A sudden panic.
I received my welcome pack from the University of Abertay yesterday. It’s a big blow to realise that in 5 months I’ll be moving away from my hometown of Edinburgh, say goodbye to my family and my cat, and start afresh in the town of Dundee - starting a course in Web Design and Development for 4 years.
I unfortunately missed the discussion regarding accommodation - but knew enough that I would be getting my forms for it after the Easter holidays. I got them with my welcome pack, and found out exactly what I have to pay. ¬£50 a week, or ¬£255 a month is what I’m going to pay for my accomodation - and that includes gas, heating, internet but unfortunately electricity for each room is paid with ¬£1 meters outside the rooms - and the first year undergraduates get the worst accomodation. I know, unfortunately, how much my family pays for electricity each year - and I hope I use a lot less.
My electronic devices as of recently that I’ll be taking to university will be:
- Laptop
- Camera (and battery chargers associated with it)
- Mobile Phone (not that I’ll use it much, knowing me)
- Lighting
So, it’s a lot less than the constant computers, tv’s, set top boxes, dvd, heating, chargers, and lighting that we use in this rather large house…
But it’s not only the cost of electricity - but the cost of food, educational materials, transport, and all the drink I normally consume in a day.
They say that a normal student will spend between £5000 to £7000 a year - and many get bursaries up to £5000 I think. But the richer the family you belong to is, the more the government expects your family to fork out for you. So, sorry dad.
Thankfully, I am aware that I live in a Welfare State. I have bursaries, free education and much more. I know that as long as I sign up for SAAS I’ll get bursaries, my education fees paid for me and a dyslexia bursary which will provide me with a new laptop to help me out. In that into effect, without it I’d be paying an extra ¬£7000 a year.
I just have to realise how controlled I’ll have to be with my finances starting in August or September. I’m going to switch banks and find one with a much better interest rate and internet banking features, I’ll need to wether or not I’ll need a job, I won’t be able to fork out on all my photography stuff - probably not shooting film as much. Thankfully, software won’t be a problem - as all software for my course is open source, and all microsoft products are provided free of charge by the university (so I’ll get vista, office, etc for my mac for nothing).
It’s just a shock, realising that in no time whatsoever I’ll be eighteen, leaving the house, and starting fresh in a new town with new friends going to university. Whoah.
