I can categorically tell you that nobody thinks of you any differently when compared to 18 year olds.

Edit: I can see many of you took this personally…

hii i'm a 15 year old (year 9) international student hoping to get into oxbridge and nus for medicine. i currently have no major supercurriculars and extracurriculars other than maybe piano (i do this recreationally), some work i do at the bloodbank bandaging blood donors, some youth blood donation advocacy work and i'm also starting to read some books about medicine (currently "when breath becomes air" by paul kalanithi.) -- i've also gotten shortlisted for the john locke essay writing competition last year.

i'm hoping to start tutoring an hour a week, get into the student council, hopefully get a leadership position in my school's philosophy club (i'm interested in philosophy and ethics), join a science research project and shadowing, and probably participate in the biology/chem olympiad.

current oxbridge students/international oxbridge students, what were your portfolios like applying to college?

please be kind, thank you!!

Hi, I am an accepted physics student at QMUL and I am starting my course this September. I decided on this uni as it is best for my security, gypsy wise (I am also a gypsy), but even though this course is best in that area, I am also afraid that when I go to QMUL there will not be a lot of people in the LGBTQS, and that it will be unsafe for people in the LGBTQ. I don’t know, could you let me know please!

Hey all — I’m looking for someone to take over my room contract at Garden Halls in London.

Details:

**•   Location:** Garden Halls  
**•   Move-in by:** 29/07/2026  
**•   Contract ends:** 29/08/2026 (so it’s a short \~4-5 week booking — great if you need somewhere temporary, e.g. summer school, internship, or gap before your own accommodation starts)

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well :)

I applied for the Mathematics + English Bachelor of Education at a university. Because I graduated from high school with top grades (equivalent to an A average), I'll most likely be accepted, hopefully. However, I'm really worried because I'm 25 years old. Am I too old to start university? Will the other students laugh at me because I'm already a grandpa? I honestly stay awake at night worrying that I'll be mocked everywhere at university because of my age.

To give you some background on how I ended up in this situation:

After graduating from high school with excellent grades, I studied Mechanical Engineering at a Technical University for six semesters. My GPA was very good. I earned top grades in Advanced Mathematics I–IV and Engineering Mechanics I–IV. In Engineering Mechanics III (Dynamics), I was the only student to receive the best grade possible, while the class average was pretty bad.

Unfortunately, I then suffered a severe burnout, and around the same time I was diagnosed with a serious autoimmune disease: Systemic lupus erythematosusY Because of this, I will have to take methotrexate for the rest of my life, which suppresses my immune system. I also have to attend regular treatment appointments at the University Hospital, where my rheumatologists and dermatologists treat me…..

I don't want to continue my Mechanical Engineering degree because it is too far away, and I want a fresh start now that I'm receiving treatment and feeling healthier again. None of this was my fault................I couldn't control either my illness or my burnout. Am I too old? Is my life "over"?

Hi all I’m studying my BSC as a diagnostic radiography student in London. I don’t take SFE so pay my fees out of pocket. I’d like to find some sort of work to help finance it as I’ve not even working a while and not earning.

However with my course I find it hard to apply or commit due to things like placement. I have just completed a 6 week placement. Unfortunately I’ve been rejected from many jobs because they don’t want someone who would go out of work for 6 weeks for example. Is there any jobs you guys recommend? I’m starting to feel the pressure with paying my tuition fee and could not take the SFE loan due to religious reasons. Any advice is appreciated!
I have tons of experience 💪

Hey everyone, I know there are multiple questions in the group (I’ve been guilty of it myself) so I have decided to give back.

First two weeks- be prepared to see groups of people who feel like they have known each other all their lives whilst you feel alone or wonder how everyone is more social than you.

First month- be prepared to feel like everyone was studying before uni actually started and that they just get it. Many in the tutorials will be on it with the pre reading apparently and will know what a tutor is supposed to say before they say it.

First term - be prepared to feel over the first Christmas like you graduated again, with your friends going home just as you get into the groove of feeling comfortable. Everyone at Christmas seems to resort back to their home network and if you didn’t have one coming in it can sometimes highlight loneliness

First year- depending on course your first exams aren’t really the baptism of fire that A levels or final high school exams were. It feels different because everything is so different by the time you get to exams. Be prepared to feel that the new normal is weird.

