6 Things No One Tells You About University

It’s that time of year again! The start of semester is on the horizon… and no matter how prepared you think you may be, starting uni opens up a whole new world of experiences. As I sit here writing this post I think back over the last two years, making some of the best memories whilst meeting so many different people and trying things I never imagined myself doing. However, that being said, there are still so many things that I did not realise before starting uni, so here is a list of a few of them.

1. You don’t need to splurge out in the first IKEA you step into.

• You wouldn’t be a student if you didn’t step into IKEA weeks before your moving in day, spending money on the crap that you will never use again. And, if you’re anything like me you’ll have a list the length of your arm of the things you won’t be able to survive without. But trust me, it is not worth the hassle (or your money) to fill your trolley with endless amounts of pots and pans.

2. The novelty of adult life will soon wear thin.

• Before starting uni one of the things I was looking forward to was the freedom and independence that comes with moving out. Here’s a little spoiler for the freshers: that freedom gets pretty boring pretty quickly.

3. Some people can be super gross!

• No one ever cleans, no one ever takes the bins out and your patience will soon run out – making the already unpleasant university halls 10x worse. Whilst this isn’t the end of the world, you will develop a very strong relationship with a bottle of Dettol and a pair of marigolds.

4. You’ll need a loan just to cover the textbooks alone.

• Coming out of high school, one is simply used to being handed over textbooks on a silver platter. From day one, lecturers set a multitude of course texts to only get you through first year and yes, no matter how many times you tell yourself you don’t need them, there will be the one occasion that you do! Especially on a course like English Literature, your bank account will quickly become as crippled as you will after a heavy week as a fresher.

5. 3 am fire alarms are in fact real…

• The myth becomes a reality. There is nothing more soul destroying than coming in after a heavy night out and soon being woken up by someone burning their pot noodles. Top tip: bring the fluffiest jumper and slippers that you own, because I can guarantee within the first week of freshers you will be stumbling out of your flat over to the car park.

6. You will never appreciate your mum more than when it hits laundry day.

• Gone are the days of chucking a t-shirt into the basket in the hope that a magical fairy comes along to sort it out for you. No, you now need to trace halfway across campus to make sure your favourite skirt for a night out is ready. It will become the bane of your life! The only benefits are the vending machine snacks that you can sneak back upstairs as you wait for your cycle to finish.