Navigating your first year of university can be a bit of a minefield. There’s a plethora of opportunities and that means that there’s a whole range of lessons for you to learn.

Here’s 10 things I learnt the hard way… and now you can learn from my mistakes.

1. Don’t bring every single piece of clothing you own with you. You’ll never wear them all and you’ll probably end up reinventing your wardrobe anyway.
2. Don’t spend a fortune on fancy stationary. It will only sit on a shelf in your room gathering dust. A couple of pens, a notebook and a highlighter should be enough.
3. Don’t be the flat-mate that never buys anything or cleans up. You’ll definitely wind everybody up and they will probably have a moan about it behind your back. (Side note: I wasn’t the one not pulling my weight)
4. Go to the taster sessions before you join societies. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying a joining fee only to not turn up and waste your money.
5. Don’t Snapchat every single moment of your night out. Nobody wants to watch your 3 and a half minute long story, plus you’ll only live to regret it when you have to delete it in the morning.
6. Don’t only make one group of friends on your course. They say that variety is the spice of life so having a few groups of friends can only be a good thing. Moreover, having multiple friendship groups will allow you more opportunities for socialising.
7. Don’t forget to do the seminar reading two weeks in a row. The seminar leader will catch you out and probably make an example of you in front of the whole group.
8. Don’t constantly talk about what grades you got at A-level. Nobody really cares what grades you got.
9. Don’t be the person who misses every single lecture then asks others for copies of their notes. You’ll only annoy them by doing it regularly!
10. Don’t pay full price for things if you don’t have to. Your student loan only stretches so far so why not make it go a little further. Luckily for you, I’ve got your back and have all the best discounts for you here!!

Do you have any other tips for things that freshers should avoid? If so, share them with me in the comments below.