Things I wish they told me about University before I got there

I saw some student ambassadors showing around some potential students today and I was thinking to myself what I would want to know as a potential student for the upcoming year. So I have compiled a little list for anybody who hasn't been to Uni yet and is wondering what it's like, or, for those who have been who may agree or disagree as you please.

1. Despite paying 9,000 a year, you will never be quite sure where that money is going. Especially when you want to study, and the IT suite is full, the library is full, the coffee shop is full, the canteen is full and you're wondering why on earth you pay so much to eat your lunch on some stairs by an ant's nest.

2. Uni can be a very lonely place at times. When you ask some people how uni is going, they will gush about it until the world ends and how awesome their new friends are and the weird new experiences they've had. But I think I'm right in saying that the vast majority of people at one time or another has felt alone or secluded for whatever reason. It's important to make good new friends.

3. You will meet some absolutely ridiculous people. From people who can't tell you enough about their crazy weekend to people who are simply too good to associate themselves with you aside from their drug taking, there is every kind of person at Uni. But if you want some advice, if all someone can tell you about is how high they got last night and how much they like alternative bands, unless you're also into that kind of thing just let them ramble and pay no attention.

4. Following on from that point, before I came to Uni I had never really been exposed to drug culture. I grew up in a small town on the edge of a big city, and STILL I never really came into contact with drugs. But it seems at Uni, that's what everyone is up to - and it will always smell pretty funky around campus. Don't be afraid to say no, either. It gives you a bit of an edge - weirdly.

5. Some people have too much money, and others have none. I have no idea how Student Finance work out who gets what, but I will tell you the system is so flawed in my opinion it may as well not exist. When you are having your third bowl of plain pasta that week (and it's only Wednesday) try not to feel bitter when someone tells you about how they've just done an ASOS shop and they're getting Dominos. Again.

6. If you've just left school, leave the "teachers don't have favourite students" mentality behind. It will be glaringly obvious that lecturers definitely do have favourites in some cases. And try not to be annoyed if that person isn't you.

7.You don't appreciate normal every day things until you come to Uni. For instance, my accomodation only has plug-in internet. TV lisences will magically be the bane of your life. Nobody is there to do your washing up for you. You can't remember the last time you weren't hungry. Your bed feels like it's made of nails, and you've got a bad back again. It's all part of the experience.

8. Don't expect to do well without putting the effort in. If you don't turn up to lectures, miss deadlines, prefer to rock up late or not at all - don't be surprised when your lecturer gets offended and gives you a bad grade.

9. If you genuinely believe that "first year doesn't count" you're fairly delusional. Anybody who says this is a.) lazy or b.) naive. Or both. If you want your lecturers to think you're lazy and incapable, go ahead and waste time and money. Worth baring in mind that the lecturers you have in first year are more often than not the lecturers you have in second year - it's probably worth showing them the best you can do rather than the best you can do hungover and twenty minutes before the deadline.

10. This one only applies to Falmouth University, but you will miss your car, your parents car, ANY car... everything in Falmouth is on a hill. With steps. Steep steps. And when it's raining (which it quite often is) you will probably feel a little like Jordanna Bevan in Submarine: