Jack Edwards - The Ultimate University Survival Guide

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

FIRST EDITION

Jack Edwards 2020

Cover layout design HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Cover illustrations Shutterstock.com

Illustrations: fabric care symbol guide Shutterstock; dial electrical meters Liane Payne

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Jack Edwards asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008365646

Ebook Edition August 2020 ISBN: 9780008365653

Version: 2020-06-30

This book is dedicated to my A Level Biology teacher, who told me it was time to start aiming lower Im glad I didnt.

Hey! My name is Jack Edwards and Ive just finished my final year studying English Literature at Durham University. This is The Uni-Verse my ultimate guide to university, sharing an actual students perspective. From dressing as a jellyfish using only bubble wrap and tape to setting my microwave on fire with a single piece of bread, Ive really done it all, and with this book I hope to impart all the wisdom Ive gained conflagration not included.

So, whether youre looking for housemates to live with or tips and tricks to help avoid murdering them, this is your complete, unadulterated, unfiltered survival guide with all the trimmings. Just think of me as the Bear Grylls of university. Except Ive never been on a rugby club bar crawl, so Ive never actually had to drink my own urine.

I was the first in my immediate family to go to university, so I had pretty much no idea what I was doing when I applied. There were so many questions bubbling away in my brain, and a dearth of useful information online. Its safe to say that, when I first packed my bags and left for university, I was an incompetent monkey (my parents would almost too eagerly agree) I truly put the fun in fundamentally incapable. Id like to think that I actually know what Im doing now (my parents may not so eagerly agree on this one) and Ive had the most incredible time working it all out. This is the book I wouldve wanted to read three years ago before I embarked on the academic heptathlon that is university, and thats why Im so passionate about writing it. Also, Im an English Lit student, so this is pretty much a dream come true.

This book includes everything I think you need to know, including what to pack, what to expect from your first day/week/term, how to pay rent, and the all-important question: how the hell do you keep houseplants alive? Seriously, how do you expect to keep yourself alive if you have the carcass of a rotting succulent on your bookshelf? Ive got you covered.

So, you want to go to university? Amazing! There are a few things you need to do before you find yourself in the lecture hall (or the nightclub) on day one of Freshers Week, so Ive dedicated the first section of this book to the pre-uni hustle. After all, theres a personal statement to write, the emotional roller coaster that is UCAS Track and the small matter of exams to get through first. And we all know the h in exam season stands for happiness

Of course, the first thing you should think about when applying to go to university is *drum roll please* the course youll be studying! Its so crucial that you get this right and opt for something that youre genuinely passionate about, because youve got to live, breathe and sleep it (or, indeed, get-no-sleep-and-pull-an-all-nighter it) for three, four or even more years.

And the key word there is you. Your subject has to be something you care about. Not what your parents think will lead to a successful career that they can brag about to strangers they meet on dog walks. Not what your teachers tell you youre destined to study because you pretend you know whats going on in class surprisingly convincingly. Not what your horoscope suggests youd be good (or Sagit-terrible) at. You dont want to be the one left picking up the Pisces.

Its about what you know you enjoy. Its about studying the thing that is going to wake you up in the morning and excite you.

The best way to get an insight into what a course entails is by checking different university department websites. Often theyll have full breakdowns of what each year of the course expects of you and the content they cover.

If there are a few different subjects that you particularly enjoyed or excelled in during your GCSEs, A Levels, BTECs or IB years, and you cant quite pick one, then investigate all of them. Theres no harm in not knowing just yet, and no shame in testing the water of a few different subjects at this initial stage. It can be hard narrowing down your options its like picking your favourite Friends character. Although we all know no ones favourite is Ross.

Alternatively, theres always the safety-net option of taking whats known as combined honours, which means you study multiple subjects. If you opt for this, its probably a good idea to take two subjects that complement each other (like History and Politics, Maths and Physics, or English and Psychology), but thats not to say that other combinations arent valid, too. In fact, the more obscure the combination you go for, the more nuanced and unique your research and dissertation could be although thats a pretty intense, long-term investment in a 12,000-word essay.

At open days, its definitely a good idea to go to subject talks, where a professor will give a presentation on the experience you can expect from a specific degree. If there are multiple subjects that youre toying with then go to all the different subject presentations, and that should make it pretty clear to you which one excites you the most. I certainly found it useful for narrowing down my options.

Reading lists and lecture breakdowns should be available online via faculty websites and will be invaluable in your decision-making. Also, every uni is different and creates their own unique modules, as well as a different way of studying (and examining) the subject, so its worth casting your net pretty wide at first.

Another thing to look out for is a subject that youve never had a chance to study before, especially those that link to the subjects you have taken previously. Not everyone will have had the opportunity to study things like Anthropology, Geology or Film before university, but one of them may actually be the course youre best suited to. Often course documents/guides will suggest some traditional subjects that facilitate these more specific degrees for example, a background in Biology or History would complement an Anthropology degree perfectly. *Italian chef kiss*

I suppose the main point here is that picking the right course for you to study should be your number-one priority, because its the thing that will envelope your life for the foreseeable future. No subject is too niche, or too broad, or too hard, or too easy, regardless of what anyone tells you. Pursue what is going to intrigue and fascinate you, because its going to be an enormous part of your university experience.