Fourth year is categorically the worst thing about Oxford

If you haven’t seen a fourth year, you’ll have at least heard about them.

They may have shushed you in the library, or made passive aggressive sighing noises while they wait for you to finish with your laundry disaster that is eating into their slot.

You might be new to the exciting world of beautiful libraries and having to wash your own clothes, but we’re not and we’re on a fairly tight schedule, so maybe skip the pre-wash if you’re going to turn up 15 minutes late.

Apologies for being unnecessarily snarly. But really, fourth year is literally the worst.

Silence please

The first thing you notice is that your friends have all disappeared.

Well, you kind of got the idea they wouldn’t be there as they – only once or twice – mentioned their exciting new jobs, their John Lewis account or their graduation.

But the fact that they now sneeze spare change and wax lyrical about the virtues of Uber doesn’t get in the way of your friendship. The fact they now all live in London does, however.

It’s ok though, because what you lack in friendship, you make up for in extra work, so you don’t necessarily notice how little fun you’re having.

To be perfectly honest, the amazing year abroad that you’ve come back from comes with its own special set of challenges. Luckily these sort of melt away when you remember world class museums, Athenian hipster bars, and how many likes your Instagram was raking in.

That tan lasted about a week

Fun is a thing of the past. Finals are on the horizon and assignments are being chucked at you at an alarming rate.

No longer fuelled by the energy or FOMO of being a Fresher, work hard, play hard kind of becomes work hard, work harder and the free time you do get is spent tutting about the state of the JCR with other sensible fourth years, or getting far too excited about a good eight hours.

My highlighters are my friends now

It’s not all bad. Oxford is still a beautiful place. The sheer terror of being a fresher all those years ago has now been replaced by a sheer terror of the job hunt (but careers fairs = free pens, so it’s in some ways more manageable).

But there is a lot to be said for knowing your environment and your subject a little bit better.

A successful haul

So next time you see a fourth year emerging from the library looking like they need either a wash or a hug or both, have pity on them. We were once like you, fresh-faced and optimistic, still believing in the mythical work/life balance.

But please don’t ask about our future plans.  We have none.