Uni = Partying???

When you hear the word 'University', what do you think? Perhaps you imagine it to be all partying or sitting at a desk doing nothing. After all, that's what it's made out to be in films and on the TV, right?

Wrong! Have you ever thought about how much time and effort it takes at university? Not to mention the fact that, if you live away from home, you have to work to support yourself. Or were you planning on waiting on tables to earn money, like they also show in film.

Let's take a look at the serious side of university first. You need to know what you want to do and you need to be serious about studying. After all, with the amount it costs in fees and accommodation, you don't want to be in debt at the age of 21 just because you decided to spend three years partying. You can go to work and do that.

A big part of university is being able to organise yourself. The days of teachers nagging at you to do your homework or get to class have long gone. Lecturers won't care whether you show up to the seminar or not, you're only a face in a three hundred-strong crowd to them. And they aren't the ones paying £1000 a year. It's no big loss to them what you do.

Are you sure you're ready to live away from home? Think about it; you share a house with five, maybe six other people you've never met before, you have your own bills to pay, your own cooking to do, work to go to. Can you manage that on your own?

On a lighter note, you'll be a 'student'. Nobody will care if you get drunk every night, go to your lectures off your head (a friend of mine from work has actually done that!) or start a fight with someone who was giving you a 'dodgy look'. You'll grow out of it.

You get discounts on almost everything: train fare, some high street stores, haircuts, but best of all, there's the student bar! All you need to get wrecked for less than a tenner.

They say university is the best time of your life. Just make sure you leave some time for your studies.