Informations for FRESHERS
Thing to do before leaving Hong Kong
At this point in time, we are sure that you are absolutely clueless as to many things to come. Hence we hope to be able to offer some sort of an advice. Such advice we gathered from our past experience and we hope will be useful to you out there.
Paperwork
The first hurdle that everyone has to face before coming over to UK is really, that of the tons and tons of paperwork to be completed. The ideal organization to seek help seems to really be that of British Council. But we here will try as best as we can to offer useful advice.
- UCAS application
- Accommodation application
- Valid passport
- Bank documents stating your ability to support the costs of living
- Letter of confirmation from the university
Air - Tickets
There are specific travel agencies that target students and these tend to be able to offer student-friendly prices. Of course smaller travel agencies might be able to match up if not offer cheaper air tickets simply because of their smaller firm size. Ask around. A one way ticket from Hong Kong to UK can cost around HKD$5,000. And a return ticket from UK to Hong Kong (and back) can cost from the region of ¡ê450-¡ê588. This year especially saw some students utilize online web resources in booking air tickets, so look out for those as well.
Accommodation
As we tell everyone, the first question to ask yourself is, do you want to cook for yourself or be served meals at stipulated hours? If you choose the former, self-catered halls are the way to go. Most of the halls are self-catered in the university itself. If you chose the latter type of accommodation, that is, catered halls of residence, then you have to ask yourself another question. "Am I picky on food?" Word of warning before choosing catered halls is simply that if you can ONLY survive on food like a prisoner, think again about catered halls. I seem to be sound as if catered halls are a definite no-no. But you are wrong, for I stay at catered halls and I do not regret having chosen that. What makes up me chose the catering hall, is that one tends to make many more friends in catered halls. You meet loads of different people from different places in the Dining Hall during meal times. I can't suggest where or what type of accommodation you should be picking. At the end of the day, it really depends on one's character.
Clothing
Bring enough winter clothes to last you through Autumn and Winter. You will definitely take some time to adapt to the cooler weather here in UK. Winter in UK can get really really cold. Also, it is exceptionally windy in Bristol. So, it would really be a good idea to bring windbreakers and stuff. But having said these, it might be cheaper to get winter clothes here in UK. Also, do not leave all your T-shirts and shorts behind. We do have heat waves in Spring - Summer if you are lucky. Then, people will take out their sunglasses and be clad in typical summer wear.
Photos
First, bring loads of passport photos. You will definitely have use for them. I reckon at least being a dozen. It is probably more expensive to get passport photos done here in UK. Also, bring some photos of friends and family as these will definitely help when you start feeling homesick (or if you ever do feel homesick). It would be useful to bring some extra rolls of film here.
Internet/Computer facilities
All rooms come with internet facilities by Resnet. Moreover, there are a considerable amount of computers (with internet facilities) in the various libraries and computer rooms in the various departments. Some computers have available USB connections. So if you have a USB port on either your laptop or desktop, you can download files from the web using the university computers via a ZIP drive and then transfer the files over to your own computer system. Generally, students either come with laptops or they will buy desktops at computer fairs in the university. Buying an entire desktop system here in UK has been said to be about the same price/cheaper than that in Hong Kong.
Money Matters
Bring enough money at least for the first installment of tuition and accommodation fees. For 2002-2003, students were asked to pay the 1st deposit during registration in the first week. Cheapest way of transferring money over is via bank drafts, though TT (telegraphic transfer) is a more convenient method.
Useful things to bring along
Firstly, you might want to bring along a "multi socket extension cable", for you are only provided with a single socket. You would probably be able to get 2 x 4-way trailing socket cable here in UK for ¡ê3.49. You can check out the prices at the online Argos website. IT gives a pretty good gauge of the prices here in UK. So you know the priorities when packing the suitcase and avoiding the overweight luggage penalty. Also, even if you are staying in the catered halls, it would be useful to bring a set of cutlery for snacking in your room. Normally, local students will bring pots and pans so you can always borrow it. You might also want to bring along earphones/headphones so you can listen to music when using the university computers. Bringing a box of CDs would also be a good idea as you will definitely be using them. For those opting for self-catered, definitely bring loads of canned foods and any other food you think you will miss! Though there are two Chinese supermarkets here in Bristol, there might be things you find it hard to get. And do bear in mind that a plate of duck rice will cost around ¡ê7. If you are a Chinese music junkie, then do bring some Chinese mp3s on your laptop.
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Things to do upon arrival in Bristol
- Get in touch with us.
- Remember to bring important telephone numbers before you leave.
