Battle of the pres: The differences between freshers and second year

One of the main highlights of freshers year for most students is living in halls, having big pres in the flat above and hunting out an afters at Castle Leazes when you aren't quite ready for the night to be over.

When second year arrives and you've moved into your Jesmond digs with the people you met at pres last year, things change more than you probably thought they would.

What your pre drink of choice is

You may think by second year, as you'll hopefully be paying less for accommodation, you might have a few left over pennies for a more luxurious pre-drink. You thought the days of Tesco cans were behind you, but think again. Jesmond caters for the rich only.

Also, if you're heading to someone else's house for pres, it isn't as easy as nipping back to your flat in the next block to top up your drink. It's guaranteed you'll never see that leftover alcohol again.

The people invited to your pres

By second year, I hope you've all re-evaluated your lives after a year of posting in the halls group chat "PRES @ FLAT 29 9PM", to find a non-existent turn out because everyone probably hates you. Even worse if you were that one person at 4am asking "where's the afters at?". Pres in your second year house usually consists of all your stunning mates you met during first year crammed into your tiny, grotty living room with very little breathing space.

What happens at pres

Say goodbye to those fresher drinking games (Ring of Fire etc), which used to get you twatted before your big night out in Digi or Illegitimate. By second year, there's no need for these as you're already drinking from about 2pm each day due to the stress of uni assignments that actually count! Pres in second year are stereotypically too cool/indie for embarrassing games of which only a few people actually know the rules. They tend to feature more severely wild antics, this could be snorting lines or booking three flights to Poland – unlucky hun.

Pissing off your housemates

Buy some ear plugs huns

No longer are you living in sound proof flats where that one person who didn't want to come out was never disturbed. You'll find in your second year house, you can hear so much as someone breathing downstairs. So good luck to the poor guy or gal who has work the next day while everyone is partying below you. You're also at that stage now where you're good enough mates to send a passive aggressive text in the group chat telling the others to shut up and it not go down too badly.

Getting from pres to town

Gone are the days where you can dance your way to the clubs on foot (if you were lucky enough to get city centre accom), illegally carrying your last beverage en route. Living on the outskirts of Newcastle, be prepared for the extra cost of taxis within your night out budget. A tip: don't be fooled by the old "you pay taxi, I'll buy you a drink" trick. You will never see that £3.10 ever again.

Where you're heading after

Never again…

First year pres consist of getting revved up for a night out at the notoriously fresher-filled Digi Mondays in your skimpiest outfit. By second year, you're choosing your night out location based on where you can get away with your casual comfort clothing i.e. Swingers, where you could literally wear your pyjamas and no one would bat an eyelid. With confidence, no one at a second year pres should be getting ready for a disastrous night in Soho. This is under ALL CIRCUMSTANCES a last resort.

Photo credit: Chris Grey (Soho Rooms)