Before the mid-life crisis, comes the final year meltdown. Drinking alone, wearing your pyjamas to the library and researching obscure MAs all become routine and acceptable activities in a fruitless bid to keep adulthood at bay. But if you want to avoid becoming a permanent passive-aggressive feature on the silent floor of the library, there are ways to keep your head during this troubling time…

Ignore Social Media

Scrolling the News Feed, it can feel as if everyone has their lives post-uni meticulously planned out. But for every soul-crushing status update from that person who has a £50K job in the City ready and waiting, there are at least twenty people like you who have still never seen the inside of the Careers Building and delete those irritating Milkround emails without even opening them. Be particularly wary of stalking your coursemates on LinkedIn. This not only has the potential to be incredibly depressing, but also cringeworthy when they receive the flattering but unnerving profile view notifications that result from your snooping.

Don’t neglect the LCR

It would be nothing without you.

Don’t be put off by the plague of keen freshers, this is your kingdom! With the bleak prospects of either full time work or long term unemployment before you, now more than ever is the time to enjoy a last hurrah. Few third years expect to be able to party like they only need 40%, and the eve of deadline day is probably time better spent with your textbooks. But when you’re eighty, you’re more likely to regret missing your friend’s crazy 21^st bash than the fact you only managed a ‘low first’ in that presentation…

Remember there’s always someone worse off than you

Trust us, it could be worse.

Everyone loves a good vent about their looming essay deadlines/ cheating boyfriend/ mould infested bathroom, but try not to let it become a competition. Whatever the cause of those emerging grey hairs, chances are there will always be someone else in a worse position than you. If your friend is talking to you about their dissertation, don’t counter their worries with tales of your broken kitchen appliances. Story-topping is unlikely to make you feel any better, and will only leave your friends feeling foolish and reluctant to approach you.

Do some maths

Working out exactly what mark you need to average for third year in order to get that fabled 2:1 can be a weight off your shoulders, especially when you realise you only need 57 for the dissertation you’re yet to start. Of course, it may be a daunting realisation if your marks from second year weren’t what you’d hoped for, but at least you’ll be prepared.

If your years are weighted 50/50 then the sums are self-explanatory. If, however, you’ve got a 40/60 situation on your hands you need to multiply your average mark for second year by four, then subtract the number you get from 600 (or 700 if you’re hoping for a first), then divide the resulting figure by 6 to calculate the score you need.

Most important is to enjoy the last of your freedom. Treasure the opportunities to go out on a Tuesday night or sleep in until 5pm, in nine months you will (hopefully!) have long since graduated…