Blogs

High school students in Albania often dream of studying at universities around the world. We imagine American colleges, British lectures, and student life in other European countries. Many of us don’t make it that far – often because we simply can’t afford it – but I was lucky enough to be offered a place on the economics master’s course at the University of Cologne.

While we may not be travelling around on hoverboards or wearing self-tying shoes, a lot has changed between 1969 and 2019, and higher education and university are just two of those things.

The internet has changed how university students study, prices of fees and accommodation have rocketed and smartphones have made socialising so much easier. 

We take a look back at just how university life has evolved, and the major changes that have made university life both easier and harder. 

Being a pansexual student has often raised many questions. “What does it even mean to be pansexual?”, is one of the most common questions I get asked about my sexuality, so let me break it down for you.

The most widely accepted definition of pansexuality is that it is an attraction towards people regardless of their gender identity or sex.

It was only a matter of time until I found myself lost in Bologna, wandering under the 666 arches and eating my way around the city. 

Part of the reason I applied to Yale University was because the student body has a reputation for being politically minded. It doesn’t matter who you are or what subject you take, these conversations are always being had in classrooms and around campus. 

Taking a short break from my social media dependence was an experience that I won’t forget any time soon.

No one wants to admit how much time they waste on social media or how much it means to them to share the little achievements of their daily lives. And who can blame them? We all want to be liked and crave the attention that we feel we deserve.

Everything about social media, from its endless scrolling format to the pesky Snapchat streaks, is all cleverly made to be so rewarding that we never realise that it has been designed to keep us hooked.

At 7am, as the sun’s rays sneak between my blinds and my alarm rings, I open my eyes. Climbing out of bed, I open my dormitory door and knock on the door of my hall mate, Fiona, to wake her before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Another day, another opportunity to make it count. Here is what a typical day in my life as a final year student at the National University of Singapore Business School is like.

I remember dreaming of university as a 16-year-old. I received excellent GCSE results and all I could think about was going to college, smashing my A levels, and then attending a Russell Group university and “living the dream”. I had planned to study outside London, and I was excited to move away. I had imagined that I would call my mum every week, and video call my brother, and have the best years of my life.

I phoned my father at the start of sophomore year to tell him that I had declared social studies as my major. There was silence on the other end of the phone for a little while and then he asked, “What’s that?”

Social studies is a degree that very few people outside the Harvard community, particularly outside the US, know about. I find myself describing it as Harvard’s version of politics, philosophy, economics (PPE), which is mostly true, but it also includes statistics and history.

If you don’t study in the United States, you have probably never heard of a historically black university or college (HBCU). Or you have and you aren’t entirely sure what they are. 

HBCUs are higher education institutions created before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide higher education for African American students at a time when they were not permitted to attend colleges alongside white students. Many of these institutions were created with assistance from religious organisations.