Should the uni life weekly articles continue?

I hadn't heard of them previously, but looking through them now I actually quite like their structure (quotes from TSR users; a poll; and an article with tips etc).


I think if they are getting enough 'hits', they should definitely continue.

They are very well put together and quite interesting from the perspective of someone who is at uni already, and no doubt for those that are thinking of going too. I suppose that most of the discussion has already taken place on the threads that these articles are based on, but it's useful for people who missed them and for people to look at the editor's picks of the thread.

I like them and subscribed from about the start. What I think would improve them though was if there was some kind of 'tip or target for the week' relating to uni life, and also to that particular week.
For example, many people have exams this week and next-so the tip could be a simple one like having a list of stuff to remember for ALL exams, and perhaps some subject specific stuff. or something motivational ish like 'don't worry, you have worked all you can you will get a good grade' (your better at writing than me so think of something better than that hahah!)

When it's not a specific thing going to happen in the week then have tips as above or like maybe mini targets about anything as uni students, so topics could include:
-finances, spending, saving, both!
-socialising, try meet new people, do something nice for something new, don't forget your old friends now at uni, etc..

I really can't think of any more examples but I hope you get what I mean.

Also-could be called something like 'make you think' or 'something to think about' Just something to do in that week. like I've just seen the thread about SF loans/grants being paid today-reminded me I've not looked at it at all since about August when it was finally approved-so I need to log on tomorrow and check when mines due/if I have had it in my bank yet.

Don't change anything, just add this in somewhere as an extra section for all those people who get so busy doing work they forget some of the basics!

Loads of things about being a student at uni flooding back reading these! Good, bad and just plain horrid.

I forgot all about these! Just skimmed through a couple to see what I've been missing... not much is the answer. Not very interesting or informative, plus I don't like the structure/prose style

Is it possible for TSR to work with student unions / newspapers / publications to get topical articles and news stories published in the relevant university sub-forums? That might help rebuild the uni communities and encourage students to discuss university-specific issues on TSR rather than on Facebook or Twitter. I would be more interested in reading that then generic student life articles.

I wonder if we can add some unique pieces of content to give people another unique reason to read it?

IIRC they're sent out via email so we could lead people through to the unique content from email to thread.

I'll have a think and we can chat later in the week about it.

They've been included in the newsletter before I think but they don't have their own dedicated email.

What do you mean by unique content....?

Unique content as in something new. Could be written by the support team or someone within the community that relates to university life?

Aha, I see what you mean. Yes, it would be really nice if people at actually at university wanted to write something. I was hoping initially that people might be interested in contributing stuff.

This is good to know - what do you think could make them more interesting/informative? What don't you like about the prose style?


We already work with universities who have official reps who can post news and updates in their forums. You might have also seen universities posting threads about topical stuff in other forums.

I really wanted to focus on the uni life forum in particular as a place for students from all over the place to get together and talk.

All uni reps do is answer applicant questions / encourage people to apply to their university. They never post articles. I have never seen a rep post about a topical issue being discussed on campus.

If you want students to keep reading your articles then they need to be relevant to their lives - that means local, university-specific news. TSR created content is useful to applicants/freshers but seldom is it relevant to students in their second and third years. They already know everything; they don't need to read an article about living with flatmates or going to lectures. It seems to me that if you want to increase your readership you need to appeal to these students. Encouraging individual university newspapers and magazines to publish their content on TSR would, I think, be a good idea but perhaps you disagree?

I can't really put my finger on exactly why I don't like the prose style. It just seems childish and messy. Apologies to whoever wrote it.

This just isn't the case, they're encouraged to post topical threads/discussions in their forums (and other places, but only if applicable)- you might just not see them because they're all spread out across their own forums. They also get involved in our advice articles and create their own sponsored features which you've probably seen on the front page. It's good to know that you'd like to see more universities getting involved with this kind of content as well as applicant things. Perhaps there could be more

I can't trawl through every uni forum right now but here are a couple of examples from Southampton Solent, Aston, & Keele.

We could try to get them involved with publishing things on TSR but they wouldn't be able to use that content then elsewhere, as we're not able to post content which is duplicated from other sites.

What kind of stuff would be useful for 2nd/3rd years do you think?

That's alright...!

I can't really put my finger on exactly why I don't like the prose style. It just seems childish and messy. Apologies to whoever wrote it.

"Words by @Puddles the Monkey"