Hello!
I'm Justin and this is my new uni journey! This is also like my third draft and so I've resolved to post this no matter what before tomorrow otherwise it'll never get done in which case you won't be reading this.
My uni preferences have changed a lot over my time here, but I've finally settled on a double degree in Engineering and Science at UNSW! I'm in the flexible stream for engineering so I have a lot of choices as to which electives I can pick, but I've locked in computer science for my science component since I've had my eye on that for a while. I could (and did at one point) write an essay on why I chose UNSW and this degree, but I'm actively trying to keep my first entry concise and so I won't stay up til midnight writing this like yesterday. I start classes tomorrow which is pretty scary, and also why I want to stop putting this off. The past few weeks have been information overload, and a lot has actually happened in the holidays despite the fact it feels like nothing has happened which is paradoxical as usual
I'm taking the standard load of 3 courses this term, MATH1131 (Maths 1A), PHYS1121 (Physics 1A), and ENGG1000 (Engineering Innovation & Design). The degree assumes HSC Maths Extension 1 and Physics and I've done neither hahaha but I did go over a bunch of the material over the holidays and I feel like I'm sufficiently prepared based on what other people have said about these courses teaching from the ground up.
The way my timetable has come out is actually pretty good, I'll probably have to come onto campus two days a week which is nice. I'm sad that the UNSW Express routes were removed, I personally don't like the new light rail and the fact I'll have to take it every day to uni now. My first class of the year will be maths, which is a 9AM tute that I'm already regretting because it means I actually need to have a sensible sleep schedule now. I've tried to pack as much stuff onto monday as I can, and tomorrow in particular will be pretty long because I have a Makerspace Safety Induction in the afternoon until 8 where I'll learn how not to die when using hand tools and stuff. The good thing is that once I finish the initial inductions, it should be much easier for me to do more advanced modules like fabrication and electronics, which will let me use cool things like 3D printers and laser cutters to prototype things!
The only potential issues I have right now are making friends and making time. I've part of a few engineering group chats are there are a lot of wholesome people who I've met in passing at O-Week events and meetups and the like, but I'm hoping I can make more friends through my courses and joining student led projects. The problem is that there's not a lot of interactivity in tutes anymore (eg. we don't have lab partners for physics because of covid
) and I'm not sure I'll have time to do a lot of society stuff since I'll need to work hard to catch up on math and physics. I'm going to hope I get put into a good group for ENGG1000 since that's a group design project, and that I can effectively time manage this term. I feel like time will probably be my biggest enemy in all aspects throughout my degree, so I'm going to keep an eye out for that especially.
This entry actually ended up a lot more concise than I expected than my previous drafts which was a nice surprise. Hope this has been fun for you guys to read and I will have more updates/stories to share with you soon!
(Or I have some now if you really want)