Sydney Life

Lauren’s Chronicle of the Rich and Famous at Uni has spurred me onto drop names too, so here I go, people I think you should know at Uni!

Travel is grand, so why not travel and study while overseas? Here is the low down on exchange

Look I know that you know that I know you know how to talk to people, but we might as well put it down in Blog form. That and its Sunday and I cant think of other things to write.

Its nearly here Team Cool, O Week and the start of Uni! How excited are you?!?!?! I thought that I would tell you how I got on in past O Weeks, please excuse embellishment or discrepancies in the actual story as I cant remember all of it, but what I do I will recount for you now.

When I got to Uni, I got scared of everything and everyone in class as I didn’t know what the protocol was with talking to lecturers and tutors and the like. Well, I'll give you the 4-1-1!

Happy Australia Day, everyone. I trust that you all celebrated the day in true Aussie style: whether you were cooking up a storm on the barbie, watching the cricket and/or tennis, listening to Magic Dirt at Big Day Out or heading down to the beach. Me - I went down to Royal Randwick to enjoy the races. Champagne was flowing, the frocks on the field were resplendent and everybody was "G'daying" left, right and centre. Elsewhere, Ian Frazer was being named Australian of the Year...

My friend, Lucy, is adamant that there are certain people at Sydney Uni whom everyone knows. She calls these people, 'campus identities.' I have been somewhat convinced by her argument: there are certain faces that seem to always be around. While I'm no campus identity myself, I do know a few. And though I can't reveal their names, the descriptions might be enough to get those cogs ticking when you start in first semester....

Three years can seem like a lifetime, especially when you consider that Renee Zellweger (providing she keeps up her current trend) could be engaged, married and divorced twelve times in that space of time! But, at the risk of sounding like my high school teachers, your three years at uni will go by so quickly you'll want to stay on and do another degree (even if only to go to catch up with your mates!)

I actually think that packing your bag for uni is a bit of an art, so here is what is in my bag of tricks on any given day

Okay, this has little if any relevance to Uni, but I’m going to indulge myself and write the top ten cars to drive to Uni to really make a statement! (Well, I would really be impressed, and within some sort of reason, so a $35K limit)

Sport is a huge part of Sydney Uni, so come Grads and undergrads and fellows, Gaudy profs in reds and yellows, Sing with lungs as tough as bellows To our 'Varsity. (That’s the first bit of the rugby club song…)

One of the best things about studying at Sydney University is the feeling that you belong to a community. This is helped in a big way by the activities and presence of the Union. The concept of a campus community is something that really gets me excited and looking forward to coming to uni each day.

Some people get excited about the huge amounts of sandstone available for your perusal at Sydney Uni. Here is the conversation i would have with the sandstone block five from the bottom (around head height) if it could speak and i was a crazy person.

It's official: geek is the new chic. Faster than you could say, 'check-mate,' or 'knit one, purl one,' knowing all things trivial became the hottest trend. So just in case you're lost for words in your first tutorial, here are ten surefire conversation starters. Put on your cardis, shine those glasses and wow them with these pearlers.
(Disclosure: dates not guaranteed.)

Ah, textbooks. They're keeping your chiropractor in business, but how do you actually get your hands on the damn things? Look no further, I've got it all in my little black book!

January 18, 2006: Main Round Offers.
Cue: APPLAUSE.
Correction: LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF APPLAUSE.

I only say boring because everything kind of just went to plan. There's no conflict! No suspense! No punch, as it were. Ah well, here it is anyway.

Wednesday, 9pm will be a pretty big moment for you. I thought I might tell you how it went down for me!

So...offers come out tomorrow. This is it. The day you've been waiting for. I don't want to freak you out, but it can be a pretty scary day (or a pretty scary lead-up, anyway!) Here's what I did to relieve the tension (after unclenching my tightly wound fists!)

It’s raining, it’s pouring, your essays due this morning…. Well, at least with these little tips then at least you will have an ace up your sleeve for those wet, cold days at Uni!

At Sydney Uni you need to enroll to accept your offer, and when you enrol you need to pick your subjects. So here are some handy tips for picking subjects and how to structure your degree.

Ever wondered what it's like to go to Sydney Uni, or any uni, for that matter? Here is my unofficial, unsubstantiated guide to getting ready for uni vicariously.

If there was a class on Procrastination, I'd be topping it. In fact, I'd probably be teaching it. During exam time, my room has never been cleaner, my family never better-fed, my CD collection never more alphabetised.....yep, I am a world-class delayer of major tasks. Including studying. I'm actually meant to be starting to research for my Honours thesis right now...and what am I doing? Procrastinating, of course. So here are some of the best study tips I've received - make sure you let me know if I've missed any!

Enrolment, Enrolment, Enrolment, Enrolment, It's coming!!!