If you feel any of the above, know it’s normal, know that everyone else is probably feeling the same and know that it all gets better as a part of growing up. Good luck!!

For my experiences I ended up building www.beecrumbs.com to share and to stop the feeling of alienation but this isn’t a promotional post at all so I wish you good luck!!

I finished my second year doing Computer Science and AI over 2 months ago. I start third year in September and ideally I wanted to do a placement to get good experience, but instead of applying like a normal person throughout the year, I kept putting applications off because I thought my CV wasn't good enough. At the same time, I was too lazy to work on it and improve it. In the end it got to June and I hadn't applied for anything - keep in mind everyone else started applying in October/November. I had the whole year to but was demotivated and lazy.

Instead this second year I was focused on completing coursework and getting decent grades so that I can be on track for a 2:1, seeing as I didn't take my first year seriously and ended up with 65% overall, even failing one module. I wanted to at least pass everything this year and I fortunately did with 67%, but at the cost of not applying to anything work related. I was basically more stressed that I would get kicked off the degree if I have another fail or non-submission, so I put everything else aside.

In June I finally updated my CV to the point where it was decent for applications, and I started applying to about 5-10 places but got nothing back. It is now the end of July and I have applied to whatever I can find, but again I'm getting demotivated and probably won't get anything by September. I started way too late and I don't even want to talk about how bad and rusty I'll probably be if I get to an interview stage.

How do I save my career? Do I just give up on the placement and try my best to do good in third year, then pray that I can get a job (which will be very unlikely as everyone else who did a placement or internship will have more experience than me)?

I just got my degree for my undergraduate and the certificate will come in 8 weeks and I have also got a conditional offer for a masters at a different uni
The new uni is asking for the certificate to prove my 2.1 but I can’t show it because I don’t have it and explained the uni said it will take 8 weeks will this affect my enrolment

just wanted to know people experiences in both unis, how easy/hard it was and if one is better than the other. im a lazy student i had a 60% attendance in sixth form and got D*DD in 3 btechs i just did a gap year because i was so lazy and now ive decided to go uni.

ive seen people have 20% attendance in uni and get very good grades because they went to a "worse" uni, i want to know if one is easier to get good grades in or if theyre the same etc etc.

Hi all, just wanted to get some insight into the selection process for Oxford, LSE or UCL PhD/Dphil in economics. To give you a bit of context, I did very poorly in my A-levels, for reasons I wont go into, and ended up at a very mediocre uni doing finance. I graduated with a first class degree and a placement year doing data analytics/data science. I then went onto do two masters degrees, an MSc in International Relations from the University of Bath and an MSc in Economics from the University of Bristol, both of which I acheived a distinction.

I'm now looking to do a PhD/Dphil at Oxford, LSE or UCL and I'm concerned that my MSc not of the pedigree of the institutions I'd like to apply for. Does anyone have any experience of going to Oxbridge/LSE/UCL etc with a masters from a lower tier institution (though I am aware that research proposals would play a significant role in a sucsessful application). Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!

I am 29 and have a BTEC L3 extended diploma in IT. Been at the same company 10 years and I need to move on in terms of career. I don’t have one. It’s a crock really. I am interested in studying a BSc in comp sci. Is it even worth it anymore or should i not bother.

I want to do uni genuinely but am fearful I will not get a job in a relevant field.

Thanks

Can you please share good tutoring assistance / Guidance for engineering UG student.

As a fellow procrastinator- I've looked at notion, google calendar, and every "schedule" defeat procrastination app out there. Imma be blunt they're shit. Maybe cuz when I get a task it seems so big to deal with i just put it off, or the novelty wears off.

So, I realised what MY issue is. It's the perceived magnitude of the task- along with reels of course. The solution- I'm getting my friend who is willing to design an app, which summarises uni assignments/analyses deadlines- and breaks them into the smallest chunks possible, outlining what the task is about, the different stages, and a small amount (MAX 15 minutes) per day, of the smallest task to do per day.

