The Secret Life of Students on Channel 4

Everyone loved Brenda after the first episode and now they all can't stand her haha. She was ridiculous though, let's be honest. She moaned about not having the money for uni, so gets a job and then complains she can't work a job and go to uni (not that she was really going to uni anyway going by her attendance record). How could she spend so much time on social media as well? I mean she never seemed to be off her phone.

I found Ben a little arrogant, but at least he still socialised alongside his studies and had high ambitions. It's no good being like Brenda and saying you want to be this or that but then you don't turn up for any or your lectures out of laze or bad attitude.

All I can say is I hope my flat mates aren't going to be like the people who were all loving together (Ben, Hassan, Brenda etc.). Not my kind of people at all. I can't believe the lack of commitment to their studies so many of them showed. It's all good and well to have fun, but what's it all worth without the degree itself? Unless you're happy to settle for a 2:2 or a 3 of course.

Reply 381

Joshale

19

think that was the best episode, was that the last one as well? If so then that's a shame, really enjoyed it and looking forward to university (fingers crossed) in september.

Reply 382

cristimay

Just finished watching the last episode on +1

I pray that I get a flat with people like Ben, he was deffo my favourite from the series.
My opinion kept changing on brenda, I didn't understand why you'd pay 9000 a year to not turn up!! But I liked her in the end and hope she switched to a part time job instead

I now need something else to keep me occupied til results 😣

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Reply 383

lauren1x12

1

Original post by ArchaeoStudy

Was that really the season finale? What am I going to watch on a Thursday now?!

Kids with guns is on next week! I think that looks good!

Reply 384

cristimay

Original post by Afghan Warrior

Is it just me or is Ben really attractive?

I'm really proud of Tanya, really dont know how she does it. I would have most likely given up if i was her!!

I thought he was attractive to!! I think it was his motivation that made me like him

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Reply 385

Joshale

19

Original post by orange crush

Yeah I have a couple of cops in the family and none of them even went to uni. I think they look for a wide range of applicants, both degree holders and high school dropouts. My cousin says to me that the only real advantage to having a degree is that you can join a program that guarantees you fast-tracked promotion.

One of my teachers was a former Police Officer, and although my *dream job* is to be a homicide detective in the states, he said that going to university would greatly help to become a Police Officer, not only that but gives you a fall-back (provided you got a decent grade) if things don't go to plan

Reply 386

Joshale

19

Original post by cristimay

Just finished watching the last episode on +1

I pray that I get a flat with people like Ben, he was deffo my favourite from the series.
My opinion kept changing on brenda, I didn't understand why you'd pay 9000 a year to not turn up!! But I liked her in the end and hope she switched to a part time job instead

I now need something else to keep me occupied til results ��

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I like Ben, Aiden and Hassan, Hassan lives near me tbh!

Ben although is more busy with work, his personality is great and would be great for me as he's good motivation, Aiden you can have a laugh with and go out a lot, and hassan's just one of them people you need in your life, because he's generally funny (or so I thought)

Reply 387

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

10

Original post by Yasmin25

I've been meaning to watch this show and I always miss it on tv so was planning to watch it on 4OD but the videos on there just don't seem to load whatsoever for me. Tried it on my laptop, the app and on my wifi and on my mobile data and they never seem to load. Anyone else having this problem? Its annoying because I'm wanting to watch that plus Meet the Mormans.

PM me and I'll try and help you out :smile:

Reply 388

✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈ ✈

10

For anyone currently at university - Are these characters quite common, or is this just channel 4's take on student life?

I couldn't stand a messy kitchen or students with no motivation/maturity towards the whole purpose of being at university.. studying.

