You're excited to move into halls and face university head on - meet your new flatmates, go to a couple of lectures and explore the new city you find yourself in. But at some point, you're going to have to take a shower and it could well be that the experience isn't all you hoped it would be.
Let's have a little look at some of the unpleasant situations you could find yourself in:
Strangers using your shower
While you're used to other people using your shower - say, your parents or your siblings - you're probably not accustomed to sharing it with complete strangers. And while they will hopefully become your friends sooner rather than later, you've still got the awkward problem of not knowing what their cleanliness is going to be like - or how long they're going to be in the shower for.
Not enough showers
Picture the scene - it's Wednesday evening and it's the biggest student night out. You want to be looking - and smelling - your best, so you decide to have a shower before you congregate in someone's bedroom to get the night started. Except that the other 23 people on your floor have exactly the same idea and there's only four showers.
Similarly, if you're running a bit late for a morning lecture, you don't want to be even more behind schedule because you've got to wait for that person who takes 30-minute showers to stop singing and get out.
This is a prime example of where student accommodation services would do well to provide more showers - and ones that can cope when they're all being used at the same time.
A glorified drip
You've managed to find a time when everyone else is out or has already showered. You gleefully hop in, turn it on - only to find it's nothing more than a glorified drip. Maybe everyone else is using the water system or your shower is just old and in desperate need of repair. Having the latest, high-quality plumbing systems is imperative so that you don't have these bad experiences. We'd argue that a weak shower is sometimes worse than no shower at all.
Dubious cleanliness standards
While you may class yourself as a Monica from Friends type of person, the painful truth is that there will be some Joey and Chandlers around. While you may appreciate their playful humour, you probably won't be a fan of their messy lifestyles. You could find your shower's plug hole wrestling with the build-up of hair - whether it's girls' long tresses or from elsewhere. Not the most pleasant experience when you're trying to get clean.
A lack of warmth
It's November and it's cold and dark. Somehow, you've dragged yourself out of bed for your 09:00 lecture. You turn the shower on and, while it may be powerful, it's certainly not hot enough - even after waiting for a few minutes. No amount of turning on and off or giving it stern words seems to work and you're left with either a cold shower or nothing at all.
We wonder whether or not those in charge of student accommodation test out the showers they provide themselves before the new crop of freshers arrive - if not, perhaps it would be a good idea from time to time.