Let’s face it, you can’t avoid the clichés so you might as well embrace them as you begin your uni life. Here’s what you can expect from your first week as a student…

Alcohol becomes a way of life. “Hair of the dog” is your new mantra.

Budgeting for drinks… badly. You’ll be eating beans on toast for the next fortnight.

Crawling out of bed to make that 9am introductory lecture. Caffeine is the only thing that can get you through it.

Dancing awkwardly on your first night out with your new flatmates.

Eating your flatmate’s cheese and feeling their wrath afterwards!

Fighting your way through the drunken rabble in McDonald’s at 3am.

Getting lost on your first day, turning up to your seminar sweaty and apologetic.

Hearing everything your neighbours are getting up to through the very thin walls.

Icebreakers. Recycling the same “interesting” facts about yourself.

Jostling your way through crowds at the Freshers’ Fairs, though it won’t stop you from picking up free pizza and signing up for everything in sight.

Knowing Amber Cars’ number off by heart within 48 hours of your arrival in Leeds.

Lighting up a fag and claiming you only do it when you’re drunk.

Making excuses not to call your parents but…

Navigating the washing machine for the first time results in having to call your parents after all.

Onesies. Now acceptable club wear and essential for Otley Runs.

People watching in the Union, from the far more sophisticated PhD students to your fellow freshers.

Questioning how you lived with your parents for 18 years when you can now stay in your pyjamas all day long.

Roger Stevens: an ugly concrete labyrinth of lecture theatres and staircases. Leaving a trail of breadcrumbs may be tempting but is not recommended.

Struggling to maintain conversation with near-total strangers to avoid sitting in uncomfortable silence.

Tactical naps in between lectures in the Union. Hidden Café proves to be surprisingly comfy.

Underestimating how much work you actually have to do. One book a week is a fallacy.

Videoing your new friends’ stupidly hilariously crazy drunken antics – then posting them online for everyone to see.

Worst. Hangovers. Ever. Stock up on the paracetamol and carbs to aid your alcohol-related ailments.

X-rated antics. A Freshers’ staple, whether they’re the result of too many rounds of “never have I ever” or poor judgement calls in badly-lit nightclubs.

YOLO!” becomes your excuse for everything you do.

Zzzzzzzz: trust us on this one, you will need as much sleep as you can get after Freshers’ Week!

 

Steph Muldoon and Kat Garvey