What's uni like??

[justcurious]

Would u say it's tougher than vce? Do u need to make an effort to make friends (lol) or do newfound friendships naturally occur (when u go to lectures and do group assignments n stuff) ? Is it boring/exciting?

[sjayne]

I wouldn't necessarily say that it's tougher than VCE because it really depends what and where you study and most people will be doing something they enjoy. Having said that, you get out what you put in and it can be a lot of work.
You definitely need to make an effort to make friends- I have a feeling this is easier in smaller courses but I found keeping friends quite difficult.
It's definitely exciting I love uni. You have so much freedom and you get to learn some interesting stuff, it's not all interesting though!

[Rishi97]

Would u say it's tougher than vce? Do u need to make an effort to make friends (lol) or do newfound friendships naturally occur (when u go to lectures and do group assignments n stuff) ? Is it boring/exciting?

Agreeing with sjayne, it does depend on what you study and how much you are enjoying it. Personally I find it harder than VCE as there is a lot more work involved if you want to do well. But saying this, there is a lot more freedom and I really love the lifestyle! You're also studying what you love so you also find that the content does become interesting and thus easier to retain
As for making friends, it's not that hard making friends in tutes and stuff but if you want to keep that friendship going, it does take some commitment haha

[pi]

Here's a good thread to peruse too How university works

[Aaron]

Would u say it's tougher than vce? Do u need to make an effort to make friends (lol) or do newfound friendships naturally occur (when u go to lectures and do group assignments n stuff) ? Is it boring/exciting?

I've just finished my degree and I honestly can say I don't think it was harder than VCE. The reason for this was because I had a passion and interest in my study area, whereas in VCE, I chose most of my subjects due to availability requirements at my school, rather than my interests. Just keep in mind that you need to stay in your degree for at least 3 years (even if you transfer to another course, you still need to complete all the subjects in that degree).

I also think because my degree has a ton of elective options, I could expand out from my primary area and study something different - it's refreshing. A degree that has no electives and has subjects all mapped out already can be a positive, but it can also be a negative. For example, I managed to get a minor in statistics and my degree is Information Technology, due to the elective choices (I structured them in a way that allowed me to get the minor).

In terms of friends, it depends on how social you are and how much effort you are willing to put in. For my first semester, it took me quite a while to find friends. I think similar interests go a long way. I found one of my good friends through studying the same elective as me back in the first semester (who also happened to be in the same degree). Put yourself out there, via study groups/societies/clubs etc. You will not get anywhere by not engaging with people - uni is an individual experience, and it definitely is more difficult if you don't have friends at uni that went to the same high school as you (which was my situation). Orientation is a good start. Alot of people say orientation is a waste of time, but it isn't if friends are what you're after.

In terms of 'boring/exciting', it depends again on how far you are willing to go. I never participated in any societies/clubs, but I did become a tutor in my final year so in my spare time I got to teach first year students - which was a very unique experience. Like I said above about the subjects, your choices influence your motivation quite a bit. Some subjects I did were terrible (because they were dry, boring, theory-intensive) - whereas some were really hands-on and practical.

[wyzard]

Uni life is definitely different than high school, for one thing you're expected to be more independent. The learning in my experience requires a lot of self-study. The good thing is there is also a lot more freedom and more fun activities to do like joining a club and going for parties which I really enjoy. Making friends in uni is very different in high school, as people tend to come and go and not as 'clicky' as high school. There are many ways to make friends in uni, join clubs, form study groups, join classmates for lunch after a tute sess etc.

As for difficulty, yes definitely it will be challenging, but as long you're studying something you love, it's a very rewarding and worthwhile experience. As long you remain conscientious and work consistently doing well is actually very achievable.

[spectroscopy]

Would u say it's tougher than vce? Do u need to make an effort to make friends (lol) or do newfound friendships naturally occur (when u go to lectures and do group assignments n stuff) ? Is it boring/exciting?

1st question: i personally think it is easier to do okay/good in university but harder to absolutely dominate (95+ in subjects). the amount of effort that gets you a 99% average in sacs and the exam will probably give you somewhere in the low 90's for the university semester, with alot more extraneous factors as well (participation marks etc.) but mostly i think the difficulties are equal.

2nd: yeah you do, if you make new friends in a group assignment or something just keep messaging the group chat or whatever once a week asking if people wanna eat or something like that to keep the friendships going, otherwise - the people you talk to in tutes and stuff are decent hi/bye/sup friends but often hard to hang out with outside of tutes.

1. League of legends: literally on day 1 in union house i heard someone say the word 'gank' and i jumped over a table and said "YOU BOYS PLAY LEAGUE?" and i still talk to all of them today + met other friends through them/through playing league with friends that would've been hi/bye friends

2. Atarnotes: pretty simple, when youre on the site for a while you make friends and when you all go to the same uni its really easy to meet up. must have about 5-6 pretty good friends who i see at least weekly at uni and hang out with semi-regularly (eastside vs westside distances make it hard).

3. camps: lots and lots of hi/bye friends, and in the week after the camp people usually keep hanging out heaps. its up to you whether you keep that friendship momentum going or not. ive been on a couple camps and every camp i go on i see at least 2-3 permanent friendship groups created

4. sports: sports makes friends who you dont see often and maybe hang out with once/twice a semester (if you dont train/compete together) but they are generally pretty good friends who you can have like a 30 minute convo with when you see them and actually msg them once in a while and say "hey its been ages lets do something"


3rd question: uni is 100% what u make of it. it can be very exciting or it can be very boring. i get reasonably involved and about 80 kids from my high school came to melbourne uni so its all good for me but some of my league of legends friends only go to uni 2 days a week and literally just play league the rest of the time, which makes for a very boring life.

[pi]

2. Atarnotes: pretty simple, when youre on the site for a while you make friends and when you all go to the same uni its really easy to meet up. must have about 5-6 pretty good friends who i see at least weekly at uni and hang out with semi-regularly (eastside vs westside distances make it hard).

Can confirm. Most of my Monash non-med friends are people I met from AN meets!