LIVING AT HOME WHILE AT UNI HOW TO HAVE THE BEST STUDENT EXPERIENCE WHILE LIVING AT HOME
STUDYING WITH US BUT LIVING AT HOME? FIND YOUR PEOPLE - JOIN A SOCIETY A great way to make meaningful new friendships is to join our clubs and societies, run through our Guild of Students. Our Drama Society puts on up to three productions a year, our cheerleaders throw everything at competing, esports meet for gaming sessions and our Indian Society organises loads of events (they even got to support Team India at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games!). We also have liberation societies including our award-winning Disabled Students Society and Queer Society. Our societies put on regular activities and trips too, from nights out watching Don’t worry about missing out, you don’t need to move out of home to have the absolute best time and most amazing student experience! Taking inspiration from our own students who are also living at home while at uni, here are a few ways to make the most of this exciting period of your life. rugby or footie at Nortons and plays at The Crescent Theatre to wellbeing walks around Birmingham’s canals. You can even create your own society! DID YOU KNOW OVER 70% OF OUR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS LIVE AT HOME WHILE AT UNI?* YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE! *EXCLUDING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM
Samreen Iqbal Business Enterprise (BA) Hons In my first year, I lived at home with my parents and siblings in central Birmingham, in my second, a rented property with my partner and two children in Moseley. I chose to stay living at home as I had a very supportive family network and there was no place I’d rather be than in Birmingham itself. The best of both worlds, I could make new friends and have a student life, as well as enjoy going back home at the end of the day and saving money. “I had lots in common with my uni friends and we’d go out to our favourite restaurants and other places to meet up. We also had a WhatsApp group for the class to get to know each other. Travelling was super easy as I mostly used public transport, occasionally an Uber! WELCOMEFEST OUR FRESHERSWEEK SEPTEMBER AND JANUARY JOIN THE FUN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM
YOU WON’T BE CUT OFF SO MUCH TO DO FOR FREE ON CAMPUS AND IN THE CITY Super cheap socials – The Guild of Students put on a range of social events that cost just £1. These include movie nights, beauty sessions - where you can learn how to have luxury on a budget - pool nights and sessions to learn useful skills from other students. Free events in the city include the Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market, Pride, incredible exhibitions, food festivals and markets at MAC Birmingham in Cannon Hill Park, and the chance to present the news or weather – or have a photo taken with a Dalek – in the Public Space at BBC Birmingham at the Mailbox. There are free exhibitions at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and many walking tours to get to know your home city better, from the birth of heavy metal and Peaky Blinders to the city’s rise as the ‘workshop of the world’. There are many reasons you want to live at home while at uni. For example, being rent-free and not having to worry about paying bills, grocery shopping and living off beans on toast, even if you do have to muck in with the chores! Across the road from the uni, the gorgeous, golden Library of Birmingham is where many of our students go to study, and for free, you can enjoy photography exhibitions, performances, craft workshops, poetry readings, coffee mornings and fun for toddlers. It also grows fruit and veg on the Discovery Terrace, with books on growing your own too. Don’t worry, you won’t be cut off. Birmingham’s great transport network – including buses, trams and trains complete with student discounts, and bicycle hire - means you can get to uni and everywhere else in the city easily. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM
SEE YOUR HOME CITY WITH FRESH EYES You might have lived in or around Birmingham all your life. But like most of us, you probably haven’t explored much of it. Now’s your chance! There are some incredible ‘green’ spots and hidden gems that you can easily get to and cost nothing to enjoy: Nearby Cathedral Square, Chamberlain Gardens, St Paul’s Square (literally a skip and a jump from the uni). And take a walk down the canal towpath between lectures – the best way to take in some fresh air. Edgbaston Reservoir, a beautiful spot walkable from the uni! Winterbourne House and Garden, home to over 6,000 plant species from around the world, including a gorgeous Japanese garden. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM
DID YOU KNOW NEARLY 40% OF BIRMINGHAM’S POPULATION IS UNDER 25! YOU’RE IN THE YOUNGEST CITY IN EUROPE It might be tempting to just sit at home when you don’t have to be at lectures and seminars, but if you get the chance to splash out, there are plenty of fun things to do with friends in and around Birmingham. HAVE SOME FUN! GHETTO GOLF AT THE CUSTARD FACTORY BOWLING AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL AND LANE 7 SOCIAL DARTS AT FLIGHT CLUB INTERACTIVE SOCIAL CRICKET AT SIXES TRAMPOLINING AT RUSH PADDLEBOARDING AT EDGBASTON RESERVOIR ESCAPE ROOMS AND GHOST TOURS EVEN AXE THROWING! UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM
CHECK OUT THE NIGHT LIFE If you are keen to check out Birmingham’s amazing night life, there’s lots going on. If you love live music, there’s the Sunflower Lounge, The Flapper and Secret Space in Digbeth, which also hosts comedy nights and vintage clothes sales and airs big sports events. Glee Club also does good student rates. WALKABOUT AND COYOTE UGLY BARS ON BROAD STREET N64 WITH RETRO ARCADE GAMES AND CONSOLES AT THE CUSTARD FACTORY PRYZM, ROSIES AND PLAYERS NIGHTCLUBS The O2 Academy and O2 Institute are great for concerts and as smaller venues, are not too expensive for students. The quirky Electric Cinema near New Street Station shows Hollywood and more niche films right through to live opera. There are loads of pubs and bars in the city, many along the canal between Brindley Place and the Mailbox. Popular students hang-outs also include: NOT EVERYONE WANTS OR CAN AFFORD A BIG PARTY LIFE Community groups such as Hawkesley Community Centre and Café often offer free treatments, our beauty students even help with mini facials! Active Parks helps Birmingham residents get active for free. With a Birmingham Wellbeing Membership card, you can join in everything from walks and rambles to running and cycling, Zumba to tai chi, gardening to bushcraft, and much, much more. Organisations such as Barefoot Birmingham offer free relaxation sessions for carers, including mindful movement, tea and chat. University is no longer just about great big parties and nights out, it can be just as much about selfcare and having space to unwind from your studies. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM
MAKE SOME EXTRA CASH OR VOLUNTEER Why not take up a part-time job to earn extra cash or put time towards projects and causes that matter to you? Though our Unitemps recruitment agency, you can get part-time jobs on and off campus, from a couple of hours cover to full-time in the holidays, or apply to become a Student Ambassador working at events such as open days. You can also sign up for volunteering roles through our Hired careers service. OVER 400 HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS ARE REGISTERED WITH OUR UNITEMPS SERVICE IF YOU’RE FEELING LONELY, WE ARE RIGHT HERE If you are feeling apprehensive about going to uni while living at home, you can speak to our wellbeing team at The Link via the student portal. The team also holds workshops on managing anxiety, exercise and mental health, loneliness, making friends and finances. Don’t suffer in silence. TOP TIP Although it’s tempting to stay at home and look at online journals or e-books from your bed – try not to! Come to uni and explore the library and use all the other facilities designed to help you. Try to keep a routine and attend all your lectures – you’ll be happy you did on graduation day and it will ensure you get to meet up with your course mates. Summer Row, Birmingham B3 1JB 0121 232 4300 / 0121 604 1000 www.ucb.ac.uk marketing@ucb.ac.uk
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