Welcome to 2009! Whether you're back at work or still on holiday we've got loads of goodies to help keep you feeling the summer love! Click here for a taste of what we've got...
The summer holidays are in full swing, but don’t relax just yet.
Getting back into study may feel like it’s months away, but there are some things you need to sort sooner rather than later. If you want to spend a blissful few months off, untainted by stress and worry then you need to get the following tasks out the way now… 1: Sort Your Cashflow First and foremost it’s important to sort your Student Allowance or Loan because a student with (a little bit) of money is a happy student. Getting it sorted early means it will leave you worry free over the summer months. Don’t leave applying till you’re back from holidays… you want to have time to pay your bills and buy your textbooks.
2: Check for Free Money Check out any scholarships available to you. Have a look on the StudyLink site for entry level scholarships such as the Step Up one in which you only have to pay $1000 fees a year and StudyLink will pay the rest. There are a lot of different course specific scholarships out there as well, so keep and ear and eye out and see if there’s something that would suit you. It will literally pay off, as long as you get in before all the closing deadlines.
3: Get a Roof Over Your Head If you’re moving away from home then you have lots to sort out, but possibly the most important is a place to stay. Halls of residence are a great way to go for the first year because you’ll be handy to uni and they give you a chance to get your bearings. Plus you’ll have a full range of facilities available and you’re pretty much forced to make friends! The sooner you apply for this kind of thing the better, because rooms go quickly. Places like the University of Auckland, for example, recommend students apply by the October 1! Eek! If you haven’t even looked into your options get onto it quick smart… homelessness is not fun.
4: Get a Job There’s also never been a better time to sort a summer job so you can hit those uni fees head on and keep your debt down. This might not sound like it’s going to make your summer months particularly exciting, but it will give you the dosh to have a bit more of a play over New Year's and in the weekends. Speaking from experience, it’s quite likely that most of your mates will also be working, so at the end of four months bumming around home alone, being unproductive you will realise that doing the hard yards would have been a better way to go after all. 5: Spread Your Costs The first few weeks of uni are insanely expensive with all the bus passes, text books and stationery you’ll need to buy. Not to mention that super hot t-shirt you have to have for your first day. Try and spread your costs by buying things you know you’ll need over the summer. It’s also a great idea to utilise Christmas to your advantage and request that new bag you need to lug your books around or that laptop that will make studying so much easier.
With all that sorted you’re now free to relax (until you start that job, of course). Summer is a time for beaches and friends and avoiding thinking about anything as strenuous as study, so keep it that way by sorting yourself out early.
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The summer holidays are in full swing, but don’t relax just yet. 
If you’re moving away from home then you have lots to sort out, but possibly the most important is a place to stay. Halls of residence are a great way to go for the first year because you’ll be handy to uni and they give you a chance to get your bearings. Plus you’ll have a full range of facilities available and you’re pretty much forced to make friends! The sooner you apply for this kind of thing the better, because rooms go quickly. Places like the University of Auckland, for example, recommend students apply by the October 1! Eek! If you haven’t even looked into your options get onto it quick smart… homelessness is not fun.
