[tsr-member]

So I know a lot of final year students are gonna slam me for saying this as a penultimate year student. ..but it's true. I started out uni with a love-hate relationship but I've come grow so attatched to the lifestyle here. Just wandering through the SU and knowing that in around a year's time, this will no longer be the university I go to. A bunch of new students will be sat in the same shoes I've been in. I know life goes on and I suppose I was pretty sad about leaving secondary school. ...then sad about leaving sixth form college. ...but the thought of finishing uni is one that feels the worst of them all. Perhaps because I don't really know where I'll be going next. ...but I have a feeling it won't be as exciting and as full of opportunity as uni has been. Even memories of being in the library at 2am with 6 cans of red bull and a semester's worth of studies to catch up on seem like the sort of thing I would actually miss!

Rant over!
Anyone feel a bit run down when they think about the prospect of finishing with education?
Also, has anyone already finished with their degree and felt like this before?

[ElfManiac]

I'm feeling it at the moment.

I finish in a month

[Brit_Miller]

Do a Masters and put off real life for as long as possible.

[Mr Einstein]

Same for me with school


Edit: As much as I hate neg whingers, people who neg me please don't assume things, I am not going to uni and I am in the same shoes as OP.

[tsr-member]

(Original post by Brit_Miller)
Do a Masters and put off real life for as long as possible.

Have you done a postgraduate course? it would be interesting to know if being a postgrad has the same kind of feeling as being an undergrad! For example, I've never met a postgrad in uni societies. ..makes me feel that perhaps they have too much studies and thus no free time to get involved with that sort of stuff..

..or perhaps they just get involved with different societies

[WarriorInAWig]

Well I'm coming soon to the end of my Masters and I'm still applying for jobs. Even if it's something menial, I guess I can be proud of having some work and use that as a springboard for the future. I've realised in a short amount of time that it has to end soon but I'll be better because of the experience. Plus the thought of earning money than being given a measly stipend is enticing. Sure my friends will be far gone but I'll probably make new ones at work. This may not be me in a few weeks time BUT one must remain positive.

[tsr-member]

(Original post by ElfManiac)
I'm feeling it at the moment.

I finish in a month

Oh no!
Any plans for when you finish?

[Brit_Miller]

(Original post by tsr-member)
Have you done a postgraduate course? it would be interesting to know if being a postgrad has the same kind of feeling as being an undergrad! For example, I've never met a postgrad in uni societies. ..makes me feel that perhaps they have too much studies and thus no free time to get involved with that sort of stuff..

..or perhaps they just get involved with different societies

Nah, I'm just finishing my first year but I started late (at 23). I worked for 7 years before and personally, I wanna carry on the uni life as long as possible. Responsibility and bills suck!

[tsr-member]

(Original post by Brit_Miller)
Nah, I'm just finishing my first year but I started late (at 23). I worked for 7 years before and personally, I wanna carry on the uni life as long as possible. Responsibility and bills suck!

Amen to that!

[internet tough guy]

not at uni yet, but I am about to 'graduate' from 6th form and I can empathise greatly with you OP!

[Anna150]

I'm the complete opposite

I'm about a month away from graduating and i cannot WAIT. This whole final year has been a stressfull pain and the end can't come soon enough!

[tsr-member]

(Original post by WarriorInAWig)
Well I'm coming soon to the end of my Masters and I'm still applying for jobs. Even if it's something menial, I guess I can be proud of having some work and use that as a springboard for the future. I've realised in a short amount of time that it has to end soon but I'll be better because of the experience. Plus the thought of earning money than being given a measly stipend is enticing. Sure my friends will be far gone but I'll probably make new ones at work. This may not be me in a few weeks time BUT one must remain positive.

Very encouraging thoughts thank you.
Also, as a masters student, does it still have the same perks as an undergraduate student? Like obviously there would be a lot more work involved but is it still as exciting the previous years in terms of meeting new people and having new experiences.

[RocknRap]

(Original post by Brit_Miller)
Do a Masters and put off real life for as long as possible.

This.

[ElfManiac]

(Original post by tsr-member)
Oh no!
Any plans for when you finish?

