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Student life

New student at the University of Copenhagen? This is how you match up with other students

Do you know the type? — Everyone is unique – and yet maybe not quite. Are you one of the many who study within the same subject area as your mother? Do you use snuff tobacco, or artificial intelligence (or maybe a combination of these) to get to grips with your syllabus? Read on and learn more about yourself and your new fellow students.

You are (probably) a woman

The majority of new students at the University of Copenhagen in 2024 are women. The number is 61.5 percent to be precise. There are significant differences between study programmes however. On the Teacher Training/Pedagogy programme, 95 per cent are women. At Machine Learning and Data Science, 87 per cent are men.

Source: University of Copenhagen

You might drop out – and that’s okay

You have started at university on what you hopefully think of as your dream education programme. But in reality, 37 per cent of university students drop out of their degree programme. There’s no shame in dropping out however, if it turns out you didn’t make the right choice in the first place. The figures also show that four out of every five who drop out of one university education programme start on another programme within three years.

Source: Danish Evaluation Institute

You don’t eat enough vegetables

Young people in Denmark don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. The latest figures show that only 38 per cent of young people between the ages of 16 and 34 eat fruit on a daily basis. This can be particularly bad for university students, because several studies have shown that fruit, berries and vegetables help maintain a high cognitive performance and keep the brain going. So don’t forget an apple or a banana for those long afternoons in the auditorium. Or carrot sticks, celery and dip in the form of a glass of creamy peanut butter.

Source: The national health profile, Danish Health Authority

You use artificial intelligence

If, during the exam period, you are stumped with your syllabus and have not taken useful notes, you don’t necessarily have to worry about getting a failing grade. Students nowadays have access to a lot more tools to assist them nowadays – including artificial intelligence. In Denmark, 63 per cent of students occasionally use ChatGPT, and even more of them use Google Translate. Using artificial intelligence as a student is not (necessarily) cheating. But remember to keep yourself updated on UCPH exam regulations on the university’s intranet, KUnet.

Source: DR media research

READ ALSO: New study: Students need more teaching in artificial intelligence

You are 21.5 years old…

… if you are completely average and have been admitted to your degree programme via the Danish quota 1 admission system. Those admitted via the quota 2 system are on average 22.8 years old and slightly older. The average age of students admitted to the various degree programmes ranges very widely however. The youngest age average is in Actuarial Mathematics (the programme that will likely trigger the highest salary among all UCPH graduates), where the new students in 2024 will be an average of 20.8 years. The six students enrolled on the Modern India and South Asia Studies will be an average of 42.6 years old however. it is never too late to get smarter.

Source: Danish Evaluation Institute, and the University of Copenhagen.

You might have a cigarette in your hand/or being chewing tobacco

Everyone knows that smoking is one of the unhealthiest habits in this world. But for a long lecture or a busy bout of reading, you can feel the need for a smoking break. 15.6 per cent of students in Denmark enrolled on a medium or longer higher education programme smoke — either daily or occasionally. This is fewer than among people with a shorter higher education. In recent years, the use of snuff and other smokeless nicotine products has also become popular among students at UCPH, with 12.1 percent using these products either daily or occasionally. Finally, 3.3 per cent of students in medium- and longer higher education programmes use e-cigarettes.

Source: National Institute of Public Health

You are among the best

As a new student at the University of Copenhagen, you are starting at the 103rd best ranked university in the world. With 1,907 universities on the list, UCPH is at the very top, and is the top-ranked university in Denmark. Since its inception in 1479 (13 years before Columbus discovered America!), the University of Copenhagen has produced ten Nobel Prize winners. Most recently in 2022, when Morten Meldal won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Maybe you’ll be next?

Source: Times Higher Education and the University of Copenhagen

You have a record in terms of STDs

For many, the student years also mean boyfriends and girlfriends, getting laid, and (bad) dates. And in addition to getting mutual consent, there is one thing in particular that is worth remembering in this context: the condom. Year after year, young people in Denmark break records for sexually transmitted diseases. Cases of chlamydia and gonorrhoea, but also syphilis have gone up in Copenhagen in recent years. Among 15-29-year-olds tested for chlamydia in Copenhagen, 3.4 per cent are positive (which in this context is something negative…). Boys and men are less willing to be tested, and the researchers believe therefore that there are significant unreported numbers.

Source: Sex & Samfund

You study the same subject as your mother

You probably know the saying that the apple does not fall far from the stem. The numbers actually back it up. A quarter of all students who start on a higher education programme choose one that falls within the same subject area as at least one of their parents’ highest levels of education. Women, in particular, often follow their mother’s educational pathways. And it’s actually worth it! Especially in subjects like law, medicine and engineering, there is a positive income difference of up to ten percent if your parents have the same education.

Source: Statistics Denmark and University of Copenhagen

 

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