But for those who want to do this student thing properly, we've put together a few fun ideas (call them student life aims) that you can tick off as you travel along the long and winding road of studentville...

David Dickinson

Plan your lectures around television
This can be quite tricky, especially when essential viewing such as Trisha and Neighbours can take up a large chunk of the morning. A day of lectures really does pale in comparison to the pleasure of style makeovers, DIY tips and looking for 'Bobby Dazzlers' with David Dickinson. And if you haven't heard of Diagnosis Murder or Doctors, fear not, very soon you'll be addicted!

Leave an unwashed plate in your room from September to May
Most student kitchens will be equipped with the most essential of cleaning implements, a sink. But why do the washing up straight way when you can leave it festering in your bedroom for a couple of months? To make it a bit more fun, you could get your flatmates involved in a game of 'Can you guess what it was?' Alternatively throw away the plates and invest in some paper ones.

Do a walk of shame
Imagine going to a fancy dress pub crawl with your flatmates and inevitably plenty of alcohol is involved. Now imagine waking up the following morning at a complete stranger's house with a splitting headache and a hazy memory. You've got no money for a taxi and no idea where you are. The inevitable result is a long walk home through Derby city centre dressed in a toga…oh the shame!

Those were the days

Get nostalgic
One thing you'll realise at University is that being a student gives you an opportunity to live a child's dream. You decide when you get out of bed, when and what you eat and you spend a lot of time wearing fancy dress. This often sparks off debates about what life was like back in the late eighties and early nineties. Discussions about 'Finger mouse', Global hypercolour T-shirts and Thundercats are not unusual.

Get behind a local football team
If you're having no joy with your local football team, the good news is that Derby is home of the mighty Rams. Okay, so it's not Premiership football, but it is a lot cheaper and you can experience the Brazilian flair of striker Junior or the Peruvian perfection of Gianfranco Labarthe Tome.

Get introduced to Snakebite and black
'Snakey B', 'Purple Nasties', 'Sas'…call it what you like, all you need to know is it's a lethal concoction of lager and cider, with a squirt of Blackcurrant and students drink it by the barrelful.

Built a beer can statue
It seems like such a waste to just throw away cans and bottles when they can be put to a much better use. If you're an engineering student (or even if you're not) you can apply what you've learnt to good use by building a massively unstable structure.

Join a sports team or society during Freshers week
Sports teams and Societies are ran by the Students' Union and often range from the sensible to the sublime. If you're studying law, it might be an idea to get involved in the Law Society, because it could prove to be an invaluable resource. Likewise if drinking and playing sport flicks your switch then maybe the rugby team is the one for you.

There's never enough cash around

Get refused an overdraft extension
A big part of student life may involve being knocked back by your bank for an overdraft extension. Nobody likes a quitter though and if all else fails, you could be eligible for a hardship loan, but just make sure you've got your excuses ready.

Go on a political march
As a student, you may find yourself signing up for the national Demo in London, where students from all over the country converge in London to wave banners, blow whistles and generally bring the Capital to its knees. It's all in the name of equal rights for students and the abolition of tuition fees, and funnily enough Mr. Blair never seems to make an appearance

Have a stereotypical student poster
You know the type, Bob Marley, a warning sign style 'Student Crossing' image or maybe something more whimsical like 'Button moon' or 'Trap door'.

Pull an 'All nighter'
It's getting closer and closer to deadline day and that horrendous assignment is still sat on your desk untouched. The only thing for it is to stock up on Pro-plus, Red bull and anything else that contains caffeine…it's going to be a long night!

Indulge in a spot of student cooking
University is the only place where beans on toast is considered a cordon bleu dish and student life seems to go hand in hand with the kind of dishes that would make Gordon Ramsey wake up in a cold sweat!

Of course there are plenty of other experiences that students will go through and not all of them are as stereotypical as the examples above! The most important thing about University is to make the most of your time there and then maybe you can add a few more experiences of your own to this list.

Your comments on this story

Please remember, No e-mail addresses, No website addresses, Keep it clean and polite - and please, don't type the whole of your message in capitals.

