ATAR Notes: Forum
Uni Stuff => General University Discussion and Queries => Topic started by: Cayteelin on January 04, 2012, 01:12:02 pm
-
What's it like making new friends and such? I'm thinking about orientation week, seeing as I'll be turning up by myself - are people willing to talk to you, are there others alone, or is it mostly groups of people who already know each other?
Sorry if there's already similar threads to this.. I just couldn't find anything, and I'm a tad nervous :P just looking for people to share their experiences!
-
Yes, of course. Majority of people will be in the same situation - I knew nobody in my course when I started and now I've got a pretty wide circle of friends
Just be outgoing. Say hi to the people in your group, talk to the guys ahead of you in the coffee line etc. Get involved, you'll make a lot of friends very quickly. Where are you going?
-
I really feel like I'm walking into this place with a blindfold on though, haha. That's good to know though :) Monash Caulfield hopefully
-
Chances are you'll be around more intellectual people like yourself, no time wasters and indifferent personalities like in high school :)
-
I started at Monash Caulfield last year. I actually knew one person in my course as we went to the same school (although I only went to that school for VCE and we were never close friends, or even friends really.) I'm very shy and introverted so I've found it hard to make friends. I would have people to talk to in most of my classes but I've never seen any of them outside of classtime. Caulfield seems to have a lot going on all the time, there's always bbq's and markets and things happening on the lawn, so I suggest trying to go to them. I myself have never been because I'm too shy but I think it would be a good opportunity to meet people. If you go on Monsu's facebook they make all the events of what's going on.
Also, I personally have found that there's still lots of "time wasters and indifferent personalities" at uni! I was expecting to find people like me in my course but didn't. I guess a major problem is that I can't discuss my raging alcohol-filled weekends with them since they just don't exist :P
-
yeah i was actually wondering the same thing... how hard is it to get to know people from different faculties? coz so many 'old people' seem to have met their spouses in uni from different courses, but i'm just wondering how that's possible??
-
I just walked into my lectures, sat next to random people and said hi. Most people will be similarly in need of friends, so they tend to respond positively :P
-
Also, I personally have found that there's still lots of "time wasters and indifferent personalities" at uni! I was expecting to find people like me in my course but didn't. I guess a major problem is that I can't discuss my raging alcohol-filled weekends with them since they just don't exist :P
sounds like me! ... until I discovered this site :P
-
Thanks everyone, I'm not too worried about the lectures or anything now :)
but what to expect on orientation week? Are you at least able to bring a friend along or something (that doesn't go to monash)? (I have no idea..)
-
There's always O - week parties, from what I've heard.
There are also host scheme events, which are like camps
where you can meet new people.
And yes, you can bring a friend, it's not like somebody cares.
More info about O - week can be found here.
Monash Enrolment/O-week Guide
-
You won't be needing friends at those camps from what ive heard
-
Is orientation week compulsory ? do they have like a roll they tick off with ur name ?
because firstly i think im going to china for several weeks and it might drag into La Trobe orientation week.
secondly even if i wasn't going china i cbf lol. i never attend anything extra curricular because it means needing to GO. maybe i have bad health or something but i wake up every day feeling groggy like my mind is lagging so i dont wanna do anything.
-
Not compulsory for Monash, I know that much.
But orientation week is probably not compulsory,
it's not like school, which punishes you if you
don't show up.
As I said, idk about LaTrobe, but probably O week
not compulsory.
-
Almost nothing at uni is compulsory... Even exams aren't compulsory. Don't rock up if you don't feel like sitting an exam.
Only thing that is compulsory is to pass more than 50% of your course load per semester so you don't get into serious trouble.
-
^So Gloam, you're basically telling me
that there are people at uni who don't care
about their exams and go 'meh'? Wut? :o
-
^So Gloam, you're basically telling me
that there are people at uni who don't care
about their exams and go 'meh'? Wut? :o
The great thing about uni is diversity. So many people of different cultures, personalities, etc. You'd be surprised at some friends you migth be able to make.
-
There are plenty of people who don't go to exams at uni, or go and then leave early etc.
Not high school any more
-
I sympathise as i was in much the same situation. I've mentioned it a couple times before, (here is worth a look - Re: Socialising ).
My school had this really weird kind of separation. I went to your average crummy western suburbs high-school. You had those who were going to tafe or places like VU. The large majority of people i know though went to places like RMIT, La trobe or Swinburne. So, mid-tier type places. A lot had a SNAP (a program to lower the requirements for rmit degrees, they offer to to certain schools) offers and for a lot of them with disappointing atars, it was their only decent course of action. So, a lot of my friends wound up there or at the other universities. You had some that wound up at the UoM. I was stuck in an awkward middle position though at monash. Pretty much no one i ever talked to at highschool went to monash clayton, so i was in the same situation.
There will be people in the same situation but you have to reach out to them. You cant expect everyone to come up to you. So, talk to people outside lecture theaters, especially in the first week or two. Talk to the people beside you, talk to people in your tutes and if possible join some clubs. I didnt go to any clubs and i really regret it. It was a bit intimidating, especially at monash clayton because a lot of the kids there were from good eastern suburbs schools and a lot knew other people there. They had a ready made social network, so, it was a bit hard and/or awkward to kind of break into that.
Monash caufield seems smaller than clayton, so, it might increase your chances.
If you try, you're bound to do a lot better than not trying. Worst comes to worst, you still have lots of friends from highschool, just hang around with them. Go to uni to do your work, talk to people in your classes and go home. Rinse and repeat. So, either way, it wont turn out that bad. Often its hard to find people with similar timetable gaps as well, so, its a lot harder than highschool where everyone got out at the same time for lunch.
Like i said above though, trying will give you better results than not trying at all. So, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I also messaged you another thread.