A Sagacious Survival at the University
skills to help you survive university
Over time, you’ll realize that having a particular set of skills
will make your uni experience a whole lot easier. Here are our favorites to get you started!They say your uni years are the easiest you’ll ever have in your
life, but we'd argue that being a poor, knackered, perpetually hungover
student does come with it’s challenges, too!
Like, how do you stay healthy when living on a diet of pot noodles? How do you juggle a part-time job
to support yourself when you’ve got deadlines left, right and centre?
And how does one face the challenge of partying most nights of the week
when they can barely afford to feed themselves?
Here are some list of skills:
Budgeting
Let’s be realistic here – you’re going to be skint frequently during
your university years (if not consistently). However, being permanently
penniless is something you can avoid if you take the time to work out a
budget, and stick to it. Luckily, we’ve got a great guide to help you get your budget sorted. A nice option is to get yourself a prepaid budgeting card like this one from Loot,
which is specifically aimed at students. Put a certain amount of cash
on the card every month and assign this as your disposable income (for
food, nights out and other expenses) so this stays separate from your
cash for rent and bills. This way, you're much more likely to stay
within the budget you’ve assigned yourself (because you have no choice,
essentially) and can keep tabs of what you’ve spent by using the app on
your phone that's attached to your card (and how much you have left
over at the end of the month to reward yourself with for staying within
budget!).
If you're looking for a bit more budgeting help, download our free ebook to get swatted up on how to stay in control of your pennies. You can always check out our save money guides for additional advice too.
Knowing when to call it a night
It's easy to get carried away on nights out. ‘Just a few drinks down
the union’ can quickly escalate to something out of The Hangover trilogy
(we’ve all been there, and paid the price!).
Knowing when to say
enough is enough is actually quite a tough skill to acquire, and takes
some good and solid will power. One way of attempting to control
yourself is to only take out as much money as you’re happy to spend, and
when that runs dry, hit the road.
Try not to give in to peer pressure and stay out longer than you intended – you really aren’t going to miss much by going home at 1am, no matter how much it might seem so!
While we’re on the topic, we’ve got a whole guide devoted to mastering the art of nights out on a budget for your consultation.
Meal planning
Having at least a smidge of routine regarding what you eat and when
will prevent you from demolishing a week’s shopping in a day or two and
save you a fair wad of cash. A great tip is to get into the habit of planning your meals – doing
a shop once a week with a few dishes in mind (including one meal that
can be divvied up into portions to feed you throughout the week). Don’t
forget to factor in a few snackables too though, and some emergency hangover supplies!
One thing to ensure is that you never go shopping when you’re hungry.
You’ll end up buying things you don’t need 'cause temptations are so
much higher when your tummy is rumbling along the aisles, meaning you’ll
end up spending a lot more than you can afford. We’d also recommend trying the supermarket downshift –
don’t waste money on overpriced food, and don’t fooled by any of the
supermarket’s sneaky tricks they use to get you to spend more.
Make sure you check out our guide to saving money at the supermarket as well as sneak.
Avoiding tricky seminar questions
So you haven’t done the reading, but couldn’t afford to miss another
seminar? This situation calls for some serious blagging and deflection
tactics!
First rule: don’t make eye contact.
Pretend to be completely engrossed in your notes, perhaps even adding to
them as you become more involved in the riveting discussion going on
around you (even if you’re writing complete nonsense and haven't a clue
what's going on).
Get actively involved in group work,
listen out to what others are saying and try to form something to say
out of what's being discussed in these small groups (although, do NOT
just copy what someone else in the group has contributed unless you
fancy making enemies in class!).
Then, when the class floor is
open to discussion, try to speak out as early as possible to get it out
of the way. If you keep quiet too long, you might get nailed with a
tough question near the end of class, so the trick is to get in there
first!
If you’re put on the spot and have no clue, we're afraid
the only option left is to get your blag on. And next time – save
yourself the hassle and just do the reading?
Bladder control
We all know what it's like to have to hold it in throughout the
duration of the most boring class known to man, but you just can't bear
the thought of running to the loo in front of a packed out lecture hall.
While
we wish we could tell you there's a magical solution for this, there
isn't really. You've either got to (wo)man up and take the bladder pain
(it all comes down to mind over bladder), or try to wee when you have
the opportunity.
Try fitting pee breaks in before every class and
lecture – even if that means leaving the house 5 minutes earlier in the
morning to make sure you arrive with enough time.
It's important you stay hydrated throughout the day, but don't overdo it either.
Speed reading
If you have the balls to show up to your class without having done
the reading, a quick 'speed read' can help bring you up to date with
what's going on (not to mention the help for revision).
