Rise against term time tantrums
With the end of the year approaching I’m actually quite glad that our summer term stretches on past those of our contemporaries. In part it’s the people here. I’d certainly rather be sat in the sun with you lot. You all get me; we made the choice to go to a slightly weird university and deep down you’re probably happy about it. What is otherwise a drab and uninspiring campus looks alright in the summer, too. But I suppose we can’t choose our higher education on where we’d most like to be sat around in the sun though; best consider more serious reasons people might actually care about.
Our unconventional term dates offer us a wealth of secret advantages. For those working to pay off mounting debts or saving to avoid them over the summer months, it lets you do things on the cheap. If you’ve got plans to go away, you’re free to do them in September. A quick comparison of flights to India or New York leaving in September rather than August netted savings from about £60 and £160, potentially the difference between an affordable jaunt abroad and a bankrupting error on the other side of the world. Things get cheaper as the average tourist goes away, and frankly the average tourist is something to be avoided anyway. We get the bonus of going places when the rest of our pale, loud nation has finally stopped embarrassing us worldwide.
Forgetting leisurely pursuits though, the university still desperately covets the currency to fund its recent efforts at expansion. Running conferences at times when others can’t nets the university the money it needs, and I suspect every penny of it can be happily spent to your benefit.
Somewhere, someone is probably not convinced that the draw of cold hard cash is an incentive to go about tolerating all sorts of strangeness. I don’t think it’s really all about that though and quite rightly so. Speaking to people, they seem quite glad that we’re not forced into a purely exam-based term. We get to enjoy three equal length week terms rather than two arduous marches, followed by a short term spent picking your brains. Sure, there’s still a terrible period of exams at the end that’ll drive you mad, but at least its right after you’ve supposedly learned it all, and not after several weeks of sitting at home forgetting to do anything until the last minute.
I do get why people might on the surface of things not like our schedule. Everyone you know back home is telling you about how much they’re enjoying their holiday while you’re sat here, trying to get over the fact you’re still trying to pass any number of exams, but I really wouldn’t worry. You’re better for it. Good things come to those who wait.
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