Students need to make their accommodation a priority

This September will see the beginning of the new academic year for the hundreds of thousands of school leavers and mature students who will be heading off to a new city or town to live for university.

If you are in this boat, it will be vital to get everything sorted as early as possible.

This year will see many people trying to tighten the purse strings wherever possible, and if this is a consideration you are going to have to make, you will want to make sure you have your property to rent sorted early. This will allow you to budget for the rest of your life away from home.

According to Jason Geall, managing director at The Student Room.co.uk, the best way to start off is to look for advice from other people who have gone through moving away for university in the past, as they will be able to give first hand advice.

Using websites to talk to others in the same boat will be good as well, as you can often find this can help you feel better about your own uncertainties.

You may even find a new flatmate who you can share a property with when you move to your new destination. This can be a great way to make a saving on costs, as everything from rent to your monthly bills will be halved, leaving you with more spare money to spend on your student lifestyle.

If you still have to make a choice about where you are going to live, Mr Geall also advised that it can be very important to get to the town or city and have a look around to get a sense of what it is like and where might be a good place to rent a property.

"Once you have decided where you are going, be clear about where you are going to live and look at all the options. Actually get down to where you're heading and take it in - it is common practice among universities to have open days, so do take advantage of those. Go and get a feel for the area and think about whether you want to live in halls of residence or find student accommodation elsewhere."