It’s that time of the year again when most students are packing their clothes and crockery into boxes and preparing to head off to 前往university. But for 27% of students in the UK, moving away from home is not an option – their state of health, cultural practices or limited finances mean they have to stay put and study within commuting distance.

In this BBC report, students stress that they’ve chosen to stay at home to keep their student debt to a minimum.

While other students are making friends with those living around them, students who live at home may feel isolated, and their first year at university may not be what they were expecting.

I was one of those students. I was not allowed to move out for university for cultural and health reasons. It was my family’s decision, and that made me feel rather angry because I really wanted to experience the liberty of living away from home and becoming independent.

During my first year, I saw students who lived away from home making friends and going out and partying. I struggled to fit in with them, and unfortunately I did miss out on a lot of things.

I do not drink or go clubbing, so that certainly did not help with making friends. Although I knew the partying scene was not my style, I felt like I was losing out on the joy of university life. At one point, I even wanted to drop out.

Increasingly, universities are putting in place strategies to help students like me get involved with the university. Giulio Folino, president of City University’s students’ union, says: “We use online communities to help people connect with one another before they join university in September. For example, we have a Facebook group for students living at home, alongside ones for each of the halls of residence. This is already proving to be successful, and it’s great to see students interacting with one another at such an early stage.”

Head of student services at City, Michelle Preston, adds: “The ‘welcome week’ at the university is a great opportunity for new students to orientate themselves and to meet new people. Many academic departments organise social and networking activities as part of the induction to courses.”

Living at home during university does not have to be all doom and gloom. I decided to get involved with my student radio station and magazine to pursue my love for journalism, which was an enjoyable way to make friends.

Your university will have so much on offer to help you meet new people. Join clubs and societies. Stick around after your lectures and hang out with your peers. Go to as many events as you can during freshers week. Throw yourself into anything and everything to make your university life as interesting as you can.

If parents are an issue at home, negotiate with them. Make their life easier by doing your own washing and help out with the cooking. Get a part-time job, buy some groceries, perhaps offer to help pay the bills. Help around the house. That way, your parents may be persuaded to give you more freedom than you were expecting.

Living at home during university does not mean you are going to miss out on everything. I thought it was going to stop me from becoming independent, yet I am one of the most independent people you will ever meet.

You are in control of your university experience. You make it happen.

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