A students’ guide to cracking the first year: ‘If someone invites you somewhere … go’

Keep things sweet in shared accommodation by cleaning up after yourself and doing your share of the chores. Photograph: Maskot/Getty Images

So you’re off to university in September and you’re probably equal parts excited and trepidatious – and wondering what really lies ahead. From budgeting and surviving freshers’ week, to negotiating whose turn it is to clean the kitchen, a group of students spill the beans on the things they wish they’d known.

Life in halls