I’m just about to graduate this year and can’t believe you missed out a couple of my favourites. First the making of comical phone videos. My collection includes the international ketchup fight, and of course several videos of the guy in halls who never locked his room when he went to sleep at night. You also missed the crashing of a house/block party of people you've never met before, just because you heard the music from 3 streets away. It is a great list though, and I’m going to miss it after May. P.S. on the poster front I have to mention the bw poster ‘Kiss’, that every guy seems to have or now someone that has. (I myself have the 6 ft tall version) Lee, Bradford hey up, well i can gladly say i have done all of those probably x10!!! Derby's wicked, got a year left, and going to spend it, creating more drinking games! Cat , Derby I dont belive uni is over oh my god i graduated on the 20th jan 2006 just dont belive 3 years have flown by...... once u leave you will miss it the alcohol the cheating on ur girlfriend in spank every wednesday oh how i miss them days......... Demarco from coventry I finished my degree in 2001 but had an awesome time! I think I checked all your list in Freshers week! In my defence theres nothing else to do in Wales! But I agree you missed out the very important comedy traffic cone moment. And what about that beer mat collection..... Ah-the memories are flooding back-even though they are hazy! Enjoy guys-life gets serious after! Rachel, Derby Obviously not written by a proper student - they'd know Neighbours doesn't start till the afternoon! Julia Lee, London What about attending lectures in your pyjamas and drinking Absinth at the uni Halloween party? Good times! Debbie, formerly Derby Oh my! I left in 2003, oh it was the best time of my life, you'll miss it when you leave and have to face the big wide world! Oh and I did have a button moon poster! Louise, Derby hey carol guess who lol Anyway others you have all missed, like having house parties trying to get through as many bottles of tequila as possible and being told you was seen walking home naked when you only had a few yards to cover steve derby Still doesn't beat my mate from coventry who woke up with an antique writing desk, and a Hi-Fi on a trolley! James 1st year derby sadly to admit this, i've been here only 2 weeks and most of the list has occured in some way or another! ahh, good old snakebite and blacks! Lauren, Derby awesome! i must say i experienced most of those 'must do' points in my first year, and have to admit it was the best year of my life so far! lets just hope that this year (my first in a house) will top it and i can tick off a few more points! im enjoying every minute! rachel 2nd yr at derby Ah the days of university are quite something, however, to be a proper university student, you need to raise the tone ending on every sentence you say, to allow everything you say to become a question, and to therefore really wind up the locals in your nearest pub! Top Stuff Nicky jimbob O'Rourke, Derby Beer Trophy ay. How about waking up and finding a for sale sign in bed with you! It happened. Or ignoring mortal danger whilst intoxicated. Like the time our lounge roof blew off whilst we were in it. And we decided that it wasn't that bad because we were so drunk. So we stayed sat in there watching telly! Ande, Derby Well, I was at Wolves Uni. From Derbyshire. Living in Tokyo now. Waking up with a big yellow grit bin outside your front door...full at that! Slowly remembering why you have a Guiness pub menu blackboard at the foot of your bed. Remembering all gathering around the mini of that annoying guy and bouncing it into the road in the middle of the halls of residence. Wondering why you have a stepladder in your hallway. ^_^ - aaah, sweet memories...makes me wanna go back and do Uni all over again! Osman, Tokyo Having someone or a few people you know stand for the sabs election and spending two weeks in a silly t-shirt in the atrium and drinking heavily while laughing and applauding at them having to sing and dance to there adoring fans. Then celebrating cause at least one of them got it... woohoo Nicki, Derby You forgot a few. Dying your hair a stupid colour is a must, also suddenly having a mid-life crisis and wanting to change your course. Sleeping in lecture theatres, bringing home a beer trophy (the bigger and stupider the item collected while drunk, the better) and getting thrown into whatever stretch of water you have on campus (usually on your birthday), are also highly necessary. Liz, Bristol Uni You've forgotten the old favourite: go out, get drunk and party all night and then do something comical with a road cone on the way home - putting them on top of bus stops or road signs is great fun (at the time) RB, Nottingham I only just finished my degree last year and snaky B's already seem like a distant memory and my liver (and bank balance) live to tell the tale- enjoy it while it lasts! carol, mickleover Add your comments Your name and area: Add your comments here:

Read the Rules of Posting (Opens in a new window)