We wouldn't
suggest speed reading an entire novel (*cough* Wikipedia *cough*) but
for articles and short chapters, it's certainly better than doing no
reading at all.
Use a highlighter to bring out any important sections or quotes (or at least what you think
seem important in the 10 minutes you've spent swatting up on the
topic). This means when you're in your seminar or exam, it won't look
like you haven't done absolutely nothing.
If at any point you get
put on the spot, you can divert discussion towards one of the
'interesting' passages you highlighted when you read the article
'thoroughly' the night before.
Asking for help
This goes for all areas of your life – if you're struggling to keep
up with coursework (hence all the speed reading and blagging your way
through tutorials!), speak to your tutors. If you don't speak up about
this stuff, the situation will only get worse as more deadlines pile up.
Likewise, if you're having financial stress (our student money survey this year indicates that 80% of you struggle to make ends meet at uni) it's really important you reach out and get some help.
Asking
for some financial support from your rents can be a tough situation for
some, but it's also worth remembering that the government calculates
how much maintenance loan to give you based on your parents' income.
Therefore,
if you're in the lower student loan bracket because your parents have a
decent income, it's expected that they will help supplement your loan.
Read more on how to have that money discussion with your folks right here.
Where getting some advice is concerned – we're your guys! Take a look at the various money-saving guides we have online, download our free ebook, and even drop us a line directly if you'd prefer and we'll try to help where we can.
Cooking basics
It's not that difficult to eat properly at university. You
just have to spend a short amount of time working out the basics and
mastering a few really simple meals and you'll be able to feed yourself
and save a whole loada cash in the process.
Throwing some pasta
and pesto together can make a meal that tides you over for dinner and
lunch the next day – you don't have to rely on microwave meals (because
they usually taste like crap), or takeaways (because they're expensive,
although we have a few tips to get them cheaper now and again!).
We've got a whole load of student budget-friendly recipes for you to try out, as well as a list of cupboard essentials to get you going.
Knowing your limits
We all know booze is just a part of student life, but being the drunkest person in the room is never gonna do you any favours.
Knowing
what your limits are when it comes to alcohol will make your life at
uni a million times easier – easier on your wallet, your social life, on
your ability to keep up with course work and to actually make it to
occasionally.
Stick to one type of alcohol throughout the night if
you can: If you're knocking back the vodka and mixers, don't decide to
switch it up with several shots of whatever, before moving onto beer. It
won't do you any good, and your head won't thank you for it in the
morning (again, these hangover cures might come in handy too).
Don't
carry on drinking if you've had enough just because you don't want to
look boring. We can assure you that feeling like you're going to be sick
and your brain is about to vacate your skull is a lot more boring than
dancing without a vodbull in your hand.
Dealing with chores
You have to clean your own mess now – isn't life unfair!
Unfortunately, cleaning has to be done from time to time, otherwise your
house will end up completely rank and you'll be ashamed to ever let
anyone through the front door.
We would suggest using a
cleaning rota so everyone mucks in, but they sometimes don't work if you
have any particularly lazy housemates and they can cause arguments. So,
our advice would be to clean together.
Put some
music on, have a laugh and promise each other a little pizza party once
the mess is cleaned up (make sure you eat out the box to minimise more
mess, mind). This method is way more fun and gets done in half the time.
And if you're worried about having to be the one to splash out on expensive cleaning products, check out this guide to alternative cleaning products and methods that will cost you next to nothing.
… and difficult housemates
Unfortunately, it's not always hunky dory. If you find yourself
living with someone who's making things tricky, talk it out with them.
Not addressing the situation will never result in it 'sorting itself
out', and result in a nasty passive aggressive atmosphere.
Understandably, it can be harder to deal with problematic housemates
if they also double up as your friends. You don't want to nag them or
jeopardise your friendship, but not addressing the issue could just as
likely lead to this.
If things get really out of hand or you feel
you can't deal with it yourself, talk to your landlord. You don't
deserve to be unhappy in your own home.
Holding your own
When
it comes to things like dealing with landlords and paying bills, the sad
fact is a lot of people will see what they can get away with if they
think you're an unsuspecting student.
Don't let people walk all
over you though – it's painful, demoralising and you've got enough
washing to do without all the extra footprints. Do your research so you
know your rights and try your best to come across confident, even if
you're squirming inside. Remember, you're no mug!
For a few wise words of guidance on how to hold your own at uni, make sure you know your rights as a tenant, learn how to haggle on your bills and check out our guide on how and when to complain.
There you have it! A concise list of skills that will most definitely (hopefully) improve your university life.
If you think any important was missed, give a shout in the comments below!
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