In truth, the enrolment process can be a hard slog. Here are my tips for getting it done minus the angst.

Laurens blog on her daily adventures has inspired me to copy her and write what I do all day. Just though that you might like another perspective, so here it goes….

Here are some of the tricks of the trade for getting to uni itself during term time. Or at least what I do

Righto, track 19, lets put together a list of songs to get your offer to.

Ahhh, the heady days of an idealistic seventeen-year-old as she plans her life (if you've read Paris Hilton's latest tome, apparently one can have infinite wisdom at such a ripe old age!) Yep, when I was a first year student here, I thought I knew it all, including where I would end up after my degree. You can feel a twist in this story, can't you?

If you're up early on a Sunday to watch the lovely Jana Wendt, no doubt you've heard of VSU. Love it or hate it, it's here now. And before you lads and ladies grace the campus in March, it's a good idea to get a heads-up. Here goes...

At Uni we have a big team of well-trained, tough looking security guards in case you get yourself into trouble (or park your car in the wrong place). Here is the 4-1-1 on the men and women who aim to secure!

Secret Identities be damned - University is a time to branch out and enjoy something different. These crusaders have learnt the value of choosing the course that they enjoy!

Just like school, all your subjects assessments at Uni have a wonderful habit of being due at the exact same time each semester, leading to some very long nights and one very tired student. So do what I do, make the system work for you! You can do it!

Someone once told me that you know you are truly great friends with someone if you can enjoy each other’s silence. While this may be true, I find that I am truly great friends with someone if we share a passion for food! My friend Camilla and I love icecream; my friend Bec and I will traverse Sydney for the best banana bread and my friend Kash and I are the unofficial (and self-appointed) Presidents of the Ogalo’s Fan Club.

Being at uni has only exposed me to new friends, and thus, new food. One of my favourite things to do at uni, to take a break from studying, is to explore the eat streets of Sydney and have some fab food! And since Brendon has regaled you with tales of his UAI chart busters (and also because my dream job is to write for Gourmet Traveller) here is my guide to the best food in and around campus.

By now you are probably looking at your UAc preferences, trying to decide what to choose,and which order to place them in. If you are anything like me, this is a harrowing task that I see as entirely unnecessary during the festive season!

One of the biggest predicaments facing me was the choice between 'generalist' and 'vocational' degrees. My first UAC preference was Arts/Law, and everyone I knew seemed to think this was an acceptable choice. I assume this was because they thought I'd get a job easily when I graduated. But my other preferences were degrees like Arts (Media and Communications), Arts (Languages), Liberal Studies and Arts/Commerce. My Mum would constantly ask me why I would want to study for over 3 years if I wouldn't walk out with a specific job in mind. Even now, when I tell people I major in History, their common response is to tilt their heads slightly sideways, squint in puzzlement and ask, "And what can you do with that when you've finished?"

A lot of people want to go to uni so that they can get a job. And unless your last name is Murdoch, chances are you'll need a job at some point, and uni is a great place to start! But some people go to uni with a specific career in mind. Usually, they will choose 'vocational' degrees like Veterinary Science, Engineering, Pharmacy, Medicine, Dentistry, Physiotherapy and Education. These degrees are specifically tailored to help you learn what you need to know to work in these fields.

Other people might choose 'generalist' degrees - a degree which doesn't necessarily lead to any one vocation. Examples of these include Science, Arts, Commerce, Visual Arts, Health Sciences, Law and Economics and Social Sciences. When you finish studying these degrees, you have numerous opportunities awaiting you, depending on which subjects you study within these courses.

Doing a generalist degree, like Liberal Studies (possibly the most general of the generalist degrees!) allows you to study a variety of subjects. Even if you know what career path you'd like to take, studying other subjects can be really rewarding, informative and fun! I have a friend who's always wanted to be an accountant, but she is doing a Science/Commerce degree so that she can major in accounting, but also study things like Psychology, Biology and all other things scient-terrific!

By now, I am used to people asking me what the 'point' of doing a generalist degree is. I think that studying a few different subjects is good if you're unsure of what you want to do eventually: it gives you a taste of different fields and it will also expose you to different kinds of people. Employers see general degrees (and double degrees) as advantageous because potential employees will be wel-rounded and have generic skills that will assist them in completing different tasks.

Considering most of us will change careers at least three times in our lives, doing a generalist degree can be a really big advantage, as you'll know a little about a lot!

There has been lots of talk about what the University of Sydney Union (USU), but what is it all about? Well, its well tops, Ill tell you some more.

I don’t think I have ever known Sydney as hot as it is today (New Years Day). It can get pretty warm at Uni at the start of first semester and at the end of second semester, so here are my top ten places to escape the heat at uni!!