For those of you starting September this year!!

Having been a BU student for four years, there are many tips and tricks I’ve learned during my time here to save time and money here. Here’s a quick blog surrounding all the little things that make life easier – some we wish we knew in our first year at University.

UNiDAYs has discounts for everyone (as long as you’re a student)

1. Student Discounts – students don’t make an awful lot of money while they’re studying so it’s good to save the pennies any way we can from the off set. Sign up to UNiDAYS for free using your university (ac.uk) email and received endless offers and rewards specifically designed for students, including clothing retailers, restaurants, entertainment and even travel! NUS is also great but you also have to pay for the membership card which is still worth all the savings you’ll be making.
2. Microsoft Office – as you’re now a Bournemouth University student, you have full and free access to Microsoft products that will really benefit your time here. Bournemouth University’s IT services explains that “due to the licensing partnership between the university and Microsoft, current BU Students and Staff can now download Office 365 ProPlus for free.  Office 365 ProPlus includes all the familiar  Office applications and offers the ability for these to be locally installed on up to five devices and is available offline”. Here’s how: download. 
   

   eLibrary available on the Library tab on myBU, on the left side of the screen

3. Library book myths – I was quite reluctant to be paying for the books on my recommended reading list in first year mainly because tuition fees were already so high and life was very budgeted. More so, these books were priced at £40 per book on normally affordable online retailers. Enter myBU’s eLibrary, Google Scholar and Google Books – the best insight I can give to any student looking for a) cheaper solutions to your reading lists, b) convenient and extensive research options for your assignments and c) a useful introduction to second and final year resources. These three online resources allow you to simply search what you’re looking for on their directory and read for free. Yes, sometimes it is nice to ready from physical papers and books but there’s nothing worse than carrying books from the library to your accommodation or maybe forgetting to return it in time and racking up a small fine. It’s easy, quick to use and the library support at BU are always on hand to help you find more reading in the area so bonus!

I hope this helps everyone and if anyone has any more tips or tricks they’d like the newbies to know, please comment below. Also, if you’d like more information on point three, leave me a message and I can see if there’s a need for a separate breakdown blog.