Sydney Life

The first few weeks of Uni are going to be great, but they’re a tad scary too. Here are some tips that I think will help you settle in to the grand old place

So, you’ve got Wham on the ipod ready to wake you up before you go-go, you have your new pack of Papermates in your pencil case and a four subject exercise book in your brand new bag, and you’re walking into uni from Redfern station for the first day of Uni. What next? Firstly, well done on your preparations, you have given yourself the best possible platform to start uni, and that’s going to make life easier in the first couple of weeks (especially if Wham is pumping on your stereo, your really living!!).

Having all the gear will let you start to settle in to uni, but the other main thing to do is to go to everything and ask lots of questions. It’s really important to go to all your classes in the first couple of weeks, so that you can get a feel for how they work, but also to gather all the information that is being given out in terms of assessments and course work. All Uni students attend the first few weeks of classes religiously to make sure that they have all the information that they need. The teaching style is a lot different to school too, so you by going to all your classes you can adapt to it quickly and painlessly.

It’s also really important to go to get to know what your subjects are all about. Sometimes you get into a course and find that it’s actually quite different to what you expected, so it’s better to find out sooner and to look at other subject alternatives and the like.

If you’re an Arts student, you should also have a look at the Arts Mentoring program (read Cath’s entry on it). It’s a really great was to settle in. If you’re in other faculties, don’t be afraid to ask the people around you for help.

The other thing that made my transition a lot smoother was staying on campus quite a bit, and joining lots of clubs and societies. By spending lots of time on campus, in the library reading and Manning House chilling with friends after class, you will become comfortable with the environment much quicker then if you spend nine hours a week on campus. It also helps to get involved in clubs and societies, you will get to meet lots of new people and make lots of new friends, which will also help you settle in.

So there are my main tips. The last thing to keep in mind is to have fun with the whole experience (not too much fun though! That can result in bad marks…), it really is great fun to be at Uni, and in many ways, this is your reward for lots of hard work throughout school! So make sure that you enjoy the process.

So Charger, hope all is hunky dorie, stay cool, have fun,

Brendon