Once you've actually got over the onerous task of securing your college accommodation, sitting back on your own couch, in your own flat, with your own front door key in your hand is a fantastic feeling.

Leaving home and gaining independence is a major part of becoming a third-level student and it can be a wonderful experience. However, it is also a huge upheaval, maybe the biggest you've ever experienced, so it can be a bit unsettling and it takes a lot of getting used to.

No matter how much planning you do it's not going to be plain sailing, but a bit of thought can head off some teething problems.

If you're fortunate enough to be living on campus, you're off to a good start - it's one of the easiest ways of settling into college. It affords you loads more freedom than living in a family home (your own or digs), but it doesn't involve quite so much responsibility as renting in the private sector.

Your rent is usually paid twice during the academic year by instalment, so once that's done for the first term you don't have to worry about it again until after Christmas. In some on-campus housing your utility bills (electricity, etc) are factored into your rent, so you never see another household bill after you've paid the instalment. Most on-campus houses don't have private phones, which means no phone bills and, as an added bonus, no fights over phone bills.

There are also the benefits of security, provided by the college or the company managing the student-purpose accommodation, and the comfort of living in a student community. The accommodation is also specifically designed to suit students and your room will be big enough to house a desk and a bed.

On the downside, the system works by randomly allocating you a place on campus and you generally have no input into who you end up with - bar possibly your sex. This means you could be thrown together with people you don't know and perhaps would never in your life have chosen to live with. This is something you just have to cope with. You can always shut yourself away in your bedroom, but life will be a lot happier if you at least try to get along with these people.

If things get really bad or if you fear you might be in danger from someone you live with the college will of course intervene, but they probably won't be too interested if you're annoyed because Mary won't buy toilet roll and ate your last yoghurt. Talking to the people you live with and discussing ground rules in the first week of campus life will make things a lot easier.

If you won't be living on campus and have got a flat with a few friends you probably think you'll escape these sort of problems. After all, you were in school with these lads for years, you know them as well as you know your own brother. But think about it, would you really want to live with your brother if you could help it? You don't know someone until you live with them. Maybe you think Mick couldn't possibly be a slob since he had such a nice clean crisp shirt on him every day of school - that was because his mother washed and ironed it for him and she's not around any more.

Even if you're moving in with your best buddies, you still need to discuss ground rules. You could have very different views about what constitutes cleanliness or ownership. Cleaning rotas might sound very anal but they do guard against people feeling hard done by if they always have to do someone else's washing up before they can start making their own dinner.

Think about what you want from your own personal space. It's nice not having someone telling you to tidy your room, but if you don't keep it in some sort of reasonable order, it can get really depressing.

Also, even if you do have your own room and you don't care what it's like, there is generally some communal space which will need a regular cleaning and vacuuming to keep down the odours and the vermin.

Make sure you and everyone else are aware of when the bills are due and consider starting a kitty so that there's at least some money there when they do.

Anyone taking money from the kitty for personal emergencies should replace it with an IOU with their name on it. Stress that "I was gagging for a pint" does not constitute an emergency, or else you'll be left with a jar full of IOUs and no money come bill day.

Regardless of whether you live on campus or in a flat, there are some costs that are universal, such as entertainment, food and laundry.

Cost-of-living estimates, available from your college or students union office, will give you an indication of how much you'll have to spend on these things. But be aware that figures for things like laundry are calculated as an average of people who have a washing machine in their house and those who don't.

If you're one of the ones who don't and you have to go to a launderette, your costs will be higher. But even if she says it's okay, don't bring your washing home to your mother - it's really mean.