Spoiler
In hindsight, Semester 1 was a mess. It started off with me, fresh out of high school, being overly excited to finally be with the big boys while being completely disorganised in the process.
O-Week was a fun wallet-drainer as I spent most of my money on parties and club events. And here comes the first tip: Go to at least one major O-Week party. Even if you’re not a social person, at least get a taste of what it’s like. They're amazing social events and I met many great friends through them.
Aside from parties, I probably spent about 70 bucks on club sign-ups. Most of them were wasted (I deadass joined a Llama appreciation club), but a few, mostly faculty clubs, were definitely worth it.
>>> Join faculty student societies, don’t bother too much with other clubs.
Bonus tip: Join a commerce club and a political club to max your networking game.
Bonus tip 2: For UoM students: joining MASS and SSS is a must. They do free BBQs for members on alternating weeks all year round. Joining both clubs costs $9, meanwhile one regular meal at uni costs around 10 bucks. You do the maths.
Anyway, along comes March when uni starts for real. I was one of 3 students from my high school going to UoM, and we swore to catch up throughout the year. In week 1, all of us were excited beyond belief, by week 2 the enthusiasm has died down and another week later I was the only one still at uni. By then I was entertaining the idea of dropping out too, especially seeing my less-than-satisfactory grades.
Oh yes. Grades. In year 12, I was the top of my class in every subject. In uni, I’m now among thousands of others who had all been the top of their class, from schools way better than mine. In year 12, I averaged high 90s on my essays. On my first essay at uni, I got 55.
My grades did eventually stop plummeting thanks to the feedback from my tutors. One thing I’m glad I did was to book an appointment with my tutor after each assignment, no matter how well or how badly I did. This definitely helped me improve the most.
>>> Always go to your tutors for additional feedback.
Bonus tip: You can challenge your grade if you think you were marked too harshly. My history research assignment was raised from a 68 to 75 after I asked the tutor about it.
My biggest takeaway is realising exactly how little VCE results matter. You could’ve been spectacular in year 12 and still flunk uni, or vice versa. In my case, despite doing well in humanities subjects in high school, my best in uni was maths, by a mile! Meanwhile, my essays received mediocre results.
But on the whole, semester one was a huge mess. The whole “dropping out for music” thing was very distracting and did no service to me whatsoever.
During the break, aside from turning 18, getting red P’s, and going back to Germany to visit the parentals, I also did a 2-week volunteering program at a history museum. Hands down the best decision I made this year. I was lucky to get a full time position at said museum afterwards.
>>> Try to volunteer/work at somewhere relevant to your degree.
And then comes semester 2, which went much more smoothly despite being twice as busy due to working and studying full time. I think the main difference was being a lot more focused. Before, I just kept thinking about music. In sem 2, even though both uni and work were very demanding, by pushing myself to do both I was in fact able to achieve just that. It was stressful, but in hindsight I’m grateful for it.
>>> Balancing work and uni will be stressful (especially if you are doing both full time). Embrace the challenge and use it as an opportunity to improve your work ethic.
Academic-wise, in semester 2 I did my very first level-2 subject - archaeology - to give myself an additional challenge, and some exposure to more demanding subjects. It really helped me see the raised standard in comparison to first year and I am so glad I did it.
>>> Do at least one second year subject in first year.
In week 9, I also impulsively ditched uni for a week to go on a spontaneous trip to Egypt with friends. Looking back, I honestly cannot say whether that was a dumb decision, or a smart one. The week before I left was the most stressed I've ever been, rushing to complete all my major research essays before my flight. But the break itself was also much needed and stopped me from burning out before exams when I came back.
>>> Take some time off during the semester. Also, missing an entire week of uni really isn't a big deal (follow this at your own risk)
So, that's my first year! 8 subjects down, 16 more to go. 2019 went by so quickly, I can't believe I'm already 1/3 of the way through undergrad! My grades were *extremely* inconsistent (getting 94 and 53 in 2 units from the same major is the epitome of inconsistency) but overall this year was productive. Did volunteering, found full-time work, ran my first marathon, got red P's, did a musical, passed all 8 units, and somehow didn't go broke despite all the enticing restaurants in the city (dear Dragon Hotpot, why you gotta be so expensive?)
Overall, 2019 was a great year, but it was mostly thanks to semester 2. Sem 1 was a mess.