30 Student Struggles

Note: I am aware that the placing of the images is a bit dodgy and that some of the numbers are overlapping with the
images to. I'm having a few technical issues on here at the moment and intend to sort it out eventually!

Besides the daunting moment of sitting in bed and suddenly remembering that we're only 18 and acquiring debts possibly up to £60,000+ until we're 50-years-old or so, there are many other struggles that all students can identify with.

Also, just to clarify before anyone gives me the talk about how being a student is nothing compared to being a 'proper adult', this is not a post intended to complain about student life. It is just a fun (though not fun at the times) post of some very classic (yet genuine) struggles that students can relate to and look back on.

With that  made clear, here are 30 struggles that the majority of students will encounter!

1. Price of Textbooks
   They are SO expensive. The shock that you get when an essential textbook for the module costs over £50 or even £100. Of course, the library resources are there for a reason. The issue here is that...
   
   
2. Borrowing Books from the Library
   They only have a 2 week loan (usually). Only a few days maximum for those in high demand. This isn't an issue if you can keep renewing them or if it's needed one-off, but when there are loads of students taking the module with only 6 or so textbooks available, they usually get recalled before you're able to do so. Let's be real, this isn't convenient when you need to read a chapter a week for a whole term.
   
   

   

   Peggy & Marco | Pixabay

3. Circuit Laundry
   
   Laundry was the least of my worries, yet it was a nightmare to deal with. Circuit Laundry didn't help the situation at all. They were constantly breaking down, so there was always at least one machine not functioning. When there's only 4 machines per a whole accommodation block (300+ students in some cases) you can imagine how difficult it is to find a free washing machine. Prepare to stand there and wait for 20 minutes for someone's cycle to finish because it's the only way you stand a chance of getting your clothes washed.
   
   
4. Research and (APA) Referencing
   Researching and finding the right material/ journal articles to include in assignments and as extra reading for exams is one of the most time-consuming parts of most degrees. Having to make sure that the material you pick out is relevant to the question and directly answers the question can be tricky to begin with. Then there's making sure that every reference and citation is perfectly written and formatted, especially when it comes to the nitty-gritty rules of APA. What parts needs to be italicised again? Is it '&' or 'and'?


5. Reading... Reading... Reading
   Probably the most time-consuming part of most degrees. There's so much reading to do that you will never be able to complete all the required reading for your modules every week. Not much else to say about this!
   
   

   

   via GIPHY

6. Drunk Students and Noisy Accommodation
   Those 9am lectures are difficult enough without drunk students shouting down your hallway or outside your accommodation block when you're trying to get enough sleep to make it through the day. Don't get me started on hearing doors slamming all through the night. Lectures can be very demanding so you want to be as alert as possible in order to grasp what you can to refrain from unnecessarily having to go through the whole entire lecture again. Definitely not something I am going to miss about living in student halls.
   
   
7. Cooking in a Crowded Kitchen
   I tended to avoid the kitchen if someone else was inside because it made me uncomfortable (anyone else?). Still, there will be times when you can't avoid that. There will be times when you need to cook and almost the whole flat is in the kitchen. It's not something you can plan either as students don't have clear schedules, for instance: your last lecture could end anywhere between 10am to 7pm.
   
   
8. Writing Essays is Really Complicated Task
   Despite having written essays for most of your academic life, you would think that you would know how to write a decent essay by the time you get to uni. Nevertheless, university changes that and you may realise that you don't actually know how to write a proper academic essay. Providing the balance of being concise, yet providing enough analysis and description takes several practises. Also, do I truly know the difference between an introduction vs. a conclusion and how to write them? Apparently not... We'll get there eventually. Each essay is step forward!
   
   
9. Word Counts
   Having to write up a content analysis research report in just 1,500 words... That was a struggle. Or when an essay is on your favourite section and you have so many good ideas you want to include but can't! Other times modules which are not your strong suit face the opposite challenge. Some university departments aren't too bothered, and others will penalise you for each percentage that student go over or under, so you will constantly be checking those word counts!
   
   
10. Synonyms
    You know when you're reading through an assignment and it seems that there's too many of one word and you think 'nah... I have to find another way to put that'? Then you have to start thinking of several different words to replace that one. Even with the basics like: 'and', 'the', and 'but' can seem too much!
    
    

11. 

