Back in the 1980's, your main priorities included big hair, Duran Duran and Top Gun. Fast forward a few decades and all of a sudden your current top priority is sending your offspring to uni and going to university Open Days. Here we take a trip down memory lane…your kids won’t understand the luxury they’re walking into!
1. En-suite? Nah. You basically lived in a hovel
Uni living meant no heating, damp walls, a strange smell that you could never put your finger on, and always being on the brink of pneumonia.
2. You had to read books to find out information
Essay research was a struggle. Wikipedia was not a thing, so how did you know anything?! Books, apparently. Which you could find in the… *checks notes* ‘library’?
3. Everyone smoked inside, so potential suitors had a built-in flattering Instagram filter
This improved everyone’s chances of pulling. And even better, they were a cost-effective hobby as a pack of cigarettes cost about 60p. The same can’t be said these days – probably for the best…
4. You had to use actual pens
Essays had to be written with an actual pen, or a typewriter if you were feeling particularly fancy. You may as well have sent your dissertation using smoke signals.
5. What’s ‘the internet’?
This was in the dark time before ‘I’ll Google it’. You had to know something, or die frustrated about never knowing what that thing was.
6. There was no Whatsapp, Facetime, Snapchat or Skype
You had to actually…*gulp*…speak to other people face to face. Or use a real life phone that you had to queue up for and put money in it - there was usually just one for your halls of residence that you had to wait for with your bag of 10ps. And, even worse, you’d have to pick a meeting place and be on time, just hoping that everyone else was actually still coming.
7. £2 for a Jägerbomb? Ha! Try a pint for 75p
We all know that a house cost about £4.50 back then, but less than £1 for a pint is pretty mind-blowing. No wonder you can’t remember anything you learned in your lectures…
Some things never change, though. Uni is still one of the most exciting times of your life with lots to learn – not just academically, but about yourself, too! Are you sending your child off to uni soon?
