How to use The Student Room

Need a hand using The Student Room? No problem.

Scroll down for some commonly asked questions; then just tap on one to find out the answer.

If you want to read the conversations on The Student Room, you'll need to get yourself a free account.

It's easy to do: just tap (or click) the 'sign up' button that's at the top of every page. You'll then create an account using either your Google log-in or your email address. 

If you're accessing the site through our app, you'll have already opened an account as part of the installation process.

Once you're registered with The Student Room, you can:

• View all discussions across the site
• Create your own discussions
• Add posts to other people's conversations
• Send and receive private messages
• Customise your profile

If you register using your email address, we'll send you a verification email. You need to click the link in that email before your account on The Student Room is activated.

Those verification emails can sometimes get automatically filtered. So, if it looks like your verification email hasn't turned up, have a quick check of your junk/spam folder, along with any other folders such as those for promotional emails. 

Still not there? Drop us a message at [email protected] with the following details:

• Email address associated with the account
• Username
• Date of birth

On the sign-in page, you'll see a password reset form. Just enter your email address and we'll send you instructions on how to sort a new password. 

If the reset email doesn't come through, just email us at [email protected].

If you fancy freshening things up, you'll find it's easy to change your username.

If you're on a computer:

• Hover your mouse pointer over your avatar at the top-right of the screen
• Hold your pointer over Customise my TSR at the top of the menu (or click on Edit Profile if you see that option instead)
• Click on Edit my login settings

If you're on a mobile:

• Tap on your avatar at the top-right of the screen
• Tap on Customise my TSR at the top of the menu (or tap on Edit profile if you see that option instead)
• Tap on Edit my login settings

Then just fill in the details to update to a new username. Before you do, bear in mind that you can only change your username once a year. So make sure you’re happy with it before changing!

If you need to change your username due to privacy concerns, please speak to us in Ask The Community Staff.

We send out occasional emails, to keep you updated about what's happening on the site.

You can adjust the emails you receive from us by going to the edit my email settings page. 

If you're on a computer:

• Hover your mouse pointer over your avatar at the top-right of the screen
• Hold your pointer over Customise my TSR at the top of the menu (or click on Edit Profile if you see that option instead)
• Click on Edit my email settings

If you're on a mobile:

• Tap on your avatar at the top-right of the screen
• Tap on Customise my TSR at the top of the menu (or tap on Edit profile if you see that option instead)
• Tap on Edit my email settings

You can then tweak any of the settings to choose only the emails you want to receive.

Members are able to delete their own posts, but if you want to delete an entire discussion then we'll need to give you a hand.

All you need to do is make a request in the Ask the Community Staff forum. Just be sure to include a link to your discussion and your reasons for needing it deleted.

Bear in mind, we'll only remove a discussion if:

• The deletion has been requested by the person who started the discussion
  and
• It reveals personal, identifiable information about a user
  or
• It breaks our community guidelines

In some areas of The Student Room, you're able to post anonymously. This is to allow you to discuss sensitive issues that you might not wish to have identified with your account.

You can make anonymous posts in the following forums:

• Health
  • Mental Health
  • Sexual Health
• Relationships
  • Friends, Family and Work
  • Relationships
• Universities
  • University life 
  • Medicine and medicine subforums 
  • Some university specific forums 

How do I post anonymously?

If you're in a part of the site where anonymous posting is allowed, you'll see a ‘Post Anonymously’ tick box under the message box when you're replying to someone. If you're starting a new discussion, this box shows up as 'Make post anonymously' and it shows above the main message box.

Once you have checked this box, other members will not see your username next to that post (although members of The Student Room staff and volunteer team will still see your username). 

Where is my anonymous thread?

If you create a new discussion in the Mental Health forum using the anonymous function, it might not show up straight away.

This is because anonymous discussions in this forum go into a moderation queue. Here they are given a quick check before they appear on the site. It's a manual process, so sometimes it can take a little while for discussions to be approved. But don't worry, we will get to it as soon as we can. 

There is an 'ignore list' on The Student Room. If you add a member's username to this list, their messages will be blocked out in discussions you're reading. In place of their post will be a message reminding you that this user is on your ignore list.

Your avatar is an image that shows up next to your username. Everyone gets a default avatar, but you can personalise your profile by choosing a different avatar or uploading your own. 

You won't see swear words in discussions on The Student Room; this is because we have a swear filter.

It's basically a big old list of 'choice' language. When anyone tries to make a sweary post, any words from that list are replaced with stars. 

Why do we do this? The main reason is simple. It helps make the forums feel friendly and welcoming, which we think is an important part of why people like coming to The Student Room. 

When you want to keep tabs on a discussion, try clicking the 'Watch' button that you'll see in its title bar.

You'll then get a notification when new posts are added. You can get these notifications once a day, once a week, or (if you really want to keep on top of things) every time a new post is added. You can change that setting in the email settings page. 

Any discussions where you have made a post are automatically added to your watch list. 

You can view and manage all of your watched discussions here.

Every member account on The Student Room has a unique ID number. Here's how to find yours.

If you're on a computer:

• Hover your mouse pointer over your avatar (top-right of screen) 
   
• Click on the My Profile link
   
   
• Look in the address bar for the number at the end of the URL: this is your user ID

If you're on a mobile

• Tap on your avatar (top-right of the screen)
  
   
• Tap on your username, at the top of the menu that's appeared
   
• Look in the address bar for the number at the end of the URL: this is your user ID