Yep, going to France (again) with the British Council for a year and then hopefully doing a masters in translation

[Sheep]

ofc you should be sad

every adult I know says they loved school, college even more and uni was the best time of their life

after that you have to partake in the real world and go to WORK

it will be dull and boring and your uni friends will probably all go different ways

at least that is how I figure it will be, I wouldn't know because I'm a first year at uni

[elixira]

Awww, I got really upset about it when I left last year, too! I still miss it but I don't pine after it like I did for a few months. Eventually you learn to focus forward, and just look back cheerfully on the past

[lazyswot]

By the time I finished my degree I couldn't wait for it to bloody end, to be honest! But that was probably cos I did a 4 year degree and took 5 years to do it. That was long enough in uni for me. I'm actually looking forward to getting paid for the work I do, not having to work all my evenings and weekends as well, and being able to save up and do with I want with my life. It's a whole new kind of freedom I think

[Deema]

I'm coming to the end of FIRST year and I'm sad! Don't know how I'll cope this time in two years I guess you just have to be thankful that you had what seems like an amazing time. Maybe focus on what you're doing in the future so you can start getting excited about that? I imagine that if you haven't got any postgrad/ career plans atm then leaving uni won't be as easy

[MagicNMedicine]

I would NOT recommend doing a Masters course to try and prolong the student experience. Postgraduate study is very different from undergraduate study. There is much more work, much higher intensity and the whole undergraduate social feel is gone, your fellow students are likely to be mostly international students who are all about work. Also the workload on a Masters means that it is harder to hold down a part time job and get all your work done as well, and there is no student loan coming in, so financially it is much harder as well.

I can understand the feeling regarding leaving uni...I had an amazing time when I was at uni and I remember it hit me when I left, I felt a bit lost and worried about the future. I do miss things about uni, I miss going to seminars and the challenge of writing essays, getting immersed in the research for them and then the excitement of getting them back and seeing what mark I got. I miss the less structured day and having more free time, and I miss living in a house with my student housemates and just spending time together doing nothing. I liked the feel of walking through campus in Leeds and still when I go back to Leeds if I have to walk through the city centre I always try and cut through the uni campus as it feels good to be there. I would still regard uni days as the best days of my life.

However....there is life beyond uni and there are some advantages, to really take advantage of them you have to get a job you want and are interested in though. When you start earning more money you can improve your living environment from cheap houseshares, afford better quality clothes, just live a more classy lifestyle. I found it easier to meet likeminded people in relationship terms, after leaving uni, and relationships are easier without being in the goldfish bowl of everyone around you knowing what's going on. You get used to working and you appreciate your time off more, now I look back at uni although I thought I was a motivated student, I did have a lot of free time and I wasted a lot of it lounging around doing nothing.

[Sherbet]

(Original post by tsr-member)
So I know a lot of final year students are gonna slam me for saying this as a penultimate year student. ..but it's true. I started out uni with a love-hate relationship but I've come grow so attatched to the lifestyle here. Just wandering through the SU and knowing that in around a year's time, this will no longer be the university I go to. A bunch of new students will be sat in the same shoes I've been in. I know life goes on and I suppose I was pretty sad about leaving secondary school. ...then sad about leaving sixth form college. ...but the thought of finishing uni is one that feels the worst of them all. Perhaps because I don't really know where I'll be going next. ...but I have a feeling it won't be as exciting and as full of opportunity as uni has been. Even memories of being in the library at 2am with 6 cans of red bull and a semester's worth of studies to catch up on seem like the sort of thing I would actually miss!

Rant over!
Anyone feel a bit run down when they think about the prospect of finishing with education?
Also, has anyone already finished with their degree and felt like this before?

Change is scary! I felt like this when I finished school and started gap year with no idea where I was gonna go to uni or what I was going to do with my year out.

When one door closes another opens, life has peaks and troughs and eventually something great will come along. If something finishes whilst you still love it then it's ended at the right time be glad that you have happy memories of uni and make the most of your last year.

Just remember, soon you'll have no more exams and a proper salary.