I got through University running Debian testing. It was mostly fine, some Linux based subjects were way easier without dealing with a VM (they recommended against WSL for some reason).

However there were a couple units that absolutely required you to use Visual Studio (non-code), I occasionally used a VM, the Uni IT also provided me with a remote VM (there’s a form to fill and and it’s all automated). But I mostly used Rider, which for one unit it confused their CI and I got marked down for (otherwise got top marks so it’s fine).

For office, it didn’t matter. Group projects mostly used Google Docs, occasionally Microsoft Office where the online version worked fine. All my units wanted PDFs at the end anyway, so it does not matter that you used LibreOffice or whatever. Some units provided you with DOCX templates, I had no issues opening them with LibreOffice.

Edit: People are mentioning online exams, my Uni did ‘online quizzes’ which worked fine, and some had to be done in class on their PCs anyway. Final exams where always done on paper.

Ahh sorry, I thought you meant you plugged it into the input side. If that’s the case then are you running anything that measures CPU usage? I run the TIG stack, it might be able to give you some hits. Also back to my original point which is already unlikely, if it’s a modified sinewave UPS, it can confuse some measuring devices while it’s on battery.

It’s weird to do this daily, but it’s possible that the UPS is doing a self test, which would drain the battery a little and the load is from charging it back up.