option is to buy a £20 mini fridge from Argos and keep it in your
room. Also handy if you want to invite somebody back for a coffee without
having to introduce them to the whole house.
N is for Nightline
Don’t sob yourself to sleep at night if you’re under pressure — make a phone
call. Every university has a team of volunteers who stay up all night every
day of term, not drinking, but manning the phones. They’ll listen to your
problems and — when they are able to — provide practical help. Log on to
Nightline.ac.uk to obtain the number of your local centre.
O is for the oven
It’s not just for stashing your booze at parties: you can also use it for
cooking, and for salvaging stale bread. Chuck out any bread that has reached
the green and furry stage. Otherwise, pop a loaf that has passed its sell-by
date into a paper bag, sprinkle the bag with water and place in the oven for
a few minutes. Then eat. For more foodie tips, see Ehow.com.
P is for Pass Plus
If you are a new driver, you could ask your parents to fork out £150 for a
six-hour Pass Plus advanced course. It will make you safer on the road —
essential, as young people account for 10% of drivers but 20% of serious
accidents — and it has the added advantage of saving you up to 35% on your
car insurance. Best of all, there’s no test to sit through at the end. For
more information, visit www.2pass.co.uk/passplus.htm.
Q is for questions
Students make up almost half the researchers at AQA, the text service that
promises to answer any question. Languages student Sarah O’Gorman clears
about £9 an hour for answering queries like: “How many Rizla papers would
cover the inside of St Paul’s?” Text 63336 or Aqa.issuebits.com
