What if you decide to live at home?

We’ve got some tips on how to still feel involved even if you’ve decided to live at home during uni or college.

Just because you live at home doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands on every freebie under the sun available at your welcome fair during Freshers’ Week. Get yourself some free pizza and find out what the uni or college has to offer, what its support services are like, and what you’ll find useful as a home student (for instance, there may be some information about discounted student travel passes for commuting). 

A great way to get involved at uni or college is through joining societies. There’s often a huge range to choose from, so whether you’re into sports or cooking, reading or cheerleading, you’ll find a society for you.

You may not make many friends in student halls, but you’ll still meet lots of new people doing the same course as you. They may live on campus and this can be a great place to crash in between lectures. You can also make lots of friends through your course mates. Make the effort to say ‘yes’ to invites and you’ll get minimal FOMO – just be sure to know how you’re getting home, or have a back-up friend’s floor you can crash on so you stay safe.

Societies, sports clubs, and your course will often put on social events where you can meet new people you have lots in common with. This is a great way to network and make friends, even finding other home students you can take the train or bus with.

Your uni or college will have great facilities, like a big library where you can get your head down and do some studying. You might not be able to stay there til 4am and then walk across campus to your accommodation, but there’s nothing stopping you taking part in study groups and having library dates with your friends to work on assignments – they don’t have to be done at home, so make the most of the atmosphere in the library and avoid the feeling of missing out.