Well the parties have been in full swing and you've done a bundle of money, you have loads of new friends and your mates girl keeps eyeing you up. Anyone would think that your on holiday and in a way you are, but all good things must come to an end...and on Monday morning they will with a bang. You stir in your bed, in a daze, feeling thirsty, you get up stepping on discarded takeaway cartons on your way to the bathroom, you look at your sorry state of affairs in the mirror and it dawns on you...lectures started 15 minutes ago.

Well don't despair this handy little guide will prepare you for what to expect when the real work begins.

In general your first week as a student will be relatively painless, you will meet your teachers, and generally familiarise yourself with your new surroundings, pick up your timetables and spend time trying to remember peoples names.

Most degree courses are structured in a similar fashion, you will be invited to lectures that usually consist of a large number of people all crammed into a large lecture hall or a cold classroom. Lectures are what they say...a lecture by a person who knows a lot more than you on your chosen subject, and it is up to you to listen and take notes. Make sure that you take as many notes as possible as they will be a godsend when it comes to revision, even if your notes are a scribble you can always write them up later.

Lectures make up anything from 7 hours to 30 hours each week of your student life, the rest being tutorials and seminars. A seminar comes in a form similar to lectures however you are usually asked to take part and have an opportunity to challenge and put into practice what you have learnt in lectures. Make sure that you become involved and speak up if you don't understand anything, trust me the people who always ask questions are the ones who get the better grades...well most of the time anyway. Tutorials are small sessions that can take the form of a one on one meeting with your tutor where you can in general discuss anything you fancy, raise issues and concerns and generally gain valuable advice.

The rest of your time as a student will be spent doing research for your projects, and what you used to know as 'Homework'. You will be provided with numerous resources to mine for your information from libraries, periodicals, newspapers to internet connections and even real people in some cases to interview. You may well be guided as to the best resources for the particular task at hand but at the end of the day it is down to you and you alone.

The hardest part of all of this will be the expectation of you to work on your own, you won't get into trouble if you don't do your essay or finish you project, most lecturers don't care ...they still get paid. The one person who will lose out is yourself so make a solemn promise to yourself now that you will try your best. Remember it has taken you a lot of time and hard work to reach this point in your life, so don't throw it all away now.

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