Before you arrive: enrolment, reading lists and confirming your room

The weeks between accepting your place and arriving are full of small online tasks. Most are quick, but missing one can mean no student card, no Wi-Fi login or no room key on day one. This lesson turns the summer before university into a simple checklist.

Watch your personal email from August

• Universities contact you at the personal email address on your application until your university account exists, so check it, and its spam folder, every few days.
• The University of Nottingham, for example, tells new students to look out for an 'Activate your IT account' email about four weeks before the course starts. It contains your student ID number.
• Oxford sends your Single Sign On IT details before term once you have returned your university card form, and asks you to tell your college or department if your contact details change.
• Make a folder or label called 'University' in your inbox and move every university email there so nothing gets lost among shopping offers.
• Once your university email is live, set it up on your phone. Nottingham advises installing Outlook and the MyNottingham app on your phone.

Registration and enrolment: two different jobs

• Registration (sometimes called enrolment) makes you an official student. At Nottingham you must complete online registration and then (for full-time students) in-person registration on campus to be fully registered.
• Oxford says your status as a member of the university is not confirmed until registration has been completed, so treat it as compulsory, not optional admin.
• Module enrolment is separate: it is where you choose optional modules. Nottingham gives a fixed window with an opening and closing time, so put both dates in your calendar the day you receive them.
• Some universities ask you to finish short online courses before registration. Oxford, for example, asks new students to complete online training on harassment and sexual misconduct first.
• Keep your passport, visa or eVisa details and offer letter ready as a PDF on your phone; you may be asked for them during online or in-person registration (see the Paperwork module).

Your student card and IT account

• Your student card is often your library card, building pass and ID for exams. Nottingham asks for a recent passport-style photo in .jpg format to apply, and photo ID when you collect it.
• Take the photo against a plain light background, facing the camera, with no filters. A rejected photo can delay your card.
• Write down where and when you collect the card. If collection is during welcome week, add it to your first-week plan (lesson ul-02).
• Check your course's laptop requirements before buying a new one. Nottingham advises checking course-specific requirements and using free student software such as Microsoft 365 (see the Tech Skills module).

Confirming your accommodation

• Being offered a room is not the same as having keys. Check that you have accepted the offer, signed the contract and paid any deposit or first instalment by the deadline.
• Nottingham tells students to check their email for moving-in instructions from their accommodation provider and to follow key collection guidance. Note your arrival slot, the address of the key collection point and its opening hours.
• If your flight lands late at night, email the accommodation office in advance to ask about late arrival. Do not assume someone will be at the desk.
• Oxford notes that its colleges provide rooms for first-year undergraduates, but this is not true everywhere and graduate housing is not guaranteed. Check your own university's rules. Choosing and viewing housing is covered in lessons fh-01 and uc-08.

Reading lists and pre-arrival tasks

• Departments often post pre-arrival tasks, reading lists and your induction timetable online. Nottingham's school welcome pages, for example, include reading lists, activity worksheets and an induction timetable with compulsory sessions.
• Do not buy every book on the list. Look for the items marked 'essential' or 'core', check whether the library has an e-book version, and wait until your first week for the rest.
• Reading lists use references that can be confusing at first. The University of Bath, for example, has a guide on interpreting your reading list, including how to tell a book from a journal article (more in lesson ul-05).
• Spend 20 to 30 minutes a few times a week on any set reading. Arriving having read the first chapter makes your first seminar much easier.
• Health tasks also belong before arrival: Oxford and Nottingham both recommend checking vaccinations such as MenACWY before you come. See lesson ha-08.