Here’s everything you’ll find on a Notts student’s Instagram

You have three years to prove to your Instagram followers that “going to university really changed me as a person!” and Notts students seem to have got the memo. We’ve all been stuck behind someone on campus trying to take a discreet picture of the Trent building, but who can blame them? Even the university’s own Instagram account has been guilty of posting more than a few shots of it.

Maybe you’ve been asked to take a picture for a group of strangers on a night out, showing off your photography skills by asking them to move slightly to the left just so they get the best possible lighting. Do you ever wonder how many group photos you’ve made it into? It’s probably more than you can bare to think about.

So, before you can say you’ve been there, done that and got the university jumper, here is everything you’ll find on a Notts student’s Instagram. Including the good, the bad and the incredibly ugly Instagram story post that makes your hangover ten times worse.

The Notts bio

Before you had the chance to put your mattress topper on your university first year bed, you had changed your Instagram bio to tell the world (well, your few hundred followers) that you now are a part time resident of Nottingham.

It’s up for debate whether you put the initials of your university or just simply Notts. If you choose not to specify there’s something elusive about you. Do you go to UoN or Trent? Why do you not want people to know? I suppose putting UoN could result in people assuming you go to university in Newcastle, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a location tag of Nottingham City Centre on one of your photo dumps.

Most people also write their home city or county too. I’ve seen more bios that read “UoN – London” than people in the first lecture of the semester. Something has to make the nearly three hour journey worth it, right?

The Nottingham sign on campus

The rainbow Nottingham sign you walk past once you’ve finally made it onto campus after trekking all way the from Lenton on a hangover is like a reward.

Maybe you painstakingly chose your outfit to compliment the myriad of colours behind you. Maybe you upped the saturation of the picture just to emphasise the hues in a way that your phone camera could not.

If this post has since been archived, then just blame your first year self for thinking the underwhelming lettering is the epitome of independence and academia. You go to UoN and you’re proud of it, there’s nothing wrong with that, but falling face first onto the hill on the way up to the sign? You just have no hope no one saw that.

The Council House in Old Market Square

You may not know where this is just from the name as not many of us refer to it as ‘The Council House’ and it’s more likely your mates have told you to meet them underneath the purple building in Old Market Square.

It’s so big and quintessentially Notts that it’s hard to avoid getting it in a picture. I’ve seen it countless times in Notts based Tiktok videos that have gone viral. It’s enough to make you scroll back up and think “wait, that’s Notts!”.

If you have this building in the background of one of your Instagram pictures, then you are most likely capturing a moment where you were freezing cold and waiting for the rest of your friends to walk to McDonalds with you after a night out.

Disposable camera photos

There’s always that one person who whips out a disposable camera at every house party. You only realise it’s there when you’re temporarily blind in one eye from the flash you didn’t know was coming.

I feel as though these posts are a favourite for Notts university students. Even for those who don’t own a disposable camera, the app Huji Cam will provide you with similar vibrant photos for your feed. At least on the app there’s no term-long wait to see the end result.

I have a feeling your future children will have a few questions as to what happened to your camera quality when showing them half of your captured university memories. You don’t need a degree in photography to post one on IG but you do need stamina: enough to remember to take 27 photos and then get them developed and digitalised. It’s an extreme sport.

Categorised story highlights

Are you guilty of putting more effort into the organisation of your Instagram highlights than the rest of your life? Me too. No one really cares when it comes to your story highlights other than you.

Highlights have become a way of looking back at past terms and cringing at why you thought it was a good idea to wear that one specific top most nights out in first year. Some people use them to showcase all of their library study sessions, others have categories dedicated to different Notts clubs.

If you’re anything like me then everything ends up into one, obnoxiously long highlight that, thanks to the delete button, now contains more drunk memories than mistakes.

Halloween pics

Halloween is one of the things Notts does best. It’s a day that manifests itself into a week of clubbing and several panic trips to Luvyababes just so you have multiple outfits.

The pictures that get posted are a source of inspiration for your fellow students so it’s important not to keep your ingenious costume ideas to yourself. Just know when October comes, you’ll be traipsing through endless photos of orange jumpsuits, coppers, cowgirls and devils. What else would you want to spend your day doing?

Just make sure the photos you post are employer friendly. It’s easy to forget we’re supposedly adults now who, before we know it, will be looking for serious jobs with serious interviews. Employers don’t tend to do Halloween quite like us. They’ve clearly never experienced a Halloween at Crisis.

Wollaton and The Deer

Remember to tag the location, just to emphasise that you and your friends went to the effort of making the muddy walk to Wollaton.

Whether it’s in front of Wollaton Hall itself, preferably with an aesthetic sunset in the background, or a snap of you getting a little bit too up close and personal with a deer, I can guarantee one of these photos exists on your gram. At the very least there’s a picture somewhere in your camera roll.

I’ve never seen any photos posted from inside the house though, so if you’re looking to really cause a stir on Instagram, try taking the Notts student obsession with Wollaton one step further and take a venture inside.

A picture in your grid of Wollaton wouldn’t be complete without a bottle of Corona that you’ve kept hidden in your coat. I’m sure the deer don’t approve but your followers might.

Rock City photo booth

It’s always a good idea at the time, falling headfirst into the photobooth and making the bench fit four of you when it’s meant for two at a push. Nothing is as good of an investment as the £3 you’ll spend getting a set of unhinged black and white photos of you and your friends to pin to your crumbling bedroom notice board or take a photo of to share on Instagram.

Don’t forget to crop the one out where you genuinely look like your soul has left your body. One friend is always looking the wrong way, another is in the process of spilling their drink down your new top and one, the most sober of the group, is getting frustrated at the state of the situation. It may take a few hundred attempts, but you’ll get one you deem post worthy eventually.

The obligatory LED bedroom pic

Last but not least, the LED illuminated bedroom picture. Whether it’s a selfie or a pre night out picture of you sat on your bed taken by your friend, we’ve all been there, done that and got the photo to prove it.

Maybe you’ll change the colour of the lights to match your outfit or perhaps you’re stubborn and refuse to change the colour that has become part of the furniture. They help disguise the questionable paintwork and wallpaper application in your room and they also make for an Instagram post that screams “I’m a student”. Your bedroom may be the size of a shoebox, but at least the LEDs give your shoebox a little ambiance.

There we have it. Everything that makes a Notts students, well, a Notts student. If you know anyone applying to study here in September, it might be a good idea to tell them to include their appreciation of a few of these on their personal statement. It’s arguably the best way to let the university know you’re going to firm Notts as soon as you get an offer. Who cares about grades and homesickness? At least you’ll get a good pic for your gram.

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