Student life

Freshers’ week in the UK is pretty much done and dusted for another year and Twitter has been on side to witness the highs and lows. From kitchen disasters to contracting the dreaded freshers’ flu, these tweets shed light on the typical student experience during the first two weeks of university. 

Well we have melted a spatula.... #FreshersWeek

I recently headed out to Berlin for a couple of days, aiming to explore some universities, speak to some students and find out exactly why students love studying in Berlin. It turns out that there are a ton of reasons why the German capital is so attractive to students. 

The one thing I can say with certainty about life as a student is that there is no typical day. A first year’s day will be completely different from a third year’s, a classicist’s different from a chemist’s. Every day is different.

New research from The Student Room has found that a quarter of students who started university this September don’t feel confident about living away from home.

Male students feel slightly more prepared, with 81 per cent saying they felt prepared for university life compared with 74 per cent of female students. Respondents were the most worried about managing their personal finances (27 per cent). 

The global energy crisis is something that is on everyone’s radar and for which many people are seeking a solution. This summer I was lucky enough to undertake a summer placement at Tokamak Energy to help carry out some work that might be part of the solution. 

J.P. Morgan has been ranked as the best undergraduate employer in the UK by students.

Based on more than 5,500 student reviews on RateMyPlacement.com throughout the 2015-16 academic year, the table ranks the top 100 organisations in the UK for graduate jobs.

To be eligible, companies must recruit more than 20 students a year on placements, internships, vacation schemes and insights and have to have at least 15 reviews on their website. 

As a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) student, I have a slightly different schedule from most other students at the University of Sydney – part of our curriculum is attending industry placements during breaks.

Fresher’s week is an undeniably important time. It’s the first stepping stone in your journey as a student. Before you discover Kafka and the importance of Kinematics, fresher’s week is about learning how many shots your budget can be stretched to and how to work a washing machine. Having successfully survived fresher’s week myself, here are my top 10 tips to make your first moments easier and more enjoyable.

About halfway through my first year as an undergraduate reading English literature, I decided I wanted to become an academic and teach at university. That meant I had to get a master’s and then a PhD.

I recently graduated with a master’s degree from Harvard University. Throughout the entire week, countless speakers and dignitaries – including Mark Zuckerberg and John Kerry – told us that I (and my classmates) would be the future leaders of the world.

But just seven years ago, it did not seem likely that I could pursue a college degree, let alone a graduate degree at Harvard. Growing up, I had always scoffed at academics and their “expert advice” because they often seemed so divorced from my reality.