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Uni Life

20 non-academic lessons you learn from university

When you head off to university, there are going to be a lot of new lessons to learn...

Eleanor Foulds
by Eleanor Foulds
Last Updated:
01 Mar 2024

Whether it is the perfect cure for a hangover to the art of lying to landlords, you and your new friends are going to gain a whole host of new skills that you can use to your advantage in later life...

1. How to dress down 


Spending a day in the house? In this case, there’s no need for proper clothing (after all your pyjamas are much comfier than your skinny jeans). If you’re feeling really relaxed (or simply fancy an extra hour in bed) nightwear is also an appropriate trend for shopping and popping along to the odd 9am lecture.

2. How to get on with people


During your time at uni, you’re going to meet a lot of people. Hopefully, you’ll find most of them vaguely tolerable (and who knows you might even like some of them). Of course, as in life, there’s always going to be the odd individual that rubs you up the wrong way. 

Whether it is a scheming landlord, a condescending tutor or an idiot at the back of the classroom that laughs (or even worse says “lol”) at his own jokes, sometimes you just have to plaster on the fake smile and laugh along. Of course, practicing this skill now means that you might just manage to perfect it before you enter the world of work!

3. How to use eBay effectively


As a student you’re going to acquire a lot of rubbish, so every once in a while it is nice to have a clear out.  If you have a few things that you no longer want but they are still in good condition, why not put them on eBay or a similar online selling site?  It’s an easy way of making some spare cash – a skill that’s good to have at any time of your life.

4. How to cure a hangover


You’re going to be hearing a lot of myths and legends about preventing or curing a hangover. If you want our advice, ignore everything you are told.

Apart from not drinking (which you probably aren’t going to do) there is only one cure for a hangover – bacon. Whether on its own, in a sandwich or as part of a full English breakfast just even its smell can give you the strength you need to face the day!

5. How to ‘wing it’


Everyone starts university with good intentions, but as soon as the social life kicks in its surprising how soon they disappear. Okay, so you’ve not done the reading for tomorrow’s seminar, but who cares?  You’ve a social to go to, and if push comes to shove, there’s always Wikipedia...

6. How to sleep anywhere at any time


The ability to sleep anywhere is an essential skill in life, particularly if you go on to pursue a career where you work difficult hours or travel a lot. From sleeping on a strange floor after a house party to sleeping on trains as you backpack around the world, there will be ample opportunity for you to refine this particular talent.

7. How to wash clothes


You see the building full of big machines with glass doors? That’s a laundrette, and you and it are going to become pretty well acquainted over the next few years. Fortunately the art of washing isn’t to tricky to master, the true difficulty lies in learning ...

8. How to iron


Which is something you’re probably never going to get to grips with anyway. Still you might as well give it a try. Handy hint: try drying your clothes on their hangers to avoid too many creases.

9. How to cope with the resident poltergeist 


Now we’re not entirely sure why, but these pesky mites seem to dwell in communal households. They’re the ones who drink your milk in the middle of the night, who scrape your pots and pans, who leaves dishes piled up by the sink and who seem to hide the cutlery.  You know it can’t possibly be your flatmates – after all, they wouldn’t lie – so who else could it be?

10. How to recall random facts


One of the things you do a lot of at university is cramming and, once you are in the exam hall, you’ll discover that you start to remember some weird and wonderful facts from a distant lecture that you can barely recall going to!

The science of remembering is a particularly tough subject. However, it has been scientifically proven that a rush of adrenalin can significantly improve your memory.

11. How to cook creatively


Beans on toast may be your student staple when you first start studying, but you’re going to get pretty sick of eating the same thing again and again.  It's astounding the recipes you can make from the random items on special offer at the supermarket – and some of them might not even taste too bad.

12. How to hunt for a bargain 


From food to fashion, you’ll find all sorts of different ways to hunt down a bargain that you’ll never have even thought of before you were a student. Second hand clothes, second hand books and ‘reduced to clear’ aisles at the supermarkets will all become popular places to shop. And of course, if you’re getting really desperate for something new, there’s always Primark.

13. How to budget 


University may teach you about the academic things, but the true art of budgeting can only be learnt from the School of Life.  Sure you’ll get a student loan and an overdraft facility, but trust us – you’ll spend your way through it surprisingly quickly.

14. How to become a master in interior design


When you’re at university it is amazing what will inspire the interior design of your living quarters. Wine bottles wrapped in tinsel make fantastic mini Christmas trees over the festive period, and you can do lots of different things with stolen traffic cones and beer mats.

15. How to lie to the landlord


Okay, so not all landlords are evil, but the general relationship between a landlord and his tenants revolves around stretching the truth. They says they’ll sort out the faulty radiator as soon as possible (translate: when they feel like it) and you’ll become a master in hiding the burns on the carpet you made the time you left the iron on.

16. How to multi-task with kitchen equipment


Did you know that you can butter bread with a spoon? That shot glasses double as egg cups and jam jars are very effective (and cheap) storage containers?  

17. How to create couture costumes

>Being a student is an excuse to behave like a child again. Fancy dress nights will be popular events at the students' union, so by the time you graduate you’ll have a first class honours degree in creating odd costumes out of the most random objects.

 

18. How to pull an all-nighter


If you’ve not already had to walk home from a party after the sun has risen, we're sure you'll have experience it by the end of freshers' week. Still, you know it has been a good night when you return home at 7am, still wearing your glad-rags!

19. How to develop a day-time TV addiction


Feeling bored? Well the good news is that when you’re a student it is completely socially acceptable to develop an addiction to daytime TV. From Loose Women and This Morning to Doctors and Neighbours, there’s a wide selection of trash-TV fixes to choose from.   

20. How to exist without sleep


Student life can be pretty exhausting, but sometimes sleep is not an option. Whether you're completing last minute cramming for exams, staying up all night to finish an assignment (which really should have been finished weeks ago) or heading into work after a night of partying – a cup of coffee or a can of coke and BOOM! You’ll be bouncing off the ceiling. 

 

For more tips and tricks to help you get the most out of student life, head to our dedicated section!

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