This blog expresses a personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of the BBC. Thursday 10 November, 2005 Life as a postgraduate at the University of Bath has so far been very different to that of my previous years of student-hood in Nottingham. Why? Perhaps it is the experience of a year off between degrees, much of it spent as a slave to the nine-to-five way of life, or perhaps it is that at the grand old age of 22 I feel as though my best days of carefree partying are now behind me. Mostly though, it is because of my circumstances - I have moved back home to Somerset and commute the hour-long drive to lectures. Fortunately, my schedule of lectures and seminars lends itself to this lifestyle and in contrast to my undergraduate Biology degree, I do most of my work in my own time. My priorities as a student have definitely changed since I left home for the first time five years ago. I am sure I am not alone in admitting that my desire to go to university had less to do with advancing my career prospects than the freedom of moving away, meeting lots of new people, drinking lots and generally having the time of my life. I did all of those things, and loved every minute, but I don't think I could ever hope to have that lifestyle again. I wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace, and definitely not with the drinking games! I know that I will never hear Chesney Hawkes or Bryan Adams in quite the same way, but I have gracefully surrendered those nights in favour of something a little more demure, preferably not involving late-night kebabs and/or a shocking hangover the next morning. I unofficially swore off academia after weeks of manic revision for my finals, and it took me a year to realise that there was more I wanted to study. But now it is my interest in my subject, and a need to learn more, that drives me, rather than the want to be a student. Bath is a beautiful city and a lovely place to study. Luckily for me, it is one of the few universities in the country to run a course in my area of interest. I won't pretend that this year is going to be easy though - as much as I hate to be one of those graduates who are "still at home... still scrounging off mum and dad", it was that, or face yet another year of mounting debt, whilst paying for rented accommodation (and let's face it, Bath isn't exactly cheap!). Almost all of my friends have moved onto further education after graduating, and many have had to take on more loans and more debt to fund themselves. The sad thing is that I am sure an ever-increasing number of students will find themselves in these kind of situations, especially with the astronomical rise in tuition fees. | 
