I'm Back - First Year Students Beware...

After a prolonged period away I can announce that I'm back and full of vitriol. So what to begin with? How about Mike's Advice for first year university students?

Here it is....

1. Turn up to lectures and keep mouth shut and eyes and ears open. If your mates want to play around and make a nuisance of themselves then dump them.

2. Turn up to seminars and do the set tasks. Why bother even being at uni if you cannot be bothered to do the work? If you're only going for the lifestyle and the socialising then you're wasting your time.

(I'm about to start my 3rd year at Lincoln and can tell you that many students weren't exactly bothering to do either 1 or 2 for the first two years.)

3. Don't fall for the bull crap that your first year's marks don't count to your degree. They don't and they do. Why the paradox? Simples. The tutors are looking out for those who work hard and show a real interest in the subject. Spend the first year of your course tossing it off and guess what kind of impression it makes on the people who count (tutors/lecturers etc)? Come on, it doesn't take a genius to understand that.

4. Marks? Aim for a First in everything. Aim to be top dog at every subject. Why? Well in the words of one of my tutors:  "Anyone with less than a 2:1 has wasted the last three years." Guess what? He was right. You're going into a fantastically competitive world and you cannot have too high a mark in any subject. If that means abandoning friends, being focused and selfish with your own resources etc then you've just realised what the REAL world is like. Once you graduate everyone around you will be competing for the same kind of work. They're not your friends and peers, they are your competitors and they won't shed a tear for you when you end up serving Big Macs at the local Maccy D's.

5. Watch out for group work. While your Uni will tell you that there are mechanisms to deal with the freeloaders that group work nearly ALWAYS attracts those mechanisms aren't very effective. There are plenty of students who will let you do all the work while they reap the benefits of a good mark earned by you.

6. Watch out for the Mature Students (I'm one so be warned!). Why? Well it's quite simple. We are often more motivated, better focused and not obsessed with getting into everyone else's underwear. Yes, we are boring. Yes, we are older and probably appear to be ancient when compared to you. Yes, we care about our marks and how well we can translate them into career enhancing opportunities. But we also make damn good team managers for group work, usually have a better understanding of the tutors/lecturers and can draw on life experiences that you can only dream off. You can learn from the mature students. Watch them. Even get acquainted if you like. But also remember that a mature student, if they're remotely like me, will be looking to beat you. To get higher marks and to succeed in the job market. That means they won't tell you everything. They won't spoon feed you answers and make your life easier.

7. I wrote some material for our student newspaper (The Linc - check it out) and in one piece I compared the majority of my fellow students to pig swill. I still stand by that statement. I also compared a very few students to pearls. My advice to you is to be a pearl. A hard working, dedicated, focused individual. If that's not your attitude then I'd recommend you withdraw from university asap and save yourself a whole pile of cash and a wasted three years of your life.