Around a third of all Sheffield Hallam students are classed as mature students, that is undergraduate students who are over 21 or postgraduates who are over 25 when they start their course. Mature students may have spent time working or bringing up a family before coming to university, and will bring a whole wealth of experience and skills which will be really beneficial, such as industry experience, organisational and people skills. To help you make the most of your time here as a student we thought it might be useful to give some top tips to help you settle in, make the most of your money and make best use of all the support available during your time here…

 

1. Join the Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union Mature Students’ Facebook Group to make links with other mature students at the University. You could make links with people on your course, or if there aren’t many mature students on your course, you can make links with others across the University.

2.Look out for events aimed at mature students run by Student Services. We have two discussion groups coming up during November, looking at Top tips for academic skills (24 November, 12-1, Owen 1026) and Preparing for placements (26 November, 12 – 1). Keep your eye on this blog or on our Twitter @SHUhelp for more details.

Coffee morning 13. If you feel you need some support, then you can call into one of the Student Services receptions (Heart of the Campus or Level 5 Owen) and will be able to speak to one of our advisers or be signposted to services that can support you. Or you can call us on 0114 225 3813 or email: guidance@shu.ac.uk

4. You have probably had a bank account for years, but you could think about opening a student bank account. Most high street banks offer dedicated student accounts, with features and benefits aimed at students. These can range from travel cards to preferential overdraft rates. It’s worth shopping around to find the account that will suit you best. See: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students

Sheffield-8-trainstation

5. Buy a 16-25 rail card, as this will save you a 1/3 on rail fares and despite the name, is available for any student attending college or university for 15 hours or more a week for at least 20 weeks a year, regardless of age. See http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk/

6. Use your student card, as this can give you discounts at many high-street shops. Unsure if the store offers a discount? Just ask. You can also get discounted £1 fares on the local buses.

7. Attend a study skills workshop – these run regularly in the Learning Centres at both campuses and cover different topics such as referencing, critical writing and improving your writing. Topics vary depending on what time of year it is. For more information see: https://students.shu.ac.uk/shuspacecontent/lc/study-skills-workshops

8. If you’d like one-to-one study support, you can also get this through the Learning Centres. See: https://students.shu.ac.uk/shuspacecontent/lc/drop-study-support

www.james-shilton.co.uk

9. If you need IT help, you can get this face-to-face, by phone, online chat or email. See: https://students.shu.ac.uk/shuspacecontent/it/get-help-it

10. Free software and training – if you need to improve your IT skills, you can do this through Lynda.com which SHU subscribes to – you can access online tutorials on lots of different software. SHU students can also download Microsoft Office free of charge on up to five Windows PCs or Macs. See: https://students.shu.ac.uk/shuspacecontent/it/buy-software-shu

Hopefully these tips will come in useful for you during your time here at SHU. We’ve also got a great case study of a mature student at Sheffield Hallam which you can view here. You can also check out our blog pages for mature students and student parents to find out about support available to you as well as more useful advice and tips. And remember to get in touch with us if you need any further help or support:

Student Services, 0114 225 3813, guidance@shu.ac.uk