13 SECRETS EVERY FRESHER IN CENTRAL LONDON SHOULD KNOW

The stuff no one tells you.

April 4th 2017 at 17:00PM

1. Waking up before 9AM is a myth

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In school it was the daily routine but at Uni it doesn’t exist. A 10AM start is a struggle and if you have anything earlier just realise now that you’ll probably never attend... unless Beyoncé is your teacher or something.

2. Half of your teachers will not teach you a thing

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Some lectures are exactly what you see on TV. A teacher talking in the same tone, way to quickly, flicking through a PowerPoint like you have a master’s degree in fast typing skills. Bring a laptop to make notes and find their slideshow online.

3. Pre’s at flat parties will make you friends 

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You get to meet everyone and socialise with people you will see every day and let’s be honest mingling when drunk is always great. Just be aware that it tends to get like a sauna in the small kitchens.

4. After a night out 6AM is the average time you’ll get home

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London is the home of clubs that never close. Or when they do… there is always another motive after followed by the typical, guilty devour at the nearest 24 hour McDonald's.

5. Wrapping foil over the smoke/heat detectors will become a second nature 

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In student accommodation the list of many rules includes no smoking or candles. Your smoke alarm will go off by any sort of heat. Placing foil around the detectors just enough to create a block and so that it doesn’t become overheated itself, is a game of operation you will master.

6. You’ll regret and treasure your student finance account

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That overdraft will save you in the first few weeks where you will spend your contactless card in the clubs way too much and offer to buy rounds of drinks for your new friends. 

7. There will be one housemate who constantly plays loud music and uses all your stuff 

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You might have a great bunch to live with but there’s always the next-door neighbors. They will either move all your food in the fridge, steal all your milk or play the worst music made to man on full-blast when everyone is sleeping.

8. You will never see a supermarket again

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Central London is the worst for food shopping. Expresses and local Sainsburys are about the best you will find. If you want variation in your diet either pay £40 to order Tesco delivery or walk lugging your shopping back home.

9. Uni food might as well be at the Ritz

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If you thought there would be meal deals you were wrong. University food is so expensive and apparently £5-7 is ok for a lunch time snack. Although the food is all fresh ranging from Chinese to pizza, heading to the nearest Sainsburys now and again will save you that pricey heartbreak.

10. You’ll be persuaded to sign up to societies/clubs you have no interest in

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During Freshers Fair you will be bribed by ‘free Nandos’ and bags of sweets, to give your email to countless societies. Many require you to pay a membership fee. Not all are bad and some can be good ways to socialise.

11. Having clean clothes will cost you a fortune

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Washing your clothes in accommodation washers will leave them soaking wet. Using the dryers once isn't enough so your bill will add to just under a tenner. Sharing the load with a friend is always good.

12. The joys of rush hour

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Peak times on the tube involve a cramp, sweaty hoard of standing and falling. If you have an early lesson or are going home you will get caught up in the drama.

13. Freshers Flu is tradition

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You’ve probably heard about catching the worse flu ever in your life. Keep medicine and a first aid kit (for those cuts and bruises – trust me, you will have some if you do the week right). £6 Strepsils will make you contemplate whether being sick forever is better.