by Hui YI
Before I start on this article, congratulations on your hall acceptance by Raffles Hall! School is starting soon, are you feeling excited to start your journey here but also intimidated to stay in an unfamiliar environment? Fret not, here’s 5 essential tips that I wish I would have known earlier before coming to Raffles Hall!
1. Bring only what you are willing to lug back at the end of the semester.
Starting the new semester afresh, many can’t wait to move to their hall. However, you will definitely start regretting your decision when the school term ends and you find yourself having to lug home all the things that you have brought here, thinking that you will need them one day (Definitely me…). To avoid this, you can start moving some of your stuff home bit by bit, so that by the end of the school term, you would have less items to bring home. Or even better, bring only the essentials at the start when you move in!
2. Don’t forget the essentials!
Coming from experience, there are a few essentials that come to residents’ minds that we can’t live without. Firstly, extension cords come in extremely useful as they allow you to charge multiple devices at the same time, for example, your hairdryer, phone charger and your laptop charger. Don’t forget to bring your cleaning supplies as well, especially on the first day of check in as you can expect LOTS of cleaning to be done :)) On the day of check in, I took an entire afternoon to clean my room, so I can’t imagine how you will be staying in your room if you forgot to bring your cleaning supplies.
3. Know where you can go for supper
Staying in hall? Get ready to gain some pounds. There will definitely be times when you find your stomach growling late at night, or get a late night supper jio. This is when knowledge of good supper spots will come in handy. With U-town (Starbucks!) being just a bridge’s walk away, and 7-11 within walking distance, you can be certain that your midnight cravings will be satisfied. Besides, a 15 minute walk to supper stretch is also always an option for you if you don’t mind walking to get some delicious food. Lazy to walk? There’s always an option to order some Grabfood delivery or some good old Al Amaan, and get them delivered right to your residence. (Grab your friends and pool your orders to share the delivery cost!)
4. Careful during laundry time
Good news, laundry here at Raffles Hall is completely free! A good tip for doing laundry in hall is to bring a portable laundry bag or basket so you can carry your clothes around more easily, and thus do your laundry more conveniently.
However, because there are limited washing machines and dryers, do remember to collect your laundry on time. You don’t want to hog the machine with your clothes inside, otherwise someone might sift through your clothing and dump it on top of the machine after it’s ready (happened to me a couple of times...). Set an alarm to remind yourself to collect your laundry!
Last point to note, do not leave your detergent in the laundry area, otherwise there is a good chance that you’ll find your detergent slowly depleting.
5. Join activities and make close friends
CCAs and hall activities are some of the highlights of staying in hall, and it makes a great part of our hall culture here. With a plethora of exciting CCAs and activities that Raffles Hall offers, I recommend you to make the best use of your stay here by joining these activities (Check out what we offer on our instagram page @raffles_hall - you can click the Follow Us button!). These activities are great opportunities for you to meet new people from different faculties - people whom you are unlikely to meet if you haven't stayed in hall, and these people may very well be the ones who can make your university life a more fulfilling and meaningful one.
I’ve made many close friends here at RH and I had so much fun spending time with them - from eating supper, exploring the school, to the late night HTHTs that we have together. Besides, I’m really grateful for these friends as I know I can always count on them to keep a look out for me in hall and help me whenever I am in need. That being said, it is also of utmost importance that you strike a balance between hall and schoolwork, to prevent your CAP from suffering too badly.
That’s all for this article and hopefully these tips will come in handy for you. At the end of the day, what really matters is that you make your Raffles experience an unforgettable and meaningful one, so spend your time here wisely! See you around!