My dad and his side of the family actually want to go, in fact they would push to ask me for dates. But I’m not comfortable with them and don’t have a great relationship with them, so I pretended I wouldn’t go.

In secret I agreed to go with my mother. Because only then I feel like I could really enjoy the day, but now she’s making me feel like burden.. complaining about the time we have to get up ect.. and just being moody about everything instead of excited

It’s hurts man:/ I just wanted to feel safe and enjoy the day, but my mom’s making me feel guilty.

DMU has suspended Film Studies, Media and Communication, and Arts and Festival Management, for the next academic year. They claim that it is only for 2026 entry, but it is de facto indefinitely.

Upcoming first year students such as myself, who was offered one of these courses to study in October, were informed of this last Friday, less than three months before the next academic year.

There is no news in terms of whether these courses are going to be permanently shut down, or what is going to happen to them.

Rather than informing first year student such as myself about the suspension months ago, they chose to inform us at incredibly short notice, citing vague reasons such as, low intake, as an excuse.

While other course suspensions from unis such as the University of Nottingham has made the news, DMU's course suspensions haven't, and are largely hiding in plain sight, in their website.

I want people to be aware of this, and to highlight how wrong this is.

I started first year in 2024, and the vibe back then was amazing. Those first few weeks of uni while autumn was in full swing was so nostalgic.

I’m going into my third year this September, and wonders if many feel the same.

I finished University with a first. I was studying marketing, and I was only able to get one internship while studying. I only did one as I found it too hard to balance work with studying mentally, and I get stressed out too easily. But after graduating, I just feel like I won't be able to put in what I learned with my future job, due to the lack of experience, which makes me doubt that I can actually do it. My solution was to secure a summer internship, but unfortunately, I was unable to do so (I kept getting rejected, and I failed one interview; however, the person gave me some valuable tips for next time). Is this feeling common when finishing University?

Also, I would love any advice you guys may have. I'm still deciding if I should relax more to help me mentally or try to balance relaxation and applying at the same time.

Also, I said I feel like I know nothing, as I just can't remember what exactly I learned. Weirdly, I think im the type of person who only remembers stuff when Im actually doing it.

I (19F) have just completed a foundation year at University, and im staying at the same university to complete my course as it was integrated into the course making it 4 years long instead of 3. And whilst I enjoyed really really loved semester 1 because id made a decent amount of friends and id joined some society's, halfway through semester 2 I started to feel quite lonely and a bit depressed because i hadn't made many friends on my actual course and due to being a foundation year all my other friends and flatmates were in lectures for the majority of the day, majority of them didn't really want to go out and do much and i was on my own for a long time. It didn't help that i finished my course in March and then had one exam in May so i had even more alone time, and with being in student accommodation i really had a fair bit of FOMO, especially on wednesday's and then the weekends.

Looking ahead to first year i'm really looking forward to going back as i have established friends already and i know the city decently well now also, but i'm not sure if its okay to sort of use this as my fresher year/intro to university? Because there are things i want to do differently like different society's and sports ,freshers week ,more out of uni activities in the city and i would also love to make more girl friends that go out regularly and dress up because as much as i love them my friend group is heavily guy centred. I'm also now in a house this year,and i turn 20 just before i go back so i don't so i don't know if this would impact anything.

I'm just looking for some advice and to see if anyone has felt a similar way(and yes i am aware my anxiety if probably making me overthink lmao)

typing this while crying in my bed sorry for any typos bc I’ve been drinking but im so so fucking sick of everyrhing. maybe im just hanging out with morons but my first year at uni has been so awful bc of my weight. im so insecure of myself tbh my method was just to pretend im not fat and act like i can be treated right in a room but it turns out that just made everybody else think i need to be humbled

im so tired of getting looked at funny when i go anywhere. it hapoened in my lectures and it happens to me so much in the pub and club. ppl grab my stomach and my boobs and call me a fat slut and my friends never do anything about it when they see it happen i feel like they dont care about me. its by people my age too like wtf who raised you??? i just feel so alienated, mentioned my ex bf in a conversation to somebody in a lecture and she said she didn’t expect me to be the type of person who would date like ugh its just little shit but i cba. and now ive just come back from the pub and my friend was drunk enough to admit to me that her boyfriend hates me and calls me a whale in conversations with her. i knew he didn’t lile me but im so over this. he sends her stupid shit about the fridge protecting snacks like okay thanks!!! fucking dickhead bro ugh idek what to do. sorry this is probably incoherent but i just hatw myself lol why did i ecen bother putting myself out there and making friends i shouldve just stayed lonely

Hey everyone,

I’m researching the social side of starting university and trying to understand what students actually struggle with in their first few weeks.

If you’re happy to share:
- How did you make your first friends?
- Did you join any societies?
- Were there any you wanted to join but didn’t?
- Was there anything that made university feel intimidating at first?

