The first day was weird. In sixth form I was a bit of an indie kid and I thought everyone was going to be really arty and cool, but I stuck out like a sore thumb. Within a few days I had a nickname. I'd say "Hi, I'm Bob," and they'd say, "Yes! Skinny Jeans Bob!"
I was so excited about uni that I tried to get involved in as many things as possible. I signed up for all the music stuff – Rock Soc, Indie Soc, Cine Soc. I thought they would be good, but they were a bit pretentious for me. I turned up to everything at least once.
In the first week I definitely had one night out when I wanted to leave. I walked home thinking that if it was going to be like this for three years, I couldn't do it. But actually I don't think anyone's having a good time on those big nights out.
One of the reasons I wanted to go to university was to meet people to form a band. It took me a little while, but I went to open-mic nights and played with whoever was there until four of us formed a band that lasted until the end of uni. And because Exeter is quite a small town and a relatively small uni, we got known quite quickly, which was wicked fun.
My course was good. I did film because I really loved it. I did everything I needed to do to get a 2.1 and nothing more – in our third year, we had some awesome house parties.
Top Tip
Accept that it will be bit weird for the first couple of weeks and throw yourself in head first.
Bob Matthews achieved a 2.1 in European film and world cinema. He studied at Exeter University from 2005-08. Visit www.alpin.es for the latest live dates