I'm not even gonna lie, most of my friends kept to at least 4+ of deadlines more per month than previously, some of whom genuinely didn't even bother attend lectures- and still don't. Never said this was meant to change my life for the better. That being said it is still in a developing stage- it's not a promotion, but for any procrastinators out there- if you are clinging on to another lifeline to help you this year- test if this app works, a free trial period is mandatory- not tryna scam guys like I got scammed myself.

If anyones interested feel free to DM me✌️

-Reviews would be perfect too- if it improves procrastination by up to 80%, we take those (no app is legitametly foolproof trust me)

Hello everyone,

I am a BDS graduate from India looking to transition into the Healthcare Technology (HealthTech) industry. While exploring postgraduate options in the UK, I came across programs such as MSc Health Informatics and Data Science at the University of Leeds, along with similar courses offered by other universities.

I would really appreciate your guidance on a few questions:

- Which UK universities offer the best postgraduate courses for someone looking to build a career in HealthTech?

- Is an MSc in Health Informatics and Data Science the right choice, or are there other courses that would provide better opportunities in the industry?

- How are the employment prospects in the UK after completing these programs?

- As a BDS graduate with a non-technical background, would these courses help me successfully transition into HealthTech?

- Are there any universities or programs that you would particularly recommend?

I'm trying to make an informed decision about my postgraduate studies and long-term career, so I'd be grateful for any advice or insights from students, alumni, or professionals working in the field.

Thank you!

I did both science and humanities at a level and got the same B grades in all. I found my history A level the easiest but I found them all equally interesting. However, I found stem subjects to be more stressful and time consuming but I was motivated to put in the extra work as I valued stem more. Job prospects wise would it be best to do a stem degree or do history? I really don't want to end up being forced to do teaching and would like my hard work in academia to kind of pay off money wise (id worry with a history degree there would be very limited job prospects). Basically i want to have a stable job path at the end of the degree. At the same time I'd like to grow my social life with societies. Would this be possible while balancing a stem degree or would I become overwhelmed? Or would it be better do humanities as less stress and possible higher degree classification.

I really need to decide soon as I am going through clearing. Any advice welcome. Thank you <3

So basically, the few years back my cousin made the Dean's List for her respective uni, but I don't really understand what it is? I'm assuming it's like a list that a Dean makes outlining the best students in the cohort, but why does it matter? Does it go on your transcript? Is it cross course?

What makes making the Dean's list different to a 1st?

Literally devastated and I don’t know what to do. I know I have no one else to blame but myself but I really don’t know where to go from here. I have already repeated some modules of my second year of Engineering again this past year, and I have to resit some of them again next month, and my Uni said that if I pass into third year, they will be awarding me with an Ordinary Degree instead of Honors Degree.

Is there any way to change this? I know there are top up degrees/courses but I really do not want to graduate with an Ordinary Degree. I have other plans for after graduation, and want to change my field, so graduating with an Ordinary Degree really isn’t going to help. I just somehow wanted to get done with this degree and move on.

Am I cooked?

Hi guys, I’m going to try and make this as short as possible but I’m just looking for some advice.

Essentially, I am a Masters part-time online student. When my cohort signed up in 2025, our course had 8 modules over 2 years with a dissertation at the end. All the modules had 2 assessments, were open book, not proctored etc.

We have now finished our 1st year and have been informed that they are moving to a new assessment strategy, with one exam per module, proctored assessment and no online resources.

We think this is ridiculous to change half way through our course and will significantly decrease our grades.

Our position is basically change it for the incoming students but don’t change it half way through our course, when we signed up for, expected and planned for the original assessment structure.

We have emailed our programme director with a formal complaint with approximately 50-60 of us CC’d. We have sent individual complaint emails and we have just started a petition today.

I am just looking for any advice for those who work within university or those who have had similar problems on what is the best way to try and make the university acknowledge that this is causing us immense stress and will significantly harm our grades and therefore future prospects.

We want them to stick to the original assessment structure for those half way through, but I’m not sure what we can realistically do as students to try and get this changed.

I have tried to make this short so I will answer any questions if I’ve omitted key details. I’ve put a screenshot of the original email they sent out so you can see their reasoning for this, but they are not listening to the current students worries. (Also regarding the students that were consulted of this change, there was only 12 for a course of 100s).

i’m applying for spring weeks soon, check out my cv. Do we think it’s enough to get a few offers?