It’s almost the end of summer and it’s about time to start thinking about what to pack and prepare for Uni! Here are some of my tips about what to pack for Durham:
Clothes
Starting with outfits. Durham can be quite chilly around freshers week and we’ve had a bit of snow throughout the last two winters. Therefore, the first thing to put on your checklist will be your winter jacket (waterproof ones work the best for me).
Meanwhile, as most Durham students walk around the city quite a lot and some areas are quite muddy, a pair of shoes that are easy to walk around and easy to clean is also highly recommended! If you’re an international student coming from a tropical island (like me) you can buy all of these in the UK if you don’t have them back home! There’re a lot of student discounts around freshers’ week and a lot of great deals during Black Friday. Some other items related to this category are hangers and small drying racks.
Medicines and beauty products
The second category is medicines and beauty products. If you have any prescription medicine, bring them and the prescription with you. If you’re an international student, please also check if your prescription medicine is available and legal in the UK. For common medicine like paracetamol, you’ll be able to find them in most shops or pharmacies. If you have any beauty products that you really like and there’s no substitute, for example, it could be an Asian brand that’s hard to find in the UK, then bring them with you; or else you can pretty much find everything you need here!
Food
The third category is really important to me: Food. If your family member has a secret recipe that you really like and makes you feel at home, bring it with you. Or maybe it’s a sauce you really like, then bring it as well! Food is the best when you’re feeling homesick.
*check what food is allowed to come into the UK https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-great-britain
Things you need to prepare when you first enter the UK
- Passport
- CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) Letter
- Proof of Accommodation
- BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) Letter
- Language Proficiency Test results
- High school/ Uni Transcript
- Tuberculosis test result (if you’re from a country/ territory from the following list https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa/countries-where-you-need-a-tb-test-to-enter-the-uk)
That’s a short list of stuff you’ll need to prepare before coming to Durham!
Good luck and enjoy packing!
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