Whether you’re in your first year or your sixth year, when uni commences it brings with it a whole new set of and opportunities and challenges. Essentially, every university campus is full of all kinds of traps – some good, some bad and some you’ll just have to wait and see to find out.
But we’ve broken it down into the main kinds of traps you’re likely to run into at uni so that you know what you need to look for. Stay alert out there.
#1. Money Traps
These are especially prominent during O-Week, when the campus is likely filled with the tents of different clubs and what not, inviting you to join their ranks. That usually comes at a price, so make sure you do an actual cost evaluation on the offer.
Is the upfront payment worth the benefits? What’s it going towards? How legit is the goodie bag they’re offering?
That doesn’t mean you should definitely join nothing – getting involved is great – just choose wisely.
#2. Hunger Traps
A day at uni is unlike any other day. This is not a strictly scientific reading, but something happens to your metabolism that makes you more hungry more of the time. Maybe it’s because snacks are the ultimate opportunity for procrastination, maybe it’s because of all the brain work – who knows?
All we know is that you will be tempted to treat yourself at any on-campus café you pass and you must learn to resist the smell of hash browns quick smart.
#3. Thirst Traps
You know the saying ‘there’s plenty of fish in the sea’? Well university is a bit like the designated fishing grounds of the ocean. If you’re feeling single and ready to mingle, look out for thirst traps.
They could be right in front of you in the line for mediocre campus coffee, or right next to you saying something insightful in a tutorial, they could be anywhere quite frankly.
And when you find one, don’t be afraid to throw yourself directly into the trap. Live a little.
#4. Degree Traps
Real talk, you do not want to accidentally mess up your degree pathway and end up ineligible to graduate. I myself fell into a degree trap after applying to do a higher level unit in first year, and discovering in my last semester four years later that if I didn’t complete another first year unit I wouldn’t be graduating.
If your degree is flexible with your subject choice, enjoy it, experiment, do whatever calls to you. Just check in your choices with someone who can officially assure you that you’re not signing yourself up for some unplanned extra years at uni.
#5. Alcohol Traps
O-Week is renowned for its parties, and that heavy drinking culture doesn’t slow down too much throughout the university year. There will be many an opportunity to socialise with fellow students in alcohol-fuelled contexts, but that doesn’t mean you have to be drunk all the time.
Peer pressure to drink sounds like a cliché, but it’s no less true. Remember you don’t have to drink every time, or always to an extreme. You don’t have to ever drink if you don’t want to. You do you, things will work out accordingly.
#6. Friendship Traps
The best kind of traps are the friendship traps!!! Yes, this labelling was really just an excuse to talk about the fact that university presents you with lots of opportunities to make new friends. Uni can break you out of the high school, localised bubble of people you might have been restricted to, and connects you with heaps of people with similar interests.
Not to be soppy, but you can make some of the best friends you’ve ever had in university, so look out for these traps and embrace the hell out of them.