A number of friends heading to Uni next year have been asking for advice, so I wrote this in response. It is not meant to be comprehensive, but contains what I consider to be some worthwhile suggestions. YMMV.

Before I came to University I, like pretty much all people about to make the same transition, was offered advice from various people about the nature of Uni life - everything from food to drink, drugs, sex and so on. We’re told that Uni is an experience shared by all first years; that everyone else is in the same boat etc., but having been here a term and a bit I thought I’d attempt to dispense some advice of my own that didn’t come up in the pre-game pep talks I had. Everyone’s experience varies - I speak from an English A-level student POV - but I’m sure someone will find some relevance in this somewhere.

1. Levels of promiscuity are, by and large, grossly exaggerated. I may not be top of the tree of social movers and shakers, but I’m certainly above most of the pond life you can find around here, and I can tell you it’s not what it’s hyped up to be. Granted, I am in the “quiet” halls of one of the country’s most respectable institutions, but so far the action has been decidedly sub-par. So if you’re feeling desperately starved of pootang, don’t be despondent - chances are you’re not alone (just take a look in the common room of your Computer Science department, if present).

2. Fiscal mismanagement is not assured. Everybody sounds off about the dangers of debt and the horrors of student overdrafts, frittering away your money etc. etc. In truth, unless you are a complete trend whore with a compulsion for irrational spending, chances are you’ll be just fine. The people that make a song and dance about their frequent shopping sprees in the first few weeks of Term 1 are, surprise surprise, the ones who you find whining about having no money around week 5. Curtail those £200 shopping trips for more shit you don’t need, work out exactly how much you can afford to spend each week and keep track of it. There will be a few blurry mornings where you can’t remember how many trips you made to the cash machine the night before, so check your statements. Online banking comes in invaluable for this.

3. Be prepared to accept your achievements may equal shit. Yes, Uni is all about promoting individualism and a sense of self-worth, but no matter how well you think you may have done in whatever, you’ll always find someone who travelled extensively, lived in four different countries, spoke five languages and became a ski instructor in the time it took you to get your driving license. I thought I was pretty well-travelled and well-cultured, and I’ve been left gawping by some of the people here. You’ll probably be able to beat them on something, but for the time being allow your sense of accomplishment to be taken down a few notches. This is especially true for English students - see next point.

4. If you’re English, be prepared to take some shit about the A-level system. Especially true for high-ranking Universities - you’ll find that just about everyone else did the International Baccalaureate (IB) and they’ll all delight in telling you how much more work they had to do than you (and they’ll also never tire of comparing scores with each other like they were penis sizes).

5. If you haven’t lived in boarding school, be prepared to start having to carry yourself. You may have been warned about this and it’s true - you have to get your own shit together yourself, and fast. For the most part, if you don’t turn up to lectures or seminars, nobody will give a shit; if you don’t cook you won’t eat; and if you don’t do your laundry you won’t have clean stuff to wear. You have to make the effort - sure, you can survive on box food, but ultimately it’s cheaper, healthier and more rewarding to learn to cook occasionally rather than stuffing your system with crap (and you’re far less likely to end up a fat bastard). On the whole, those that eat badly are those that can’t be fucked to do things properly - get off your asses. It’s a much better gesture to invite a girl (or guy) over to your flat for dinner and cook and serve it yourself than to toss her a couple of bags of Cheetos and a can of Coke and be surprised when she doesn’t want to eat your face.
Get a decent alarm clock and get into a morning routine. Mornings have been one of the hardest parts of daily life for me (and not just now, for a long time), so follow the basics - don’t drink too much when you know you have a lecture at 9 the next morning (you may think you’ll be okay but trust me, it hurts, and it’s hard to learn when you feel like you’ve been run over); get enough sleep; get up in time to be decently washed and fed before you have to head out; and get some decent coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, start. Another top tip is to locate your alarm clock some distance from your bed/hammock so that you have to actually get up to turn it off. The urge to return to bed will be strong, but you must fight it, goddammit! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve overslept of a morning because I silenced the alarm, thought “I’ll be alright here for a couple of minutes,” and promptly fell asleep again, waking up two hours later thinking it was five minutes.

6. Not quite running out of ideas, but abandoning any sense of order to this: get out and meet people as soon as possible, especially your neighbours. This again is often said, but I cannot emphasise it enough. 90% of the people I now know here, I met in the first week or two. People form groups of friends very early on so it is vital that you get in there quick. Get to know your hall-/flat-mates ASAP - you’ll probably end up living with them the following year. If you stay in your room you’ll get left behind pretty soon. You will find people with tastes and interests similar to yours, be it Bach or BDSM.

Hopefully that will give some something to chew on; I may well add more as I think of it. Enjoy.