Every type of Notts student you will find in the library during deadline season

It’s the most magical time of the year: deadline season


Christmas is over and you’re back in Notts, already dreaming of being back home for the next holiday where you don’t have to do your own laundry or cook for yourself (thanks mum).

But there is one obstacle left before you can indulge in a weekly Crisis sesh: exams and coursework. If covid hasn’t taken you down yet, your workload certainly will.

All Notts students are retiring their club nights for midnight sessions at the library as we get closer and closer to the end of deadline season.

If you venture into Hallward, George Green, or even Djanogly, you will inevitably be greeted with these types of Notts students.

The one asleep at their desk

In spite of how loud and busy the library can be during deadline season, some troopers manage to sleep through all of it. I’m not entirely sure what the appeal of snoozing in the library with your laptop open on an empty word document is, but it sure does hit the spot for this type of student.

On occasion, you can see this sleepy-head in a booked out room: true dedication to the nap.

The one who won’t stop talking

Despite the many ‘silent study’ signs and dirty looks you can throw this student, there’s no chance they will let you have a breakdown or revision session at the library in peace. I’m actually unsure whether this Notts student realises that Hallward is, in fact, a library and not a hangout spot.

Though they may be sat in the library, their focus is not uni work, but rather gossiping about what happened at Crisis last night, or commenting loudly on their latest friendship group drama.

To be fair, we do love to eavesdrop in-between lectures, as this student provides some much-needed procrastination or just straight up entertainment in the library.

Silent study: this means business

The final year

At this point this Notts student seems to be hooked on a caffeine IV, or a repeated order of an oat milk latte from Starbucks. No matter how much coffee they consume permanent eyebags are a part of their daily fit, often accompanied by greasy hair and the overwhelming smell of stress – which may or may not be dissertation related.

At least they only have five more months of this, until they apply for a panic masters when they realise they aren’t ready to go out into the real world.

The group project

Just as you finally get focused on your textbook reading, in waltz the group project students. They haven’t managed to book a group room in time for their presentation, so they created a make-shift seven-seater table by pushing two together and grabbing any miscellaneous chairs they can find. Unfortunately, this is not the end of their disruptions.

They’ll loudly start discussing their ideas, but fall into just regular chatting after about five minutes. Soon a hunt for seven plug sockets will commence, and they won’t refrain from practising their PowerPoint presentation out loud for all of Hallward to hear.

The over-prepared

I’m not sure when this Notts student managed to sign their tenancy agreement for a seat on C floor in George Green, but they have moved in.

Unlike the rest of us who brave the library with only a laptop and water bottle in hand, this Notts student has everything they could possibly need; a charger for their laptop, phone, headphones, a laptop stand, a book stand, and every different coloured pen they could find at the stationary shop.

Surely they must camp out at the library for days, because no matter what time you venture to the library, they will be there. Unlike the majority of other students, they’re not stressed or on the verge of a breakdown. Instead, an unnerving sense of calm seems to wash over them as they reach for the neck pillow from their bag of goodies.

The first timers

Either this Notts student is experiencing their very first deadline season, or it’s taken them until final year to feel the impending doom of exams, but they’ve only just been drawn to the library for the very first time. They’re here for the motivation, camaraderie, or maybe just the free wi-fi.

They’ll circle around the whole of George Green trying to find the toilets, and fail to find or take out any books they actually need.

The one who is ‘in the zone’

Deadline season has sent this Notts student into their own coma of revision, nothing will break their focus; they’re immune to the gossip from the chatterboxes and the disruption of a group project.

Not even the hourly announcement reminding students to wear their facemasks will cause them to remove their headphones, which have been glued to their ears since 9am.

They truly do put the rest of us to shame.

The one who is on the verge of a breakdown

Holding back tears in the silent study area of the library is something I’m sure most Notts students can attest to.

Some students channel their anguish into a huge sigh each time they turn the page of their textbook, or dramatically holding their head in their hands between lectures.

Don’t worry too much – exam season will be over before you know it, and we can go back to worrying about which outfit we should wear to Ocean instead.

That is, of course, until May.

Related articles recommended by this author:

• The 10 best ways to procrastinate from that impending assignment

• What your study space on UoN’s campus says about you

• A definitive ranking of the best places to study on UoN campus