If only I knew that then..........

[Keef]

Agreed, I got together with a girl in FRESHERS WEEK!!!! Still had lots of fun, but when I think of the missed chances. *shudders*

[Narnia]

Right, felt-tip.

This is a recurring theme it seems. Why?

[Brendan]

Probably because most of us (especially boys) aren?t emotionally mature enough at that age to properly prioritise things in our lives and also being away from home there is a tendency to compensate by transferring dependency onto a ?grown up? relationship. And it can very easily distract from what you should be doing.

I completely cocked up second year because of getting in over my head with an older girl. Luckily it all ended shortly after that in a hell-belching train-smash and I could get on with getting g drunk and educated.

[Brendan]

Good luck trying to explain that to an 18 year old though.

[paragon]

Defo don't get a bird. Everyone who does is gutted five or six years later.

There is always someone better than you who loves doing group cooking. Most meals will be crap or booze or both. Remind him that everyone is the same boat (apart from the group of school mates who plan to go to the same Uni, I hate that)

My only serious advice would be around budgeting. I spanked all my loan pretty quickly and was always hand to mouth or doing odd jobs, or begging. So if he/she isn't used to being in control of cash, some advice might be worthwhile.

Other than that, don't be Ronnie "No" Johnson, don't eat Yellow Snow and make sure whatever you get up to that you ultimately come out with a degree and a great group of mates.

[Narnia]

Thanks Brendan. You do know you can't explain anything to, in this case a 19 year old. He's having a gap year. I'm not sure how mature he is though. He's already been through a 'relationship' with what we thought was a very nice girl (very rich Dad)! He seems uninterested in getting involved again. He speaks about how hard he's planning on studying. This is so unlike me that i don't know what to make of it.

[felt-tip]

Yes I fed my folks a load of rubbish about studying really hard too.

I'm now a Foxtons Estate Agent.

[ryedalema]

My advice would be:

- if the chicken is red in the middle, don't eat it (same goes for eggs!)

- food isn't supposed to have white fluff on it (unless it's candyfloss)

- find out where the girl lives before you try and pull her (if she's your next door neighbour and you aren't serious, it makes for an awful year!)

- be careful what you sign up to in Freshers week - you only have so much time and there are a lot of clubs!

Hope it helps ;-)

[Narnia]

Thanks everyone. Please keep it coming though.

[SimonM]

Give him a copy of K. Whitehorn's "Cooking in a Bedsitter"

[Robyn0312]

buy a george forman grill and also learn how to make cooked breakfasts - instant popularity. Pesto goes with everything. Sandwich bags save you loads of money as you can buy all the cheap stuff on offer at the supermarket and then bag it and freeze it - can you tell I'm still a student...

[jalapeno]

First year's FUN, don't worry about attendance too much - you can get away with it! I agree, fresher's week is not to be missed! I would go with the university accommodation. This is a great opportunity to make friends and get used to being independent, getting a part time job will help towards costs - travel, socialising, food.

He'll soon adjust so don't worry, he'll keep himself nourished.

Second year, do shared accommodation with friends. Cut back on booze consumption & other nocturnal activities that may impact academic performance. Your points count here in getting from A to B.

Third year, the going gets tough, not to mention a hefty debt so hard work is needed to save one's neck. Candidates who pass the finishing line WILL be assured the prospect of a job offer and we'll be rid of this wretched recession in 3 years time or it's time for coup!

Good luck to your boy, Narinia.

[Narnia]

Thanks jalapeno.

[Sally81]

Yeah....getting a serious 'bird' means you get somewhat distracted from the business of chasing all the other birds, doing wild ridiculous drunken things and just generally being carefree.

There's always a sloppy, loved up couple mooching around campus in the first year and they are usually just weird and annoying. Having said all that...if you fall in love, you fall in love! Either way you learn something.

[Narnia]

But Sally, were you not a 'bird'?I presume you were the unserious type.

[????]

I amy be taking this a bit too literally, but I'd not waste the first 3 weeks trying to get into Alison **********'s knickers

[Narnia]

What's the story with Alison then?

[????]

A long (well at 19 three weeks was) and fruitless pursuit of the unatainable.

[Brendan]

The World Cup thread's over there. ->

[????]

it was almost as embarrassng

[Narnia]

Is it safe to assume that Alison has left Uni now?

[????]

Unless she's an academic, which is unlikely as she was from Essex...

[brum]

Albert Einstein was born in Braintree, ESSEX.

[RosieH]

1) Get a breville (are they still called that?). You will be popular and well-fed

2) Chinese five spice - it makes yet another broccoli stir fry bearable and should last a term

3) Don't get so wasted on day 1 of freshers week with those lovely friends you met in Ibiza that you end up missing out on working out who the cool kids are on days 2,3 and 4 and have to hang around with the Catholic society until you can ingratiate yourself by means of 1 or 2

[Belle]

1) as has been said before, have a vague idea of budget - I had none at all, not a clue, and was constantly in money stress as a result.

2) don't stress too much about who you're going to share a flat with in the second year- I remember it being a craze to have this sorted by the end of the first term, ridiculous really -and meant loads of awkward extrication later down the line. I do remember our corridor in week two or so saying 'let's all live together!' - thank god that never became a more concrete plan.

Loads of people do get together early on and stay together throughout uni (a few beyond, amazingly) - not much you can do to stop this though, if it's what he wants at the time no amount of parental wisdom or otherwise will persuade him otherwise, and why should it really.