Being a student is fun, but it does have its down side. For most students it is the first time that they have left home and is therefore somewhat disconcerting. The realisation that there is now no mechanism around to take dirty smelly clothes and magically transform them into clean ones is a horrible one. There is also the feeling that nobody at university particularly cares about you, or how you are doing. This is not true; all our courses come complete with a free supervisor.
None of our supervisors will actually admit to wearing vests with a big "S" on underneath their shirts, but they have been known to do some pretty superhuman things for their students.
It is important that you get on well with your supervisor, laugh at his or her jokes, pay regular visits etc; one day he or she may have to tell a sceptical staff meeting that the reason you failed your exam was that a giant magpie flew off with your revision notes…
The supervisor is also the person you will want to write a glowing reference for you when you apply for jobs after graduation.
You get to meet your supervisor in the first week of your course, and keep in touch for the rest of your stay in the university. If you have any questions about how life is lived, or university procedure, ask your supervisor first. They may not know the answer, but they will certainly know someone who might.
One of the big problems with being a student is that you have almost no money. Financially, the student's lot has got much harder over the years. However, living at university does not have to be expensive; the on-site catering does good food at reasonable prices, and university accommodation represents pretty good value.
Although you are poor, so is just about everybody else you know, and the Union Main Bar seems to do a pretty good trade most nights. All of which brings me to my favourite student joke, which appeared on a computer system in this department :
Q: What's green and takes a week to drink?
A: Your student loan cheque....
If you have money problems tell your supervisor. It is unlikely that he or she will immediately produce a wad of notes, but they do know who to put you in touch with, and anything which may have a bearing on how you perform academically is something you should tell your supervisor about.
Perhaps the most important thing about being a student is that it is a time of your life when you can devote yourself pretty much entirely to something that really interests you. If you enjoy writing sonnets, an english course is a great place to be. And if you enjoy making computers do things, and finding out just what they can do, then a Computer Science degree makes a great deal of sense.