Things I wish I’d known in my first year at Aberdeen uni

Throughout freshers there were more than a few moments of youthful stupidty, plenty of 4am fire alarms and regretful hookups. It is a time in your life where anything goes, so you might as well make the most of it.

Primark is cheaper than laundry

The hours and money wasted in Circuit laundry do not bear thinking about. The lowest point of your month is having to "clean" your clothes in those Hillhead laundromats. Save yourself the trouble and go to Primark.

Bobbin will be your go-to pub

It will be hard to get a table and you will everyone you know, but worth it for those 25p wings and/or chocolate fudge cake. If you are embarrassed by how many Bobbin points you have, you are doing it right.

The Hillhead shop will destroy your bank balance

Hungover scran, bottle of wine for pres, one chocolate bar are all at a pricey cost. They take advantage of our moments of weakness. Expect to be deep into your overdraft leaving the doors of that shop.

Learn to cook BEFORE coming to uni

There is no nutritional value in eating five pot noodles a day. Pesto pasta for every single dinner gets old fast, as does Dominos. However, Lidl curry (big shoutout to gold Korma jar) and stir fry gets the job done.

The concept of sleep and time

First semester was fast, but second semester actually FLEW by (probably due to the strike tbh). 8 hours of sleep a night is a foreign concept. You will go into a mates room to get a charger at 4pm, and still be there watching Married At First Sight at 2am.

Start an essay earlier than you think you need to

Us looking at MyAberdeen essay deadline the night before

At the risk of sounding like every uni lecturer ever, I regret it to inform you that starting an essay the night before, or even the morning of is a grave mistake. Unless you are one of the lucky few who can produce a passing essay within two hours, please just do it in good time. Top tip: Sir Duncan Rice library 7th floor provides the best view and is pretty quiet.

First Bus is extortionate, so prepare to walk

3.50 for a day ticket is basically daylight robbery. Exceptions are the Friday night 'pres' bus straight to Inny. Get your trainers on and prepare to make the walk. An iconic moment of my first year was whacking my head off a bus seat on Valentines Day on route to Skite.

Orange VK is the only acceptable flavour, end of

Shoutout for these boys for knowing what is right. Friends don't let friends buy another flavour. It's an Inny rite of passage to work out in freshers how many VK's you can hold in your fingers. Then promptly drop them all.

It's easier to make friends than you think

Everyone is in the same boat and wants to make pals. Just be open to going to pres, chatting to anyone anywhere and making a total tit of yourself. It's freshers after all.

To all the first years out there, it's called Aberdream for a reason. Say yes to anything that catches your fancy (tip: say you are 'going' on Facebook events, and people will join you), crash a few pres, accept all your shoes are going to be trashed by the UG and Inny floors and always, always go to Grub for a hungover panini and coffee.