SMALL PRINT:IT'S TIME for the college year to start, so cities are flooded with first-time students. Other guides and handbooks offer a sea of tips on starting out at third level; here's what you really need to know.
How to identify a dodgy flatmatePeople who write their names on their cartons of milk might not be the happy campers you'd like to share a house with. Also avoid excessive video-game playing (unless they have their own TV), instruments (if you're sharing a room), being the only boy in a house of girls and vice versa, and using empty booze bottles as decoration.
The perils of joining "zany" societiesNaked frisbee might sound fun during freshers' week, but it won't seem so appealing a few weeks later, when the head of the society is bombarding you with calls to help fund travel to a tournament in Amsterdam.
Eating for freeThe days of being able to eat for free at a launch or event every night in the capital are long gone, so get more practical about free food. If you can't get a job in a restaurant or cafe, befriend someone who has. Covertly check out the fridge of a flat you're viewing, to see if they seem like decent chefs.
Beware drink promosHappy hours are illegal in Ireland, but that doesn't stop bar and club owners from offering as much cheap booze as possible in an extremely competitive market. Too-good-to-be-true drink promotions might seem like a good idea, but the alcohol on offer is generally inferior, the customers drunker and the crowd just there for the booze, not the music, atmosphere or venue itself. Do you really want to socialise like that? Okay, maybe don't answer that.
