Hey hey,
Personally, I think it is very doable, but you have to be consistently motivated to do every little task well + timetable intensely to keep up with the workload.
Strategies I use:
1. I’m aware of how I perform mediocre in exams vs quite well in-semester tasks – labs, essays etc. So, I make sure to maximise my marks on every minor quiz, worksheet (even the ones worth <1%) because they do add up, this allows me more leeway in exams.
2. At the start of each semester, I look at the unit guides, unit reviews and set up an overarching timeline with all the assessments in each week. During the sem, I make weekly and daily to-do lists with assessment deadlines.
3. In first year, I experimented with my note-taking style. First sem, handwriting: personally, found it too laborious, but it did help me retain info. Second sem, typing: quicker, can make edits, diagrams, but had difficulty avoiding copying slabs of info. directly.
Solution: type weekly notes, near exams – handwrite little summaries, draw diagrams/ flowcharts.
4. I picked up units that I’m interested in and can manage together content-wise, eg: 2 lab units, 1 maths, 1 arts
5. Met up/ emailed/communicated with professors/tutors regularly. I highly recommend asking for tips/ help with the unit content/ motivation levels, even if you aren’t performing that bad. They are super helpful!
6. I’ve only just finished my 1st year, but I made sure to use a lot of the available resources: attend the extra sessions of help from the professors, PASS, study tips seminars by student societies, use forumsss!!
Hope this helps!