Reply 389

bumblebee342

13

Actually really enjoyed watching this (despite a couple of people getting on my nerves)! It's made me eager to return to uni :tongue:

I thought Tanya was doing a good job considering she was looking after a child, I definitely couldn't have done it. Ben confused me slightly - he's got his heart set on becoming a surgeon but leaves his applications till last minute and complains about doing Biology... And I found Brenda pretty entertaining, just don't understand why people go to uni if they're not gonna bother turning up half the time. Hopefully she got her **** together for third term!

Reply 390

orange crush

12

Original post by ✈ ✈

For anyone currently at university - Are these characters quite common, or is this just channel 4's take on student life?

I couldn't stand a messy kitchen or students with no motivation/maturity towards the whole purpose of being at university.. studying.

IMO most people are kinda like this in first year then whip into shape a bit when it gets harder and/or starts to count.

Newsflash, people miss lectures. Okay Brenda hardly ever going at all was a bit extreme, but I usually slept in at least once a week when I was a fresher. I'd guess I went to 75% of the lectures maybe.

The way I saw it, in first year, except for at exam time, the courses were a bit of a thorn in the side and not really a top priority for anybody. Thing is most people were dossing in part because it was their first time away from home and in part because uni was just recapping stuff we'd done at school anyway, so attending was a waste of time.

The messy kitchen stuff would piss me off. I actually started off as the messy one in my flat, not because I was genuinely a messy person, but I was too busy in freshers week getting pissed and chasing skirt than washing plates. Unfortunately you will find that many students think it's acceptable to continue that way once the lectures start.

Reply 391

chemistrykid123

9

Not a bad last episode really showed me the competitiveness that was at a-level is still at uni which is good as I like that environment but made me think I might not get to do the things I want to do :frown:

Also that it is similar to natural selection only the intelligent will survive.

Reply 392

cristimay

Original post by Joshale

I like Ben, Aiden and Hassan, Hassan lives near me tbh!

Ben although is more busy with work, his personality is great and would be great for me as he's good motivation, Aiden you can have a laugh with and go out a lot, and hassan's just one of them people you need in your life, because he's generally funny (or so I thought)

Yeah I agree ! I deffo liked hassan, he just seemed like one of the only normal people on there which was nice, but I'm not sure on Aiden.
I couldn't bare him to start with, then I hated him some more because he was planning to drop out just cos no one was going out, but then when he was just with his flat mates (when he did that Oscar thing) he seemed alright

What did you think of brenda??

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Reply 393

orange crush

12

Original post by bumblebee342

Actually really enjoyed watching this (despite a couple of people getting on my nerves)! It's made me eager to return to uni :tongue:

I thought Tanya was doing a good job considering she was looking after a child, I definitely couldn't have done it. Ben confused me slightly - he's got his heart set on becoming a surgeon but leaves his applications till last minute and complains about doing Biology... And I found Brenda pretty entertaining, just don't understand why people go to uni if they're not gonna bother turning up half the time. Hopefully she got her **** together for third term!

Look I don't mean to aim this personally at you but the holier than thou "value for money" brigade are the absolute worst ***** going. I don't understand what it's like to be paying tuition fees, but I do know that unless you do well at uni, then you aren't going to be paying a penny back anyway, and I also know that the money is a sunken cost and should take no bearin on future decisions. People act like it's easy to stick your head down, it probably is if you're a sad person and only care about grades and money but there has to be a happy medium to be found. The likes of Aiden etc are smart guys. A lad I know of just got a 2:1 from Manchester while running half the student nights there. You don't need to be a study-bot to walk away with a decent degree and you sure as hell don't need to be a study-bot in your first year.

Reply 394

orange crush

12

Original post by cristimay

Yeah I agree ! I deffo liked hassan, he just seemed like one of the only normal people on there which was nice, but I'm not sure on Aiden.
I couldn't bare him to start with, then I hated him some more because he was planning to drop out just cos no one was going out, but then when he was just with his flat mates (when he did that Oscar thing) he seemed alright

What did you think of brenda??

