Before you arrive

Ready to start at Herts? There’s a lot to think about before you start university, so here you’ll find everything you need to know and do before your first week.

One of the things you might be thinking about is what will Uni look like after this last year of uncertainty. Read about how Herts are approaching the new academic year.

If you still have some questions and feel unsure, reach out to our teams on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or search for information on Ask Herts.

I'm an international student

If you're joining us from outside of the UK, there's a few extra things to consider before you start. We have an easy pre-arrival guide to help you prepare.

Get registered

Next, you’ll need to register. All students will need to complete two stages before you are fully registered.

New students will get joining instructions around 40 days before your programme starts. It'll include useful information on what you need to bring or read before your programme starts and where to go on your first day. For Stage 1 of registration, you'll need to set up your Student Record account, but we'll send you an email about that. We'll ask you to check that your programme information is correct and update your details and answer a few questions.

For Stage 2 of registration, you'll just need to upload your relevant documents and then the team will check that everything looks correct and nothing is missing. If your documents are correct, the team will complete your registration.

When do I need to register by?

For international students, you can find out the deadlines for registration on our international student pre-arrival page. For home students starting this January, you can find the dates below:

Where should I live?

Many of our students commute to campus, but for some on-campus accommodation is a great chance to live with new people. There's accommodation at College Lane and de Havilland campuses, ideal for 24/7 access to facilities, plus lots of support from our resident assistants.

Organise your student finances

Check out our money advice pages for help on planning your student finances including access financial help as well as tips on managing your money throughout uni.

What to pack

Packing for uni is exciting but can be daunting. What to bring? What to leave behind?

We have our packing checklist that should get you started. UK weather during winter can be particularly cold and wet, so remember to bring a warm coat.

Don’t forget to go through your pre-programme information in case your programme leader has listed additional things to bring. You can find this in your joining instructions, which you'll get 40 days before you start your programme.

Complete our online university preparation course

University is a step up, but we make sure that you have both academic and wellbeing support from the beginning. Kick-start your preparation with our online short course – Getting Started at Herts. It will take you through what to expect from university.

Get vaccinated

To get the most out of your time at uni, we expect all our Herts students to get their UK-approved COVID-19 vaccination when it becomes available to them.

This means you should aim to have both COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as ACQY vaccine against meningitis, MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella), and the flu jab if you are eligible. This is important since students will be mixing with lots of new people and often this can result in picking up illnesses.

International students will be able to register with a UK GP when they arrive and get their COVID-19 vaccination.  if they have not had the opportunity to do so in their home country. However, international students will need to have the correct general travel vaccinations before they arrive. Find out more about life in the UK.

Still got questions?

There’s a lot to take in but our frequently asked questions will help answer any other questions.