‘This post is a collaboration with BBC TVL, but all thoughts and experiences are my own‘
Deciding on whether to study at university is one of the biggest decisions a young adult will have to make. It’s exciting, it’s nerve-wracking and it can be life-changing. There is so much to consider before making the final decision. Will they stay at home and study, stay close but live in halls or will they move far away? Not to mention all the costs that living away from home incurs.
When I went to university I chose to study at the local campus. It had the course I wanted to study, and it meant I could still live at home. I liked the fact that I had some of the independence of university life but the perks of being at home.
Callum my eldest son is 17 and studying his final year of A levels. He recently started looking at his career options for next year. In the long term, his goals are a job in sports journalism, but he is unsure if an apprenticeship or university is the path for him. He is lucky that where we live is central to a lot of great universities. He could choose to stay at home as I did or move away.
At the minute he is weighing up his options and working hard to save up in case he decides that university is the right choice for him. Although we have always tried to ensure all our boys are careful with money and know the value of things, he has started to realise just how much things cost and how much it costs to run our home. We have also said he needs to start a uni checklist as soon as he has decided if this is the path he wants to follow so that he is as prepared as possible when the time comes.
There are many things that a student needs to think about when going away to university and although it may not cross their mind in the beginning, one thing they should know and understand is their responsibilities when it comes to needing a TV Licence. It covers students living away from home:
- To watch or record programmes as they’re being shown live on TV, on any channel
- To watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, NowTV, Sky Go, etc.)
- To download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer. This applies to any device being used, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box, or DVD/VHS recorder.
Callum and I were recently invited to take part in the TVL Family Quiz. The quiz was designed to see what a student knows about university life and if they are prepared as much as they think they are. The quiz has two rounds – a question and answer round designed to test their knowledge of living independently and university in general. Round 2 was an answer match test to see if I could guess specific topics such as how many times I think he’d call home a week or what childhood item they might secretly take with them. He had to give me 3 options and I had to choose what I thought he would say.
Surprisingly when asked how often you should change his bedding (once a week is the correct answer) and if he needed to be covered by a TV Licence whilst in halls of residence (in case you were wondering – yes you need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or streamed live on an online TV service. And that’s not just the BBC; it’s all channels on any platform and on any device. You also need to be covered to watch BBC iPlayer. Callum answered both questions right. He didn’t know how long was needed to boil an egg so it had a runny yoke, but these are things we can work on.
I was surprised that I didn’t know my son as well as I thought when asked how often he would call home I said 3 times a week from his 3 answers of every day, once a week or three times a week. I was wrong as he said he would only call once a week. I did guess that he’d take his Xbox with him, that he would join the university football team if possible and would be listening to music to help relax as it’s always been his go to thing when feeling a little stressed.
Whatever path he chooses I think he will do just fine and so long as he knows to ask us or do his own research, he won’t go far wrong.
**’TV Licensing’ is a trademark of the BBC. They help people in the UK know when and if they need to buy a TV Licence. They provide a comprehensive service that includes sending licence renewal letters and processing queries, applications and payments. The TV Licence fee is not retained revenue. It’s passed on to fund BBC projects across the Arts, Media and Culture, providing invaluable support to many creative projects within the UK including BBC shows & News, BBC sounds, 10 BBC radio stations all without ads**