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Slightly confused why you would "hate" someone for wanting to go out partying in his first year. Besides he didn't actually drop out and I kinda think the whole thing was a bit of a camera-charade

Reply 395

moonriver96

13

Thought this episode was a bit boring tbh. Although, i did feel sorry for Tanya and Brenda :frown:

Brenda's relationship with Troy is so cute :smile:

But i can't believe how much like school uni is portrayed to be"/ i thought there would be A LOT MORE freedom..

Reply 396

bumblebee342

13

Original post by ✈ ✈

For anyone currently at university - Are these characters quite common, or is this just channel 4's take on student life?

I couldn't stand a messy kitchen or students with no motivation/maturity towards the whole purpose of being at university.. studying.

Don't forget that the people working on the programme will have pinpointed the bits that seem extreme to shock people, make people laugh, etc. because it was made for tv. Even though it's a documentary and it is showing people's lives (and you will witness a lot of what happened), I don't think it's a completely accurate portrayal. We only got a chance to see about 12 people out of the whole of first year :tongue:

However, you will get people at uni who can't be bothered to clean the kitchen and don't get up for lectures (as I've seen this year). It won't be everyone, but I'd expect to find a few of these characters!

Original post by orange crush

Look I don't mean to aim this personally at you but the holier than thou "value for money" brigade are the absolute worst ***** going. I don't understand what it's like to be paying tuition fees, but I do know that unless you do well at uni, then you aren't going to be paying a penny back anyway, and I also know that the money is a sunken cost and should take no bearin on future decisions. People act like it's easy to stick your head down, it probably is if you're a sad person and only care about grades and money but there has to be a happy medium to be found. The likes of Aiden etc are smart guys. A lad I know of just got a 2:1 from Manchester while running half the student nights there. You don't need to be a study-bot to walk away with a decent degree and you sure as hell don't need to be a study-bot in your first year.

I wasn't talking about money or going out or whatever. What I meant was that at first, a couple of them weren't making much effort to actually go to uni or do their work, when that was the reason they were there in the first place.
Not once have I said that people should be working 100% of the time, because that's certainly not what I do. First year's about settling in and making friends/going out/having fun. I agree with what you said about a happy medium though. I might sound boring, but doing the work alongside all that is also pretty important

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 397

lamyers1

Original post by orange crush

Slightly confused why you would "hate" someone for wanting to go out partying in his first year. Besides he didn't actually drop out and I kinda think the whole thing was a bit of a camera-charade

It may have been slightly put-on for the camera, but I definitely know people who have been like this, and those who have actually dropped out because the uni life/their course wasn't what they expected. As shown in the programme, the amount of people going out and partying all the time drops significantly after a few weeks, when they realise how much hard work you actually have to do! There really isn't time for partying more than once or twice a week.

Reply 398

Alex-Torres

15

You have to remember that these programmes are carefully edited to make the characters seem a lot more controversial. I was curious and found the group of freshers in the programme on facebook - the loner girl in episode one was in lots of photos in freshers week with gang - looked pretty smiley and happy. TV producers are notorious for twisting the truth and hyberbolising to make things look interesting.

Reply 399

lamyers1

Original post by moonriver96

Thought this episode was a bit boring tbh. Although, i did feel sorry for Tanya and Brenda :frown:

Brenda's relationship with Troy is so cute :smile:

But i can't believe how much like school uni is portrayed to be"/ i thought there would be A LOT MORE freedom..

What do you mean by wanting a lot more freedom?

You have so much freedom! Managing your time, eating what you want, doing what you want...

If you mean about missing lectures, why shouldn't you be called into your tutors office? They're not gonna give you a telling off and detention, they will just let you know that if you carry on, you are most likely to fail. Tutors are there to guide you through university, ensuring you do as well as you can.

You go to uni to do a subject because you enjoy it. You don't just go for partying (although that is a big part of uni life), and need to put significant effort and work hours in to be able to do well.

The Secret Life of Students on Channel 4

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