Things you should know by the end of first year

A club you like

Clubbing – good. Clubbing with UV paint on – better.

Yes, there are lots of clubs. Just because one is the ‘coolest’ doesn’t necessarily mean you should go there.

If all they play is hardcore dubstep and the most played playlist on your iPhone is all Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, I can almost guarantee that you won’t have a good time.

Hit lots of clubs early on in the year, find a solid group of three or four that you can consistently go to (whatever the night) and then party hard!

Realise that you won’t get 90% in everything

“So, you’re telling me I only need above a 40 to pass?”

Seriously. Give up that dream now.

At A Level, this was perhaps feasible but at degree level? Forget it. Of course, you can get 90% percent in one module but it is likely that the others will really suffer for it, and you have no semblance of a social life.

Besides, it’s first year – it probably doesn’t count towards your degree anyway. Save the hard work for second and third year.

Don’t sleep with the people you live with

The most awkward moment of the encounter was that he wanted to take a selfie afterwards.

This can also be expanded to ‘don’t sleep with the people you’re going to live with’.

Nothing ruins a casual fling more than realising you’re going to be seeing the other person EVERY DAY for the foreseeable future.

You’ll regret it when you realise that, once you live together, you’ll probably end up knowing their toilet habits.

Also, awkward break ups when you live with the other person means drama – your other house/flatmates really won’t appreciate it.

A favourite spot in the library

The section of the library that you sit in says a lot about you, but whether you’re in Green 3 or Blue 2, make sure that you’ve got a comfortable seat that doesn’t squeak when you move, a decent distraction from your work in the form of a window and can be safely hidden from library security.

Of course, you won’t be in the library that often until exam time, but now is a good time to start.

Make one really good friend on your course

Yes, it’s a shit joke. But he knew I’d get it.

Do not take that to read only make one friend. Have lots of friends, the more the better.

But have one really close course friend that you sit next to in lectures, have the same tutorials with and can just generally bitch about your course to. They will be invaluable when you succumb to Fresher’s Flu, miss a week of lectures and have no notes. Inevitably, they will have picked up things that you missed in lectures or didn’t understand and vice versa.

You never know, in later life, they could be the connection that secures you that amazing job.