Setting up in Aber as an international student

Moving away from home can be quite overwhelming and when you first arrive at university there may be a million things racing through your head. However, there is no need to worry. As a student myself, I’ve been in your shoes, and I’d like to help you through two of the challenges I encountered when I first arrived in Aber:

Setting up your UK phone plan

Swapping your phone to a UK phone plan is a lot simpler than you would imagine. I would highly recommend not keeping your home-country’s phone plan while studying in Aber because of how expensive it is. There are plenty of affordable pay-as-you-go phone plans that are perfect for international students. When I go home for the holidays, I just pause my plan in the app and go back to using my home SIM.

If you are living in University accommodation, there will be a welcome package on the desk for you which contains a flyer from GiffGaff and a SIM card for free.

You’ll first want to make sure you’re on the University’s Eduroam Wifi - you can connect by logging in with your AberID information (example: ABC1, and your password).

Whether you are an iPhone or an Android user you will need to change your app store location to the United Kingdom (which you can do in the settings in the app store). You may need a UK bank account to do so, so let me explain about setting one up.

Setting up a UK bank account

From personal experience as an international student, the most challenging issue I encountered while settling into Aberystwyth was opening a UK bank account.

I would personally suggest getting a UK phone number first before attempting to open one.

There are two routes you can take when getting a UK bank account - you can either set up an account at a bank in town or online.

To open an account with a highstreet bank, you’ll need to go into your student record, request the bank letter which shows that you are fully registered at the University, and print it out. It must be printed in colour. To top up the credit on your AberCard for printing, visit Aber Card  : Aberystwyth University). You can print at the Hugh Owen library on campus or any study spaces with a printer by scanning your AberID at the printer to release your papers. If there are issues with your student record, email aocstaff@aber.ac.uk to request your bank letter from the University.

If you’re going in-person to set up an account, make sure you have all the paperwork you need (such as the bank letter, passport, driving licence) ahead of time by checking out the bank’s website.

Please remember that bank accounts set up this way may take three weeks to be completed, so budget wisely to allow for this.

Another option is to open an online bank account. A number of providers are available, and it is possible to set up an account quickly and receive your card within a few days. 

I recommend connecting your card to your phone’s “contactless pay” as “tap to pay” is very common in Aberystwyth and the University campus itself is cashless.

I hope this advice helps you with your journey settling into Aberystwyth.

Remember, the University’s Student Services and Undeb Aberystwyth can give advice and support on a wide range of subjects.

Unless otherwise stated, the views contained within these blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Aberystwyth University.