Student life is unique. The years you spend at university will be like no other, bringing their perks and challenges. Here are a few of the things you might find yourself dealing with:
There are no rules
At home, there are certain times where you have meals, wake up and go to sleep. Certain foods are acceptable for each meal, and you probably can’t watch Netflix for 8 hours straight. At uni, these are thrown out the window entirely. Leftover lasagne for breakfast? Sure! Setting your alarm to wake up when kids are leaving school? Totally fine! Your lifestyle can get turned on its head very quickly.
Constant tiredness
Largely because of the aforementioned irregular timetable, student life can be very tiring. People who work 9-5 jobs will not understand how you can be so sleep-deprived from a week with twelve scheduled contact hours. When they said that uni would cost a lot, they didn’t mention that it would cost all your energy.
Fancying your professor
No? Just me…? Okay, move on!
Weather-dependent attendance
When it’s raining, it’s hard to find the motivation to go to classes. Given that we live in the UK, this means that the whole of autumn and winter (and let’s face it, most of the spring) can be quite a challenge.
Being broke
The student loan goes in, and it goes straight out again. Somehow students never have any money. Ever. We can all explain in-depth things we’ve learned in our course but cannot explain why we’re skint by November.
There's nothing better than free pizza
Freshers’ fairs pretty much always supply free pizza. Why? Because it works every time! You may not be hungry, you may be halfway through a slice already, but when someone tells you they’re handing out Dominos on campus, lord knows you’ll be there.
Random contacts saved in your phone
Every student can scroll through their contacts and find some pretty random numbers - from one night stands, to that girl you made friends with in the bathroom and decided you had to have brunch with (which, funnily enough, never happened). You won’t know how half of your contacts ended up there!
Unbelievable mess
It’s no surprise that binge drinking, clubbing, hangovers, and afternoon takeaways aren’t conducive to tidiness, but it is surprising just how messy your accommodation will get. And trust me, it doesn’t get any better in the second or third year.
The pressure of deadlines
After a lot of fun and freedom, exams and coursework can be a big shock. Never before will you have seen the library so full or the pubs so quiet. Not to worry though, you’ll ace those deadlines, and the nights out will be even crazier than before!
Judgement from non-students
Part of being a student is being a social pariah to people who aren’t students. And, to be honest, a lot of it is pretty understandable. Unsurprisingly locals dislike students when they’re dancing in the streets in the early hours of the morning, and it’s no wonder our friends judge us when they come to visit and we’re on our ninth consecutive episode of The Office.
What did you have to deal with as a student? Join our panel and let us know to earn your first 1,000 reward points.