    Nathan Dumlao  | Unsplash

    Not Being Able to Make It Through the Day Without Coffee/ Tea
    Not one I can relate to because I have a bit of a caffeine fear, however for my fellow students out there who can't live without coffee or tea, this one is for you! Every uni needs a Costa of some sort on campus, or we would end up with a lot of very angry students wandering around campus! Fun little story: I had a friend who tried to give up coffee for 1 week. She lasted 3 days (not bad!). Could you last longer than that?
    
    
12. Taking Notes
    There's two parts to this. First, the speed of lectures can be rough. In some cases, you may find yourself having trouble understanding the remainder of a lecture solely because you haven't understood something on slide 5. If you're confident enough you could put your hand up and ask for alliteration. Luckily for me the Psychology Department here makes use of lecture capture. To be honest, I can't imagine what I would do without it. Regardless, you will eventually get used to finding ways to combat that and you will learn to get quicker at grasping concepts and theories. I do have a post planned about taking notes, although I'm not sure when that will go up yet. Secondly, the distance between the seat and the table can be a struggle, but that's the least of your worries.
    
    
13. Sitting on a Squeaky Chair
    I suppose you could move, but when the lecture hall is almost full or there are other students sitting beside you and you don't want to make them move, you have to bear it. With any slight noise being heard by everyone, the desk usually too far from the seat, and sometimes lectures lasting 2 hours (or more!) it's not exactly the most comfortable position. Despite that, most of us would rather be stiff than irritating our (probably very tired) peers and possibly distracting the lecturer.
    
    
14. Noise in Lectures
    Fresher's flu is a real thing and kind of a pain during Term 1 lectures. Starting uni and not having  a clue what is going on makes it just a bit harder when the majority of students around you are ill. Sure, it's distracting, but it can't be helped. Other than that, you realise how irritating the constant clicking of someone typing on their keyboard is, especially when it's happening above your head. Then you get those students who spend the whole lecture whispering to each other. Please don't!
    
    
15. The Art of Speed Walking
    There are days where I have woken up early and was prepared well in advanced before leaving, only to realise that I have forgotten to do something 10 mins before I'm supposed to leave. Or there's getting paranoid about not making it on time, so you overestimate how long it will actually take to wherever you need to be. Then there's also the bus not turning up on time. The perks of this is that you will gradually manage to cut down the time it takes to get to your lectures by half, i.e.: you get faster at walking.
    
    
16. What Are You Doing After Uni?
    The dreaded question every student doesn't want to hear or answer. It fills us with so much panic. Even if we know, we're likely to not say anything in case things don't go the way they plan to, or if we change our minds. It's probably best to avoid asking it all together.
    
    
17. Work Experience Vs. Paid Work?
    You know that you need to save up for your placement year/ year abroad, to be able to fund a postgrad degree if you need one; accommodation costs. However, a lot of valuable work experience which relates to your career aspirations and which is required for many postgraduate degrees will more than likely be voluntary. Trying to balance academic demands with financial requirements is tricky and so stressful to deal with. 
    
    
18. Wi-Fi Down
    There are all these debates going on about young people being too dependent on the Internet but when you're student everything is on the Internet: all those journal articles we have to read, lecture PowerPoints, worksheets uploaded onto the university learning platforms; group work on Google drive. When the Wi-Fi shuts down when you need to get assignments and research done (or even worse, submit an assignment!) it is quite a big problem!
    
    
19. Sleep is Underrated
    9am lectures should be easy-peasy, right? Truth : they're not, and many lecturers will agree to. University work is demanding, which tires you out more than you can imagine. Then there's societies on top of that, each running for 2 hours in the evening (some more!), hours of rehearsals a week if you take part in performing arts, and there's also volunteering work. Some students also work on top of that. University halls don't help either. You learn to unconsciously suppress the tiredness until it hits you at the end of term. Anyone still recovering from the hours of lost sleep?
    
    
20. Overthinking MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)
    I can't be the only one who always selects an answer knowing that it's wrong deep down, yet your brain tricks you into somehow logically thinking that it could be correct? MCQs are those which make you really doubt yourself and your understanding, usually as a consequence of overthinking what you already know.
    
    
21. Understanding Statistics
    There's rarely a 'sort of get it' moment when it comes to stats. It's quite black and white: 'I totally get this' or 'what in the world is happening right now' and it can change within less than a second from one to the other. If you're like me and statistics/ maths in general isn't a strong point of yours, when you do understand it, you begin to wonder whether you're just manipulating yourself that well into thinking you do understand when really you don't. I guess the assignment will conclude that.
    
