Congratulations on achieving an offer and welcome to Queen Mary! This is a short guide with a few tips and some of the things you can start to do before coming to university.
If you are living in halls of residence, the deadline for most campus accommodation offers is on 20 August this year, so I would recommend accepting it as soon as you receive the confirmation of your place at Queen Mary.
If you are on Facebook, there are several groups created by the Students’ Union where you can receive a lot of information about Welcome Week activities and events, chat to others as well as finding your flatmates and people on your course.
There are groups for each different accommodation block so be sure to join them if you want to find your flatmates!
You can join the main freshers group here.
And find the group for your hall here: www.qmsu.org/news/article/6965/Join-our-new-Halls-Facebook-groups/
It’s a great idea to take a look at the Queen Mary Students’ Union (QMSU) website and explore the different events and activities you might like to get involved in.
There are hundreds of societies, sports clubs, and volunteering opportunities available for students to join in and they are a great way to meet others with similar interests, as well as for boosting your CV. Also, be sure to follow the QMSU Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up to date.
During Welcome Week there are many different events and activities put on by different departments within the University. Many events will be run by QMSU, so be sure to check out their website and social media profiles to see the events. These events are open to all to attend and there will be many taster sessions to try out different sports and activities through the ‘Try something new’ campaign.
One of the highlights will be the Freshers’ Fair taking place in the Welcome Week, which is well worth visiting as you will get to meet the committees of the different societies, sign up and grab freebies!
In addition, the Residential Support department at Queen Mary puts on several events exclusively for those living in the halls of residence so you can get to know the people you will be living with, and your academic department will also run events in order for you to get to know your fellow students.
Keep checking the Queen Mary and QMSU websites and your emails for when the Welcome Week and Freshers’ guides are published.
If you are funding your studies by the government-funded UK Student Finance Agency, check that your student finance details are all correct and the university and course is correct as listed on your AS12 letter. If it isn’t up to date or you haven’t yet applied, ensure you update the information or apply asap, otherwise your first payment could be delayed!
Many banks offer exclusive accounts for students with things like a large interest-free overdraft. This can be something to consider opening as you never know when you might need the emergency money and it is a life-saver for many students should payments be delayed for any reason. Most banks will let you open the account when you receive your AS12 letter (accessed via UCAS Track) and there is no need to wait until you are enrolled.
If you are an international student, it would be a good idea to open a UK bank account as this will make things easier in the long run and could save costs on exchanging money. You can get advice from the QM Advice and Counselling service: visit welfare.qmul.ac.uk.
It is highly recommended that you check your immunisation record is up to date before heading off to university. It is especially important that you have received the following two vaccinations to protect yourself and others against serious disease and illness:
For more information consult the NHS website or ask your GP.
Look out for emails about enrolment – the official process of joining Queen Mary is known as enrolment and there are two stages. Pre-enrolment and main. The pre-enrolment needs to be done beforehand on the online student record system MySIS. You should receive an email with your login details and instructions on how to do this.
Essentially, pre-enrolment is entering information about yourself, such as term-time addresses and other important details. Don’t worry if you don’t get the email right away – it should arrive at some point between late August and early September. I would recommend doing pre-enrolment as soon as you can when you get the email as this will mean there will be no delays in receiving your IT login details in order to access your Queen Mary email account and access Wi-Fi when you arrive.
During the main enrolment process, you will need to attend a face-to-face session, usually in the Octagon, Queens' Building. As part of the process you will receive your college ID card and then be able to access the Library and borrow books. You will be able to use your ID card for most student discounts. You will also be able to register for discounted travel and request letters for things like council tax exemptions.
Depending on where you are travelling from, you might not be able to see your family and friends at home for a while, so it’s a good idea to spend time with them while you can before you head off!
On the Unibuddy platform you can chat to current students at Queen Mary who are on on your course (or a similar course) and find out information from them. If you have any worries about starting we are all very friendly and willing to help!
