Five things they don’t tell you about becoming a University of Lincoln postgrad

Every day’s a school day – unless it’s the day after Quack, in which case the day doesn’t exist

2 years ago | UPDATED 2 years ago

Starting my postgrad after having completed three years in Lincoln, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the place. The bars, the people, the places to be. You’d think – well, I would like to think – that the information I had carefully collected from the tender age of 18 would still stand useful to this day. Sadly, I’m wrong.

Here is a list of five things that they don’t warn you about when you become a postgrad in Lincoln.

Going ‘for one’ at The Swan can mean just that

As an undergraduate, you’re a free spirit. You can be out of your last lecture and in The Swan with your mates before you know it. “Just for one,” someone will say. You’ll all nod, with a mumble of pre-reading and assignments. But as the rounds come in, does anyone actually get up to leave? It’s a game at this point, and secretly you were all gagging to go to Union anyway.

Now, I enter that building with friends, reminiscing on those times, knowing full well that I will indeed just be staying for one.

Checking your evening schedule before agreeing to plans

Impromptu plans?? What are those? Don’t expect me out on these days, I’m far too busy catching up on a Netflix series and / or have already changed into sweatpants and an old t-shirt, and there’s no amount of love or money that can convince me out of them.

The idea of trying to do anything after a Friday night out makes the hangover even worse

On the odd occasion I find myself going ‘out out’, I seem to forget that I’m not the fresher I once was. The night will be fun, the drinks will be aplenty, and we’ll all have a laugh. But please, do not try to contact me the following day. Once upon a time, the idea of waking up after a night out without consequences was a common occurrence. Little did I know that this was a luxury, and now nights out are planned in advance so that I’m able to block out the next day under the guise of self-care.

Taking the dinosaur stairs actually makes sense

It’s a general rule of thumb amongst Lincoln students that when the level crossing is down, you do not, nay you refuse, to take the funky-looking bridge over the tracks. Why? That’s just the way things are. How badly did you want to go to the library anyway? Was your 9am really that important? This was a mindset I lived by as an undergrad, but now? Postgrads will climb that bridge every time they pass it, they’re not waiting around when there are DEADLINES, people. I’m sorry, but I have places to be, and I’m not going to let a freight train stop me.

Quack doesn’t hit the same

Again, this is another Lincoln student thing that you will probably live by as an undergrad. Making it to Quack, or whichever night you and your mates designate as ‘your night’, was a must for me and my friends. Come rain or shine, freshers flu and breakups, we would be there, boogying to Sweet Caroline like we hadn’t heard it at the exact same time the week before. Eager to recreate the euphoric high of those days, I attempted Quack one more time. Needless to say, I walked in and immediately regretted it. The fight for the front row, the insane queues for the bars, and the peculiar scent of VKs and elf bars, both sobered me up and told me I was far too old to enjoy what was happening. Quack will always hold a place in my heart, but I shall not be returning anytime soon.

It’s the redemption arc you didn’t know you wanted

This wasn’t my idea, but someone told me that their experience of being a Lincoln student for an extra year was like getting the chance to do it all over again. Sure, some things may have changed (i.e. every point I made above) but your postgrad doesn’t have to be a constant reminder of your age, or your secret wish to never be a functioning adult ever. Joining societies you wish you had in your undergrad, meeting more people who share the same interests as you, and getting to enjoy all those things you thought you were going to have to miss when you left are all reasons why completing a postgrad is actually the redemption arc you never realised you needed.