Lifestyle and eating habits of students today

Read about Wiktoria and her lifestyle habits as a student in Northumbria.

This post was created by Wiktoria Dlugosz, second year Law student at Northumbria University and member of the Student Board of Directors.

I’ve read through the Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey (ULS) and I’ve thought about how the statistics relate to me.

In the first year, I stayed in university accommodation which I really liked. It was brand new, en suite with a double bed. In the kitchen there was a dishwasher, a washing machine and a tumble dryer, unlike in some other uni accommodation. So there were no treks to the laundrette and paying £5 to wash your clothes. Some people thought the university accommodation was expensive; however I think it was worth the price. It was everything that I wanted. That’s why I am still staying in it this year and also next year. I know many people that had a lot of problems with their private let housing and honestly I do not think that it’s worth the hassle. Some of my friends also stay at home, and even though it may be cost effective, they don’t like that they’re missing out on the social life and it also takes them a lot of time to get to uni.

Because I’ve stayed in uni accommodation for my second year, I’ve met a lot of people that have done the same as me and did not necessarily move out to private housing in their second or third year so I feel like the 19% that live in university run halls (which is down from 24% in 2014)  is quite accurate. However, I do know that most first year students move into private housing in their second year so I would say the 26% (which is down from 34% from 2014) is also about right.

Regarding to how much time I spend at uni on weekdays, at the start of first year it was 15 hours contact time at the most. By the end of second semester, I was in around seven hours per week, usually Monday and Tuesday and had the rest of week off.  I was not in much in the third semester  as we were given time to revise for exams. Now that I’m in my second year the contact time is limited to around eight-ten  hours per week. Therefore I have a lot of time to study on my own which can be a challenge sometimes. Overall I agree with the  59% of students who completed the ULS  as I’m happy the contact time I receive at uni.

When I first came to uni I couldn’t really cook but I did try to, so I mostly ate meals cooked from scratch as it was expensive to eat out . So I do think that where the ULS states that 71% of students eat a meal cooked from scratch at least once a week is accurate as I know that many of my friends do the same as me. Although, now that I’m in second year, I tend to be more lazy and buy lunch when I’m at uni or just grab something when I’m coming back for dinner. “35% also said the opportunity to eat with friends was a key reason for buying lunch in campus”, and I agree with that as eating out for lunch also gives me an opportunity to meet with friends because that’s usually the only time we’re all available so it’s a great time for a catch up.