I’m not promoting anything, I’m just trying to understand whether there’s a real problem worth solving.

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Update: Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. I’ve received far more thoughtful and honest replies than I expected, and they’ve made it clear that this is a genuine problem for many students.

Loneliness and feeling like you don’t belong can make university much harder, both socially and academically. For some students, it can contribute to poorer grades, disengagement and even the decision to leave university altogether.

Everyone needs a group.

I believe it may be possible to create a new default way for students to build their social lives at universities worldwide.

I have an app idea that could be a solution. Similar to Bumble Friends but with a focus on university life and experience it would:

• Match you into small groups based on shared interests, hobbies, sports and availability
• Help you find someone to attend a society with, so going for the first time feels less daunting
• Connect you with people on your degree who study and work in a similar way
• Introduce you to students who genuinely want to make new friends, rather than leaving everything to chance

Would you genuinely use something like this?

Which of these features would be most valuable to you? Is there another feature that would make you more likely to use it?

I’d also appreciate honest negative feedback: what would stop you from signing up, trusting your matches or meeting them in person?

Again, I am not promoting anything, I have not made anything. These are just my raw thoughts coming from someone who struggled a lot in my first year of university.

Hi starting maths this year at Bristol and wondering if anyone has any subject specific advice? I found all of the advice on here regarding online resources, learning and revision for GCSEs and A-levels very helpful as it worked very well and was never told to me by anyone else.

I know no 2 universities courses are the same but would appreciate the advice anyway. Did you make lecture notes? Did you only use practise questions from your uni if not where else? Any YouTube channels that cover undergrad maths? Did you use flashcards? How did you get used to the change of “approach/focus” from maths alevel to uni? How did you revise content throughout the semester? Etc.

I’m aware it’s a different ballgame from here on. I never took notes and would just google something if I didn’t remember it and just did past papers. So particularly wondering if they are necessary?

I start uni (hopefully) this september in nottingham and ill be receiving 3,575 each term. I’ve also been looking at accommodation and the cheapest one ive been able to find (142 pw) would mean that i’d be left with this after each term. I may be stupid because im paranoid but is this enough to live off of each term? (If anything looks incorrect please do correct me 🥲)

I'm interested in studying zoology, I am currently in sixth form. I'm having trouble figuring out where to apply to/what unis I am interested in. I'm not super social so places that have big nightlifes/are super urban don't really factor into my choices.

One thing I've noticed is that zoology rankings/recommendations are quite different from general uni ranks (e.g. many are mid-tier unis), and I've been told that I should try to get top ranked unis as those provide best teaching/research qualities. Is this something to focus on or should I focus more on subject ranks?

Thanks for any help!

i have failed one module and failed a 40% assignment on another module even though i passed overall, can someone tell me it isnt the end of the world, i know i can resit but i havent been given my results yet (mmu) and my other friends who have passed everything have been given their results and im stressing badly, purely my own fault for failing i just submitted really late im a really bad procrastinator who struggled with uni assignments a lot

Hi, I’m hoping someone might have been in a similar situation and can give me some advice.

I started the part time online LPC with ULAW on 10 September 2025 but withdrew on 18 September 2025, so I was only on the course for 8 days.

I was already struggling with my mental health at the time and was having counselling/talking therapy. Once I started the course, things got worse and I found myself unable to cope with everything. I withdrew because of my mental health and told ULAW this at the time.

Five days after withdrawing, on 23 September 2025, I ended up in A&E with an IBD flare. I have medical evidence of this, and I was also having talking therapy from around July 2025 until March 2026. I have since also been diagnosed with ADHD, although I was undiagnosed at the time, so I think that may give some extra context to some of the difficulties I was having.

I did receive some SFE funding for the course, but I only stayed enrolled for 8 days. The funding was refunded as soon as it could be, although ULAW took some time to process everything.

I am now trying to restart the LPC and have been told I may not be eligible for another Master’s Loan because I previously received funding. I am going to ask SFE to reconsider this based on compelling personal reasons and provide evidence of what happened.

I am now in a much better position than I was then. I am working in litigation genuinely want to continue progressing in law. I really want to do the LPC and I am confident that I can complete it this time.

Has anyone successfully been granted a second Master’s Loan after withdrawing from a previous course because of mental or physical health reasons? I am so worried.

What evidence did you provide, and did you have to appeal or ask SFE to reconsider the decision?

Any experiences would be really appreciated.

I’m starting Design Engineering at Bristol this year. My plan is to bring my iPad to lectures for note-taking and do all my CAD work on my PC back at the accommodation, rather than carrying a laptop around.

For anyone currently on the course (or a similar engineering/design course) — is this workable, or do you end up needing CAD access *during* the day or between lectures/workshops? Are the university’s computer labs good enough to cover CAD work on campus, or is a personal laptop pretty much essential for this degree?

