We all know that there are many things Exeter Uni is known for (excluding people saying “rah,” obviously).
From drinking Venoms at TP and girls carrying their Longchamps to boys wearing Canterburys and Birkenstocks, there’s no denying that the stereotypes are painfully accurate.
Still, beyond the clichés, the Exeter experience is shaped by a series of unavoidable moments and places that become shared references for all of us. So, here are seven things you’ll only understand if you attend Exeter Uni.
1. EGB
The Enchanted Garden Ball is the definitive Exeter event. Other unis may have summer balls, but they definitely don’t have EGB. Every Exeter student will go through the horrors of trying to get tickets; sitting with your housemates, two devices per person, only for the site to crash. Come the end of May, expectations are high, but it won’t disappoint. Offering an abundance of fairground rides, food trucks, linen shirts and cowboy boots, EGB might just be the best way to close out the academic year.
2. Efes
The only good thing to come from Sidwell Street is the vast amounts of options for a post-night out scran. Efes is famous among Exeter students; even if you’ve never been, it’s certain you’ve heard about it. Most of the time, my motivation for going to the club is solely to get Efes cheesy chips slathered in garlic sauce on the way home. There’s really nothing quite like it. Bonus points if you’ve ever woken up in the same clothes you went out in, just to find yourself featured on their TikTok page, singing your heart out to “Murder on the Dancefloor”.
3. Paying £20+ for a TP ticket
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Most Exeter students will be used to the experience of missing out on the TP Weds ticket drop, just to find out all your mates are going without you. Instead of getting FOMO, you’ll inevitably argue with a guy called Tom from Overheard, insisting you give him £30 for his precious TP ticket. And really, is it worth it?
4. Impy garden in term three
This one may be a bit niche, but hear me out. The Imperial pub garden might be one of my favourite spots for those term three summer evenings, if you can find a free table that is. It’s likely you’ll run into all of your first year flatmates and awkwardly avoid eye contact, but nothing beats squeezing ten of your friends around a table, sharing pitchers while the sun goes down.
5. Forum hill
Streatham campus is basically one huge hill. Needless to say, if you want to attend your lectures, you’ll have to face Forum Hill daily. Even in third year, somehow, it doesn’t seem any easier. It’s the same picture every time: Wrapping up warm in the winter just to get to your 9am, sweating and panting, trying not to show it and desperate to take off the five layers of clothes you thought it would be smart to wear. Humbling.
6. Sports initiations
Being an Exeter student means getting used to weird things that sports societies do around campus. It also means that everywhere you look, there are rugby boys. The rugby initiation nappy run might just be the oddest thing I’ve ever witnessed in the city centre, which is already saying a lot. Initiations always involve public commitment, questionable outfits and a whole lot of second-hand embarrassment.
7. Exmouth beach
Only a cheap train ride away, Exmouth beach is a staple place for all Exeter Uni students. In the summer term, crowds of students pack onto trains like sardines for a day of sun-bathing and barbecuing. Grab some tinny’s and strawberries from the iconic big M&S, and you’ll have yourself a perfect summer day. Even in the winter, windy walks along the beach are an excellent escape from the stresses of uni life, and especially great for a hungover debrief with fish and chips at Spoons.
