Now that the first month of the fall term at our esteemed, taxpayer-funded universities has come to a close, if you are among the many proud parents of young freshmen — I refuse to say “freshwomen”; and, well, “freshpeople” is right out — you might be wondering how life is unfolding for your bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young intellectual ingenues.

The vision we all picture in our minds, especially those of us lucky enough to have experienced university ourselves, is a balmy pastiche of uncynical friendships made, wide-eyed academic revelations, inebriated sexual adventures, palpitating anxieties and self-examinations, alongside long nights hunched over textbooks and essays, fuelled by americanos and Red Bull. For many, it is a plunge into adult life, full of diversity, opportunity, ambition and, lest we forget, love.