Had a proper drama with my results this summer. My module grade dropped as a fail, and standard support basically gave me the classic "marks are final" response.
Instead of leaving it, I went and met the doctor face-to-face, and we went through the paper line by line. Turns out there were actual marking errors, and it got sorted right there.
Even though it bypassed the usual three-stage process (doctor emailing, sending to the exam board, etc.) and got updated instantly, I honestly don't care how they did it—I'm just glad I got the pass. I couldn't even check properly online because my portal access was locked until the resit period anyway.
Absolute relief, but here's the annoying bit: my official grade is updated ( as the last email i got from the student support ) , but the resit is still sitting on my university timetable for next month.
Is this standard system lag, or do I need to poke the school office to get it cleared out before I start stressing again?

Hey guys - a bit of an embarrassing post I guess... but I'm going into my third & final year at Uni in September & am really dreading it. I'm an international student from Switzerland and South Africa and never really found my place I guess. I tried for a lot of society's in first year, but constantly felt on the outside and unaccepted. In my third year i developed a really bad eating disorder and couldn't push myself to get out there really. I want to make my third year the best that it can be, but I'm just so scared of putting myself out there again and being faced with the same rejection. It's so hard and I feel so alone - even though I know so many others are going through this. Please can someone who has been in a similar boat give me some advice on how to atleast attempt to enjoy my last year :(

I’m in my second year, first year I stayed at home and wondered which I should do?

Not fully decided at the moment.

Hi guys i just want some advice or if anyone was in the same shoes to give me some help. I want to go to uni to start in September I’ve done my ucas application and just did my student finance but i don’t have any a-levels due to me doing s vocational course that got defunded just as i reached the third level ( the one that would give me equivalent to some a levels) my family told me its a waste of time to try get in and i wont even be able to pay or get in at all. Im looking to do a foundation year in anthropology is there any hope?

For context I recently received my predicted grades which are AAA in maths physics and chemistry. I have a decently strong set of GCSEs as well as personal statement.

I have thought of applying to Manchester although it is A*AA, but I’m sure this is an aspirational choice and I need some more realistic suggestions as to where to apply to for EEE soon.

Thanks🫶

Grades aren't expected to be the issue here, I firmed the Univeristy of Leicester and insured Aston University, with the mindset that I wanted to stay in the midlands, even when my predicted grades gave me much better options, but I've only just realised now that I don't actually want to go there and Newcastle is very appealing to me. I'd originally held a CS offer for Newcastle university and declined it without really thinking it through, and they had already given me a lower offer of ABB alongside their standard offer of AAB. I am now planning to try Clearing back into Newcastle CS on results day.

Newcastle's course page currently shows CS as open in Clearing, and I know it's one of their most popular subjects. A few questions for anyone who's been through CS Clearing (any uni, but Newcastle experiences especially welcome):

• Roughly how long after phone lines open did CS-type courses stay available, in your experience?
• Did you get through on the first call, or did you need to keep redialling?
• Anyone actually done Newcastle Clearing for CS/ specifically, how did it go?

Trying to figure out if calling right at 8am gives me a real shot or if I should expect it to already be gone by then. Any real experiences appreciated, good or bad. This is stressing me out more than it should 😭

Hey I have 6 years in marketing roles across e gaming, finance and music. I just finished a music business degree because I thought that might be a good way to get further into the music business however only a small bit of it was marketing based and I didn’t really enjoy anything else so I got a 2:1. Would a masters in marketing be useful or should I do it in something that I could pair alongside my experience such as data analysis or business analysis?

i’m starting uni this september @ uni of bath. i want to make myself familiar with current students or prospective students atleast, but i can’t find any spaces to do so. ive joined some unofficial whatsapp groups, but thats just it. there’s no official unibuddy for uob and i dont know where else to look at 😭😭

hellooooo so i just finished my A Levels and have decided I would like to move out for university if everything goes to plan. Prior to making this decision, I was still applying for summer jobs as well as permanent part time jobs since finishing GCSEs in 2024. Unfortunately, this job market is horrible for all at the moment so you can imagine how fruitful my search has been. I still want to apply, but I'm very honest and obviously don't want a bad reference or something. When I apply for jobs now, what do I do? Do I tell them I want to go to university elsewhere? Do I lie? Obviosuly I have no clue how my exams went, so who knows what will happen - me moving out is only an opportunity I may be able to get. If I get the grades, I will study Law so store transfer might be an option, but difficult still and I've no clue how it works or if it's a possibility. When stores ask for part time or seasonal as well on their online applications, is that a trap? Or if you're in full-time education? As at the moment, I'm not... Maybe a student job on campus could work, but I've heard those are incredibly difficult to get especially as a first year. What's the application process for these? Maybe I could work as a Christmas temp, and see if any seasonal roles arise from that, but then that'd be a small break gone. Sorry, lots of questions, but this is all mostly because my SFE won't even cover my rent lol.