- Book in into accommodation.
- Open a bank account
- shop around. All banks will be offering special deals to try to get you to open an account with them.
- You will almost definitely require the presence of your passport each time.
- you may face some difficulties initially with some conflict between the department requiring you to pay the 1st deposit before issuing
- your registration card, and the bank only allowing you to open an account after you are a registered student.
- Register with the department
- Register with Guild of Students and get your NUS card.
- Register with Student Health (situated in the Guild of students).
- Go for Freshers' fayre (1st - 2nd October)
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Mobile
There are several service providers in UK, namely; O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin.
So which network to choose?
Since most (if not all) of the Hong Kong students in UK are on the Vodafone network, and making cross network calls would be very costly...
so... ... unless u are an Anti-Social, otherwise get VODAFONE.
note: recently Vodafone has made some restriction to the numbers eligible for freetalk time (eg. numbers starting with 0870) Numbers eligible for free talktime may vary for Vodafone and the other service providers.
You can either sign a 1 year contract (and usually it comes with a free phone) or get the PAYG (Pay-as-you-Go) SIM Card. Popular shops to go are: Phone 4 U , Mobile Phone Centre , and Carphone Warehouse ; all which can be found along Broadmead and Queen's Road. Or you can find some mobile company from the Internet. Go to the Links .
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Calling Home
PCWW IDD, UK Calling Cards, Just Dial or Netmeeting
1. PCWW IDD
This is a cheaper way to get contact with our parents and friends. You can call PCWW in Hong Kong to obtain this service
2. UK Calling Cards
A variety of overseas calling cards are available on the market. These cards are generally cheaper in calling rates compared to using IDD from Hong Kong. They come in different values varying from ¡ê5 to ¡ê20, usually with an expiry date of 3 months from the first call made.
Calling cards are available in a lot of shops around Bristol but we usually purchase it from this shop in Chinatown in London. Some calling cards do have discounts (e.g. SAVERS cost around ¡ê13 with ¡ê25 worth of calls). However, do remember to check the fine prints on the price listing of any particular calling card before purchasing as some cards may have very cheap rates but high of hidden charges!!
RECOMMENDATION: SAVERS or UNITY
DISADVANTAGES: expires within 3 months
3. Just Dial
Another option would be JUST DIAL. This service is accessed by dialling 0870 794 0088 during weekdays and 0706 960 0088 weekends. It allows you to call various countries at national rates and no more.
If you are calling from a UK mobile phone with an inclusive minutes package and use the weekday number, your call will be FREE. For example, if you are on 300mins off-peak tariff, it means that you'll be able to call back home up to 5 hours per month at no cost.
RECOMMENDATION: this option would probably be most suitable for people who lots of free talktime as you can use you free minutes to call back home (i.e. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP overseas call!!) However, recently Vodafone has made some changes. Numbers starting with 0870 xxxxxxx will not be eligible for free talktime anymore. Only Vodafone has made this change, 0870 numbers are still eligible as free talktime for the other service providers (eg. Orange, O2 etc...)
DISADVANTAGES: due to time differences, you probably will find that you'll have a restricted time period to call home if you are on an off-peak tariff. And do check out the rates when using this service on weekends as the rates do differ quite a bit.
4. Netmeeting
The Chatting tools, such as ICQ and MSN Messager , are including netmeeting. You might choose a video meeting if camera is installed in your computers. The Most important is they are all free!!
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Travelling
1. Bus service
There are some bus route you may take them between the city centre and the halls.
No.41, No.42 --- to Parry's Lane ( Hiatt Baker Hall , Wills Hall , Durdham Hall , Unite Hall , Baddock ) via Whiteladies road and White Tree roundabout.
No.43 --- to the back of Wills Hall and Baddock Hall .
There are some bus route to the shopping centre
No.54 --- to Cribbs Causeway via White Tree roundabout.
No.1 --- to Cribbs Causeway via White Tree roundabout. (this bus can get to Cribbs Causeway quicker)
No.4, No.5, No.24, No.25 --- These buses can get to IKEA and the biggest Tesco . The bus stop for these is right outside the Body Shop in Broadmead.
2. Taxi
Taxi in England is much expensive than Hong Kong and they costs in a differnet range in different time. Usually, its costs ¡ê7 to Clifton from the Temple Meads Rail Station. One more thing you need to pay attention. Only 4 passagers excluding taxi driver in one taxi, but not 5. There are some taxi booking numbers provided as follow,
- 0117 925 1111 (Recommend)
- 0117 926 4001
- 0117 925 8888
- 0117 955 5444
- 0117 925 2626
- 0117 955 5000
3. Cheap Flights, Coach & Trains
Some of the onlines budget airlines, coaches and trains. You can check out these sites when buying your tickets for a holiday etc...
