Leeds students’ biggest regrets and advice for future freshers

With the end of another uni year we asked Leeds students to reflect on their biggest regrets and asked what advice they would give their fresher selves. While some gave decent advice others took the opportunity as a very personal venting session on the choices they’ve made so far. Brace yourselves.

We started by asking the students of Leeds, what is your biggest regret of uni so far?

Jacob- ‘Flooding my flat. With sick.’

It’s needless to say that the second part of the statement caught us by surprise. The wrath he must’ve faced from his flatmates for the flooding would’ve been bad enough but the sick is a bit next level.

But when asking Jacob what his advice to freshers would be, it wasn’t to lower alcohol consumption. “Building up a big friend base is really important, I think. That’s my biggest regret overall.”

Perhaps flooding his flat wasn’t the best first impression but it’s clear that Jacob has come far since then.

Maddy- ‘Not joining more societies.’

This seems to have been a common one. With moving into university being a chaotic and sometimes overwhelming experience it can be hard to find time to try different things.

“Join more societies. You’ll meet people who you can relate to and ask for advice from- it’s a great way to make new friends,” Freya told The Tab Leeds. “Now that I’m in one I feel like I have a kind of family at uni.”

Anisha- ‘The friends you meet in the first week won’t necessarily be the friends you make for life.’

While Anisha also regrets not joining more societies in first year she urges freshers to remember that the people you encounter in Freshers’ Week won’t necessarily be your best friends and that’s okay.

Jack- ‘Not getting on this girl quick enough.’

Jack got straight in there with the romance regrets. He’s too deep in the friendship zone and now can’t get out. According to Jack it’s best to let them know how you feel before you’re at Mischief with her and her boyfriend drinking away your sorrows.

Maddie- ‘Sleeping with the boy in Flat 2.2.’

Maddie was not afraid to call this boy out and warned freshers “not to sleep with boys in your Uni accommodation”.

“I sh****d him and then I messaged him asking if he wanted birthday s*x and he ignored me,” Maddie added. We’ve heard a lot of awful Flatcest regrets but this one was difficult to hear.

Freya- ‘Going to Uni in the first place.’

Although not a very reassuring regret for freshers, Freya spoke honestly on her experience. “I wish I’d done a year out before. I feel like I rushed into it. I wish I’d done a year out working or travelling. I don’t regret uni completely I just needed some time before going.”

Azrael- ‘Money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money.’

After the number of “money[s]” it’s pretty obvious that Azrael has had financial regrets. “Don’t spend so much so quickly,” he adds after suddenly walking off in shame.

Tom- ‘Sh***ing my flatmate.’

Another Flatcest regret except this one seems to have hit Tom hard. “It just never works,” he explains. “It’s awkward afterwards. I’m cooking chicken and pasta and then she sees me in the kitchen.”

Upon being asked if chicken and rice is now a trigger for PTSD he explains that, in fact, every meal is triggering because she’s always there. Be warned freshers- Flatcest is enough to put you off your appetite for an entire year.

Our encounter with Tom ends with him dropping his vape due to the overwhelming nature of bringing up his past trauma so we decided to let him go, bless him.

Tom- ‘Enjoy your flatmates.’

To be honest, we’re not entirely sure how to take this statement. When asked for clarification he explains, “just embrace them”. We hope what he means is to be inclusive and chat to lots of people, but the wording of the phrase was unfortunate.

Owen- “Doing a degree I didn’t want to do.”

Owen urges freshers to make sure they’re doing what they actually want to. He tells The Tab Leeds that although the switch of degrees was easy he’s “wasted nine grand on a course that he didn’t want to do.”

“Also if money struggles are something you’re facing get a job. It’s not too difficult balancing a job and Uni.”

Jack- “Not being more confident in first year.”

“When you’re a first year you’re scared but everyone’s in the same situation as you. Just be really confident when it comes to meeting new people and you’ll be perfect. If you see other freshers they’d probably be really happy if you talk to them in the same way that if you’re new you’d be really happy for people to talk to you.”

“If you mess up who cares?” Jack adds. “But if it goes well, they could be your lifelong friends.”

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