VCE life v.s Uni life

[soccerboi]

During yr12 i had little time to socialise (only went out with friends once in a while...maybe once a month) and usually spent my spare time studying. But now that VCE is over for me, i've been enjoying all this spare time and was just wondering if you guys found that you had time to socialise during uni? Do you have more free time during uni compared to year 12? or does it require similar effort and time dedicated to studying? I don't want to be as antisocial as i was during VCE!:)

I know opinions will vary but i'm just curious to hear everyones' opinions

[pi]

Yeah you have a lot more free time imo (unless you want to top the uni or something)!

Even though I have a fair few contact hours (25+), I find that I still have a lot more freedom to hang out with mates after hours and on weekends. Uni life is so much better than school

In terms of effort, I think I said this in another thread but I've worked harder for a 70+ average than for a 99+ ATAR. But this varies per unit (from what I've heard) and how efficient your studying is. It does take a while to find a study technique that works for you (whether that's rote learning, study groups, flash cards, etc.), but once you do you can make free time accordingly.

Just remember that uni is about more than just marks, you should be enjoying your time as a young adult

edit: typo

[b^3]

Well, heres where the travelling bit comes in..... I still didn't have much time to do much outside of uni, because of the 20+ contact hours and travelling 3-4 hrs a day (which you will probably be in a similar situation). But then I kinda worked my ass off all semester, so that played a part as well as the fact that the friends I made at uni were from the four different corners of melb/vic, so that just made it even harder to sort things out.

On the effort, I think as Pi did, that I put a lot more effort into uni than vce (even though I worked my ass off in VCE aswell), its was more that the content was harder, it didn't always just click on the spot. Although when I say 'effort', I'm counting how much energy it was taking to do things, which again included getting to uni, which sapped a lot of energy and took a lot of effort to get up at 5am or 6am to get to the 8am or 9am starts. Phy might remember me crashing and sleeping in the 8am computer lab one morning.

If you want to make time to do other stuff, you can still do it, its just a matter of working it out I guess. For me, I lost contact with most of my 'close' high school friends for reasons that I won't go into here, which just makes it harder. I choose to work hard though, and if there had of been more options there to do other things then I probably would have taken them.

I think what I'm saying is, travelling out from where we are isn't easy, and uni isn't easy, but its your choice on how you want to approach uni. For me I guess I worked really hard in first sem because I didn't know what it took to get what mark, and well that just carried into second semester and even the holidays.

(Not trying to scare you here, just letting you know that it probably won't be 'easy' with the travelling, but still doable, also I probably got a little bit off topic).

Just remember that uni is about more than just marks, you should be enjoying your time as a young adult

Remember this aswell, its fairly good advice. Don't go too anti-social in uni.

[MJRomeo81]

Uni life is definitely more flexible. I think it's simply because uni isn't a day care centre like high school. No one cares whether you attend or not, providing that you meet the hurdle requirements. There's less pressure since no teachers are on your back.

Personally I enjoy uni life more than VCE in every way. I've found that my motivation to study has increased since I'm studying subjects I like + the grading system is fair. I'm not the type of person who's particularly interested in the social side however. Typically there's plenty of semester friends (people who only associate with you in order to be more familiarized with the course and assignments, then drop off the face of the planet after that semester is over).

I know people like to emphasise having a good time in first year but honestly I think it's the perfect time to get runs on the board in terms of marks. Mastering the foundation knowledge will enable you to hopefully excel in the later years. First year is also the time to establish good study habits if you don't already have them.

[eeps]

I'm a strong believer in having a good balance between studying and socialising. I won't repeat what others have already said, but I think having a balance allows you to make the most of university and the different social opportunities it offers you. Too much of the one thing can do more harm than good (i.e. studying too much and vice versa). Finding that "balance" won't come overnight, but with anything, it takes time. Moderation/time management is key. There is a time and place for everything.