A degree - and other life lessons

London - Changing a lightbulb, feeding yourself for £20 (about R360) a week and cooking a jacket potato are among the true life lessons students take from university, a study says.

It revealed that students are taking home more than just a degree, with learning how to stay up all night named as the most common skill learned.

Conjuring up last-minute fancy dress outfits and boiling the perfect egg are also lessons graduates are taking from their time studying away from home.

Others include knowing that duct tape fixes almost everything, how to cut their own hair and learning not to reheat rice in the microwave.

Lesley Stonier of Lucozade Energy, which was behind the poll, said: “The modern university experience gives graduates so much more than just a degree .

“The life lessons that are taken away from their years studying will stand young people in good stead for their future.

“Leaving home for the first time is a daunting process, and mom or dad might try to prepare their child with basic cooking skills.

“But it seems boiling an egg or cooking a potato isn’t truly mastered until they start to look after themselves at university.”

In total, the average student will have gained 13 life lessons on top of their certificate when graduation day comes around.

THE 20 TOP LIFE LESSONS ACCORDING TO STUDENT POLL

1. How to pull an all-nighter

2. How to function on little or no sleep

3. How to do a weekly shop with less than £20

4. The Harvard Referencing system

5. That not all clothes need to be ironed

6. How to get free stuff

7. How to make the perfect beans on toast