10 things you will know if you went to the Uni of Leeds

We all know most university experiences are going to be pretty similar. There are drunk nights at the union that no one remembers. There are 9am lectures that nobody goes to. There are rundown student houses with dodgy landlords that everyone ends up with. The University of Leeds is the epitome of a student city, so it ticks all of those boxes. However, there are some experiences unique to this red brick university that you will only understand if you went there.

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1. Fruity is only acceptable if you are a fresher or a nostalgic final year
Fruity, the staple Friday club night at the Leeds Student Union, produces mixed feelings in almost everyone. It is generally agreed that poor, uneducated freshers will enjoy it as a ‘fun night out’, second years really should know better, and final years are occasionally spotted weeping in the corners singing along to ‘Stacey’s Mom’ (leave them be, they only have a few months left).
 
2. Eddy B is for socialites, the Brotherton is for studying
Need peace, quiet and surroundings that make you feel vaguely Hogwarts-ish? Choose the Brotherton. Want to chat to mates and flirt with someone from your halls, while aimlessly attempting 100 words per hour? Choose Edward Boyle.

                    
3. Hyde Park or Headingley?
The choice between the two most popular student housing areas left rifts in some friendships forever. Ok, so it’s about a 20-minute walk from one to the other, but that feels like an eternity when it comes to pre-drinks.
 
4. You will always think of Leeds Met as Leeds Met, despite attempts to rebrand
Met v Uni. The never-ending rivalry. Nothing will ever alter that. Not even a name change from one of them *cough* Beckett *cough*.
 
5. Varsity turns everyone into a diehard rugby fan
It doesn’t matter if you have never watched sport in your life, or if the closest you have ever come to a rugby ball was having one hit you on the side of the head at school, varsity turns the entire Leeds student population into a mass of rowdy rugby fans.

 
6. Preppy or Edgy, choose a style
At Leeds Uni you either wear your Jack Wills gilet with pride or you layer charity shop finds with unwashed hair to support the view of Leeds as ‘edgy’. There is no in-between.
 
7. Bakery 164 is the best lunch option for miles around
Considering there are a lot of good places for food in and around the uni campus this one is a big claim. But the focaccia at Bakery 164 is literally what dreams are made of, and it’s that which wins the Leeds lunch game.
 
8. The calibre of Otley runs goes downhill after first year
The Otley run, a bar crawl in fancy dress that destroys every single student without fail, is always at its best when made up of keen freshers in imaginative outfits, ready to drink the specified drinks and move on after the allotted time. A few years down the line and you get final years who start halfway and give up early on due to too much revision and no money.

 
9. The German Market is the highlight of the Christmas season
You know it’s that time of year again when wooden cabins covered in fake snow pop up in Leeds city centre. The smell of bratwurst and fresh pretzels fills the air and reminds you that you have to get your stein out for the beer tent again.
 
10. The Union is a maze of constant surprises
It doesn’t matter how long you have been studying at the University of Leeds, you will never know the true extent of the union building. Sure, you might have discovered the Hidden Café, but did you know about the rooftop garden?

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