Exactly how much Freshers’ Week is going to cost you

Freshers’ is one of the best weeks of your life, but it’s also one of the most expensive.

You know it, your friends know it, and the people gleefully accepting your money as your naive self hands over more than you should for a shot of tequila (which smells suspiciously like the turpentine in your dad’s garage) know it.

You’re in for a fantastic, albeit pricey, week. You’ve “saved yourself” for the past few weeks and begged your boss for extra hours at your crummy part-time job back home, and financially you feel fully equipped to handle whatever freshers week throws your way.

York is generally cheap, especially if you’re coming up from the South, but exactly how much is your week going to cost?

Before you even get there

You have the privilege this year of having to pay to be a member of your college, so there’s £30 sapped out of that money box you hid under your bed with “freshers” scribbled on it.

Keep your hands in your pockets though because you can’t be forgetting that crucially important Freshers’ wristband! These vary in price from college to college:

James: £37

Goodricke: £37.50

Constantine: £36

Derwent: £33

Alcuin: £36.50

Halifax: £38

Langwith: £36

Vanbrugh: £34

There’s additional freshers events also which see colleges mingle, so you can tell even more people about your gap yah.

Colour Festival basic ticket/colour package ticket: £7.50/£15.75

The Big Top: £31

Comedy Night: £12.75

Viking Raid: £7.50

You’re getting stung pretty hard for some great events before you even arrive. Of course they’re going to be nights worth the money, but it does put a strain on your already limited finances. Say you went for the most basic package available, you join Derwent college and pay the three year fee, get your freshers wristband and decide to do the Viking Raid. That’s a sizeable £70.50.

On the other hand, say you’re in Halifax and opt to do all the additional events, the cost of simply turning up becomes a whopping £119.25.

Transport

York’s a small city but taxis are fairly expensive.

A ten minute journey to the train station will cost you around £15, where you can then buy a ticket to Leeds or Sheffield on the day for a couple of quid less with a railcard. Be wise, always share and never get in a taxi if it has more than five seats because there’s usually an extra charge.

Say you got the bus to town and a taxi back each night with four other mates, and you don’t live by the Shire in Hes East. Of course not every night of freshers is spent in town, but let’s just say that you decided you wanted to take advantage of the cheap cocktail deals in Dusk and Blue Fly until 4 AM each night. That’s seven £1.50 single bus tickets to town, and seven ~£2 each journeys back. That’s a not too shabby £24.50.

Say you live on Hes East Though, that £2 each journey back becomes about £2.50, at a total of £28

Food

Food isn’t something you’re going to have to worry about that much because your mum’s already taken you to Waitrose/Sainsbury’s/Morrison’s/Aldi for enough supplies to last a nuclear winter. You’re bound to get at least one takeaway though while you sit in your pajamas with your new found best mates watching bake off. You’ll also get an Efe’s or McDonald’s while off your tits in town each night.

Your diet can piss off – after slamming five trebles all you can think about is food. That said, you’ll not get one every night, so lets say you stumble into the golden arches of Maccy D’s three times, and try some of the on-campus bars for grub.

Takeaway pizza from Efes: £6.50

Mcdonald’s x3 at £2.99 a night: £8.97

Meal with a pint in on-campus bar: £7

That comes to £22.47.

Pre-drinks

The human body can last a week without food, but the spirit crumbles after a few days without vodka. Pre-drinks are of course a crucial money saver, and the sensible drinker knows that the best value for money is found at Aldi, so your prinks shouldn’t amount to more than £3 a night. There’s a sensibly spent £21. Don’t shop at the on-campus Nisa or you’ll soon find four cans of Strongbow putting you into your overdraft.

Nights out

Once you get to town though you never head straight to the club – you’ll climb out of your taxi at either Stone Roses, Flares or Parish. Which means you’ve got three options:

Two trebles at Stone Roses: £5.40 with a student card

Three of  pretty much anything in Flares on a Wednesday: £4.50

Five Jagerbombs in Parish: £5

You’re averaging around a fiver, and say you do this for four nights of freshers, that’s £20.

Then of course there’s your actual drinks in clubs. Unless you’re in over-priced Revs you’ll be buying £2.50 double vodka and mixers. Say your freshers night has four club nights, and you knock back four doubles, that’s £40. Then of course there’s drinks at the on-campus events, which are generally BYOB or around £2.50 a drink. So there’s another £30, bringing it to £90.

Societies and merchandise

You’re probably going to buy a college hoodie because you’re well edgy and ‘Derwent until I die’. That’ll set you back around £20 so you can show everyone how cool and embedded in your college society you are, while back home your new jumper means absolutely nothing.

Then of course there’s the Freshers’ Fair, with societies averaging around £5 to join up, however most of them being free. You’ll sign up for a load of quirky societies for free and forget about them until your Gmail inbox is spammed to death by them, like Fetsoc. But there’ll be one society which captures your heart and you’ll slam down that £5 sign-up fee with gleeful pride. £25 isn’t too bad, eh?

Sports teams come at a hefty cost though, averaging at around £60-£100 to join, usually with a smaller additional charge for any necessary equipment or kit you need. If you’re sporty, chalk up Freshers Fair to £120.

At the end of the day, depending how you play your cards it can cost you a reasonable amount or a small fortune.

On a budget: £246.47

Going all out: £379.72

Fuck it, it’s Freshers’.

Did you spend a stupid amount in Freshers’ Week? E-mail your story to [email protected]