Going to university in the 90s v now

WARNING: This might make you feel old!

University in the 90s vs today
Author: Anna Sky Magliola

We thought we'd take a trip down memory lane for those who went to university in the 90s, and compare it to how different it is to a typical modern day uni experience.

So, while you're listening to some banging throwbacks on Tay FM, think back to the days when you could only text people on the same network as you, that's even if you had a mobile phone!

Or, you had to queue to get your grant cheque, then queue to pay it in, AND wait a few days for it to clear. HOW different things are these days... 🙈

WARNING: This might make you feel old, don't say we didn't warn you!

Going to university in the 90s v now:

Everything is online...

90s: Looking at a noticeboard to find out your exam results.


Now: Everything is online now and you can check it from anywhere in the world.


90s: Dissertations were handed in physically, so many times you'd do that last minute dash to get it in on time.


Now: Everything is submitted online so if you're one minute late they'll know!

BT Chargecard, what's that?

90s: Queuing for the only payphone in halls and then having to type in your very long BT chargecard number.


Now: Call and text freely on your mobile.


90s: You wrote letters and long emails to your school friends.


Now: Letters? Now you can text, Snapchat, Facebook, Tweet where do we stop?


90s: Texting was a new thing, you had to be on the same network as your friends and stick to 160 characters. txt spk wz v comN.


Now: There are no limits these days.

We bet you can still remember your childhood friend's landline!

90s: Writing down or remembering all of your friends' phone numbers.


Now: Scrolling through your contacts on your phone.


90s: Using your Solo or Switch card to get cash out for a night out. (If you don't know they've been replaced by Visa Debit now!)


Now: Using contactless pretty much anywhere.

We used to count down to that day each term...

90s: Waiting in a long queue to pick up your grant cheque.


Now: Refreshing your online banking just after midnight to see if your loan has gone in. YOU'RE IN CREDIT!


90s: You reminisce about The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Thundercats and Dogtanian.


Now: You reminisce about Teletubbies, Brum and Pokemon, but then you realise you can watch them all again on YouTube.

Remember physical photos...

90s: Taking photos on your camera, waiting a week for them to be sent back and then putting them on your wall.


Now: Taking photos with your phone and sharing them on Facebook straightaway.


90s: If you lost your friends in a club you'd be searching for hours.


Now: A simple message will get you reunited with your friends.


90s: Everyone crams into a passport photo booth on a night out and then you only get four photos.


Now: Professional photographers snap pics throughout the night for Facebook.

Listening to Tay FM is so much easier now!

90s: You missed listening to your old local radio station, so your parents had to send you recordings.
Now: You can listen online pretty much anywhere.


90s: You hear a song, but don't know what it's called? How frustrating!
Now: Now you can just ask your phone or use an app.


90s: You borrowed your friends' CDs and made copies of them on tape.
Now: You compare your music collections, but most of the time you just stream.

Broadband was unheard of...

90s: Dial-up Internet was common, so you were quite happy waiting five minutes for an email to download.


Now: You get frustrated if you only have 3G on your phone and an email takes 10 seconds.


90s: There was a plethora of search engines to choose from, Yahoo!, Lycos, Ask Jeeves and Alta Vista.


Now: But there's only one winner really and we still use it now, Google.


90s: Using the internet was in a computer room or through a cable.


Now: Wifi and mobile data means you have internet access everywhere!

Now read:

Amazing THROWBACK songs to take you down memory lane

Classic computer games we'd LOVE to play again 👾🎮

10 pieces of 'old school' technology that will make you feel all nostalgic

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