    
22. Questioning Whether You Should Be Doing Something When You're Not
    Am I supposed to be doing an assignment right now? Should I start exam revision even though it's only week 2? Oh no, what deadline am I missing? There's always that paranoia of thinking that you should be doing something more important than, well, anything else other than work.
    
    
23. Tabula Notifications
    

    

    IO-Images |
    Pixabay

    If you're not familiar with what Tabula is, it's essentially a platform which is used foradministration purposes (managing student profiles, timetabling, attendance; all that stuff), submitting assignments and receiving feedback. It's usually connected to your uni/student app. It's a really useful tool. The only downside to it is that every time a notification comes up detailing that 'assignment feedback' has been uploaded, you get that sinking feeling that takes you back to those 'your UCAS application has been updated' emails. 
    
    
24. Emailing/ Addressing Academics
    First time is always scary, even with very friendly academics. Usually lecturers tell you how they prefer (or even how they don't want) to be addressed, whether that be by their forename, 'professor' or 'Dr. (surname)' when you first meet them. Choosing between 'dear' and 'hi', or maybe even a 'good morning/evening' and an introduction to start with and a 'many thanks', 'kind regards' or 'best wishes' to end proves more difficult than it should be. I kid you not when it has sometimes taken me 30 mins of reading back over and pondering over whether the email is too formal or needs to be more formal. This usually resolves itself from the reply you get. For instance, you know not to be too formal next time if you get sent a 'cheers' with a 😊 emoji. Eventually, it all comes down to who exactly it is you're emailing and the nature of the email.
    
    
25. Trying Not to Have a Breakdown in Your Personal Tutor's Office
    Do I need to say any more than that? This will happen to a majority of us at least once. It's not that uncommon, so don't be embarrassed!
    
    
26. SU and Society Elections
    Politics at Warwick is quite something. Particularly when it comes to SU elections, they are guaranteed to bring on some serious debates and competition. There's not even an excuse to miss it: speeches being made at the start of your lectures at least three times a week, any bit of clear wall around campus will be covered in candidates' slogans and manifestos, there are banners hanging from the library bridge, poster board stands everywhere, and even these little stringed bits of decorated paper hanging from our (were) pretty trees. It was quite the experience. Is it that intense at other universities to? I've asked some of my sixth form peers and they don't even realise that elections are happening. Or maybe it's another one of those Warwick things?
    
    
27. It Always Feels Like Winter
    If the uni you attend has a green campus, you will understand the satisfaction of seeing all the beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, the bright green trees, and cute little animals running around. It feels like a new place! The problem is that you only get this during the first few weeks of term 1 and during the last few weeks of exam season. Usually, we're treading in soggy leaves and walking into campus damp and cold or sitting in our rooms revising or in an exam hall wishing we could enjoy the bright weather whilst is lasts... Sad times.
    
    
28. Where Does All the Time Go?
    There doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day to get everything done! A lot of us find ourselves starting on a reading/ an assignment, only to look up at the clock to find that 2 hours have already passed by. Completing term 1 and realising that there's only one term left until exam season hits or that you're already halfway through your degree comes at  shock to! I'm not even that old, but I feel like the older I get the quicker time seems to fly by (especially in an exam!). Funny thing considering time doesn't change pace.
    
    
29. Plagiarism - Developing a Fear of Turnitin
    Anyone who has had a plagiarism lecture will understand this. Plagiarism isn't really something students are concerned with to begin with, until you have a whole lecture on it, how to avoid it (it's much more complex than you expect!), and how Turnitin works. From then on, I have had a genuine fear or Turnitin every time I submit an assignment, even knowing that I haven't purposefully plagiarised. Luckily, I haven't been called up for any plagiarism yet so let's hope it stays that way. (Tip: unless your university asks you to submit work through Turnitin DON'T do it. Otherwise, when your lecturers put your work through, it will come up as 100% plagiarised and you don't want that!).
    
    
30. When Secondary/ High School Pupils Relate to Student Memes
    It's a painful thing to see... You want to tell them that they have no clue what's waiting for them, but you decide that it's best to leave them ignorant of all of that for now. They will really understand eventually.

How many of these resonate with you? Are there any obvious ones I have missed? Let me know!

On another note, I hope that Results Day went well for you and that you're now enjoying your Summer! If you have just broken up for the Summer break and you are awaiting A-Level or GCSE results, try and keep yourself distracted to ease the nerves. Make the most out of your well-deserved break!

Next week there will be an extra mini post followed by a review of my year 1 modules the following week, and that's that!