Go to the Links .
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Bank & Student Account
Banks
There are four High Street banks that are very near to the University - Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest (which are found near the Triangle) and two branches of HSBC (one on Park Street and one on Whiteladies Road).
Cash machines
There is a cash machine in the Computer Centre building, and cash machines in the University Union building. Cash machines will accept the majority of bank cards, as long as your debit card has either the Solo logo or the Maestro logo. The debit card also has the function of the EPS card in Hong Kong, where you can pay for goods and services with the debit card (most shops allowing its use for a purchase of ?5 or over).
To open an account:
1) In Hong Kong
It is worth looking into details of student bank accounts provided by different banks (more details below) before deciding which bank is better for you. However, to save the trouble of waiting in the long queues when all students try to open their accounts, a UK student account can be opened in Hong Kong before leaving in The International Banking Centre at HSBC's Main Office in Central. Tel: (852) 2822 3939 or go to HSBC International Banking Centre, L5, 1 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong.
2) In England
When you arrive in Bristol you will want to open a bank account. Most banks offer free banking to students. All the main high street banks compete with each other for students' business, and some offer incentives to full-time undergraduate students . Some will supply cheque books and cheque cards and a full current account for students staying in the UK for more than two years, others will only offer savings accounts with a cash card. It is worth contacting the banks to compare what is on offer ahead of time.
In order to open an account you will need to produce:
a) your passport,
b) confirmation of your student status, and
c) a letter of reference from your bank at home (this letter is sometimes waived during the busy period of September and early October, but if you already have a bank account in your home country it is a good idea to bring a letter of reference).
Banks near the University of Brisol are:
1. Barclays Bank
Addr: 86 Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1RB
Tel: +44(0) 117 948 2000.
http://www.barclays.co.uk
For information on Barclays Student Account:
Under Barclays Personal Banking, click into Students & graduates.
Or go to:
http://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccontrol?task=articlegroup&value=2593&site=pfs
2. HSBC Bank
A. (On Park Street) 24 College Green, Bristol BS1 5TD
B. Grosvenor Court, 149 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2RR
Tel: 08457 404404 from within the UK, or
+44 (0)1226 261010 from outside theUK.
http://www.hsbc.co.uk
For information on HSBC Student Account:
Under Personal Banking, click into Youth, Student and Graduate.
3. Lloyds TSB Bank
Addr: 58 Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol, Avon, BS8 1RQ
Tel: 08453 030102 from within the UK, or
+44 1823 446598 from outside the UK.
http://www.lloydstsb.co.uk
For information on Lloyds Student Account:
http://www.lloydstsb.co.uk/current_accounts/own_student_account.asp
4. National Westminster Bank (NatWest)
Addr: 40 Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RF
Tel: 08456 041604 from within the UK, or
+44 (0)121 236 8837 from outside the UK.
http://www.natwest.co.uk
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Housing Tips For Private Accommodation
1. CONTRACT
- after a contract is signed; ALL tenants (not the landlord) will be responsible if anyone pulls out.
How to avoid this?
(a) Choose your mates carefully according to (i) lifestyle (i.e. sleeping habits etc)
(ii) Financial capability (i.e. people with the same budget for their flat)
(b) Check the details of the contract and its clauses carefully - make sure everyone reads it and agrees on it
(c) Set basic ground rules
*note: make sure all tenants are FULL-TIME students; otherwise you'll be liable to 75% council tax 2. DAMAGES & DEPOSIT
(a) Check all properties properly before taking over
(b) Create an inventory list (if not provided by the landlord). This would prevent accusation of missing and damaged. Make sure both (tenant and landlord) sign on it.
(c) Preferably take pictures of the flat before and after taking over
(d) Remember to get receipts for any payment and it would be best to pay rent by cheque because there's the bank statement as proof
3. OWNERSHIP
(a) Make sure the landlord you are talking to is the real owner, just in case the flat is under mortgaged or anything (again this can be done at a fee of 4GBP at the land registry)
4. SAFETY GAS CERTIFICATE
(a) Make sure the flat has a safety gas certificate. Check with the landlord. It's his duty to provide one.
5. CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING A FLAT
(a) no. of people
(b) Safety
(c) Value for $$ - TRAVEL COST vs RENT Which is more important?
USEFUL SITES FOR PRIVATE ACCOM
University of Bristol Accommodation Office
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