Student life

I’m halfway through my first semester in New York and midterm season is finally over until the spring. I can now take some time to reflect on the classes that I have taken over the past three months.

As a second-year student nurse, I've managed to survive year one of three. It's been, well, interesting. I've seen more naked bodies than I ever thought I would. I've sat in on an autopsy as the mysteries of death are explained. I've celebrated with patients as they receive good news and cried with their families as they struggle to come to terms with bad news. 

Being a student nurse is a badge of honour. People look to you for hope and they admire and respect your skills. Sounds great, right? Well, have a read of my nine tips to see if it's the right path for you. 

Several myths about student life seem to be erroneously entrenched into the minds of pre-university hopefuls and scathing "grown-ups" alike. I intend to drop a few bombshells upon these falsities as well as, hopefully, quell some of your worries

1. Fast friends

We see it on-screen time and time again. You move your boxes in, knock on your neighbour’s door and that’s that – your future bridesmaid, the godmother of your imaginary children and your future business partner happens to be living right next door.

On a typical Wednesday morning I emerged from my dorm, after a long night of studying. I was jarred out of my sleepiness by a chorus of shouts sounding across the yard: “It’s Bernie Sanders!”

“Your year abroad will be amazing!”, “you’re going to love it!” and “I’m so jealous”, everyone says when wishing you well on your year abroad.

This was no different for me, yet everyone skims over the reality of starting at a foreign university, and the challenges that this entails.

The student’s view

After reading a number of worrying reports online about phishing attacks on students, I want to make sure that I don't fall victim to them while registering for my degree course and organising my student loan and university accommodation. 

The US, UK, Canada and Australia are four of the most popular countries for students to go to university. They are home to some of the highest-ranked universities in the world and the countries themselves are attractive destinations for students in terms of quality of life and employment prospects. 

To mark the launch of new research to find out why young people want to go to university, research specialist Alterline spoke to a six-year-old, a nine-year-old and a 17-year-old about their reasons for planning to enter higher education. 

The three ultimately gave quite similar answers, mostly revolving around expanding learning and increasing job prospects. 

 The full answers can be seen in the video below. 

It’s that time of year when sixth-formers and their parents visit university campuses, and every dining-room table across the land is strewn with copies of Freakonomics or Why History Matters as university applicants put the finishing touches to their personal statements, striving to stand out from the crowd, as the 15 January application deadline draws nearer.

The apparent elitist nature of Oxbridge and other top universities has again come under scrutiny following the release of new research showing that numbers of black and minority ethnic (BME) and lower socio-economic students at the University of Cambridge remain depressingly low.