When I first set off to university, I figured there’d only be one type of person I’d meet there: the student. Grotty, with a love for weird fashion and endlessly living off of Pot Noodles and microwave pizzas was the kind of thing I had in mind.
However, what I didn’t realise was that really it’s pretty much a microcosm of England in general. You won’t just meet like-minded people (sadly, we all have to suffer the perils of cross-subject halls), nor will you be left out for being of a minority. Here’s a run-down of the type of people you’ll meet.
The cash-splasher
Let’s be real, this is a pretty good person to befriend. Ever the drunkest person on a night out, this guy (or occasionally girl) will rack up the drinks for all their “friends”. Every week will see them in new gear, and you can expect that they’ll have the latest iPod, iPad and iPhone because all three are obviously a necessity.
The scrounger
Here we have the other end of the spectrum. The scrounger will always be up for sharing meals, milk, bread, sauce and just about every other commodity you can think of. However, there’ll always be a reason why it’s simply unreasonable to make them pay their whole share. You’ll probably see this person at every society event which offers free drinks, food, pens, Post-It notes, the list goes on …
The socialite
Somehow this person seems to know everyone on campus. They’ll seemingly be at every social and club event and you’ll often find yourself questioning how they have such a wide social spectrum. Often you won’t see this person after first year because, hey, who needs studying when you’ve got endless friends?
The workaholic
This person might emerge from their room during the daytime once… Or maybe twice a term? Do they hoard food in their room or are they on some kind of covert no-food op? Endless rumours will circulate about what they’re really doing in there. Until they get a first. Whoops.
The “lad”
This guy doesn’t quite understand that people have moved away from being quite as juvenile as they were at school. Often believing himself to be the centre of the social group he’s openly ridiculed, but it’s okay because he thinks it’s obviously “just banter”.
The flirt
This girl always seems to get want she wants. Somehow over the summer between sixth form and university, certain girls seem to perfect the art of getting every guy in the room to do exactly what they want with a flutter of the eyelids. You’ll probably notice that she doesn’t end up having many female friends because “she just gets on so much better with guys”, i.e. no girls can stand her presence.
The hipster
And I don’t really mean the leggings, camo shirt and beanie wearing one either. This person will likely be seen smoking, hating on capitalism and society’s rules about what’s normal whilst smoking more. Surprisingly they often aren’t arts students – that’d really be cohering to the stereotype. Instead they study Maths by day, and by night throw off the chains of expectations and rules.
There are a whole ream of other types I could mention, like the upper-middle class snob, the ever-friendly being (I’m still at a loss as to how someone can be nice to everyone they meet) and the atheist who loves to preach about how bad it is for religious people to preach. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is to remember that you’ll meet a huge variety of people – get to know as many as you can, and don’t be too judgemental!
Do you know the kinds of people you should expect to meet at university? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo: J R / Flickr
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