Small things I've learnt about uni

[Bri MT]

Thread for us to document our collective experiences of the little things we've learnt about uni. 

It would be great to get a diversity of perspectives especially as a lot of this will be subjective & may vary across unis/courses

Eg. "Even if you're a studious person,  you'll probably miss a lecture at some point and that's not a big deal (especially if you watch the recording promptly)"

Or

"Midsem break is more like swotvac rather than being like the end of year holidays"

Edit: fixed minor typo

[K888]

Great idea miniturtle!

- Barely anyone is fully up to date - most people are at least a lecture or two behind, so don't stress if you haven't done absolutely everything

[M909]

Will probably update or post more in the future but so far what comes to mind is:

-Don't underestimate the impact of long travel times (I'm talking 1hr+ one way) - Not impossible to deal with, but it means you'll have to be organised. Same comment regarding having a part-time job

-Uni maths puts Methods and Specialist to shame

-There are plenty of extra-curricular activities out there which can help give you a well-rounded university experience. Be sure to consider the things that interest you; There's definitely more to the university experience than just studying.

-Group assignments don't have to be a negative experience. I'd actually say in my experience I've had good group members more often than not, but I guess this could vary greatly

[thunderring]

I also learnt that Unimelb is all about making money. They don't care about you undergrad students. 80% of the students are fullfee paying rich chinese kids and they plan to suck every single pennies they can out of them, either by charging an absurd amount of money for the courses or fail them so they have to do it again. Also their teaching staff is horrible in every way.

[Aaron]

* Lecturing comes second, research comes first (this is true for a very high majority of lecturers)
* If you scream loud enough, you'll be heard (take this however you want).
* You don't have to join clubs/societies to have a good university experience.
* Good luck getting the class time slots you want. I hope you enjoy early mornings.
* Pick group members wisely, you're using them just as much as they're using you. Having been to two unis in two completely different faculties, they're all the same. You'll have people from leeches to the ones that put their heart and soul into the team. It's just filtering them that's the pain.
* TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE GOODS AND DISCOUNTS (MS Office, any student discounts e.g. Spotify etc).

I also learnt that Unimelb is all about making money.

Unfortunately it's not just Unimelb. Unis are businesses and need to make money to produce quality research. Grants & funding only get you so far.

Also their teaching staff is horrible in every way.

Refer point 1 of my post. Teaching associates/tutors really are just PhD candidates for the lecturer who teaches/runs the subject (not all cases, but alot of the time this is true). Orrr.. you could attend a uni like La Trobe and have a later undergrad teaching your subject tutorial/lab I was one in my final year

-Group assignments don't have to be a negative experience. I'd actually say in my experience I've had good group members more often than not, but I guess this could vary greatly

You are one very lucky person

[sweetiepi]

* Lecturing comes second, research comes first (this is true for a very high majority of lecturers)

That, or the sole lecturer/coordinator taking 4 week holidays in the middle of semester is more important (looking at you, Colloids )

My 2c: you don't have to be afraid to ask your teaching staff for help- they are more often than not happy to help, especially if you email them for an appointment.

[Aaron]

My 2c: you don't have to be afraid to ask your teaching staff for help- they are more often than not happy to help, especially if you email them for an appointment.

Especially since you are paying an excessive amount just to enrol in a subject that regurgitates lecture notes/materials/even exams in some cases.

I feel sorry for full fee paying students who have to put up with that rubbish. If you have issues or want to be heard, speak to someone. You definitely have a right to voice reasonable objections/concerns with a component of your uni experience, since you're the one paying at least $700 per, for it.

I know during my Masters I was horrified with some of the admin occurring - I had back and forth several times regarding unreasonable arrangements. I would've had to travel 2+hours for a placement if I didn't say anything, hence why I am so strong on this... speak up if you believe you have an issue. We'd be here all day if I listed all the times I raised concerns, it's really about a) deciding whether it's a reasonable concern/issue and b) who do you speak to regarding it.

[Joseph41]

First year uni students, what have you learnt this year?

[strawberries]

* TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE GOODS AND DISCOUNTS (MS Office, any student discounts e.g. Spotify etc).

This so much

[hums_student]

First year uni students, what have you learnt this year?

- Join major faculty clubs to max out your networking opportunites (but most importantly for free food)

- Try to plan out your course early and make sure you are fully aware of whatever prerequiste / core subjects you need for your major.

- You get the most out of uni if you take part in other activites whether it's clubs or volunteering (unimelb students - check out the peer mentoring program)

- Group assignments really aren't that bad. From my experience, everyone does their fair share of work.

- University bookshops are a scam.

[strawberries]

sorry I'm just gonna be piggybacking off/seconding most people:

- Try to plan out your course early and make sure you are fully aware of whatever prerequiste / core subjects you need for your major.
- Group assignments really aren't that bad. From my experience, everyone does their fair share of work.
- University bookshops are a scam.

Agree with all 3 of these.
- Definitely plan out your course early. I would personally recommend getting your core subjects out of the way ASAP (if you've met the pre-reqs) so you have more time for 'fun' electives at the end, but obviously only if your cores don't have many pre-reqs.
The only downside is if you dislike your major/degree you might be in trouble
- I've never had a bad group assignment, but that could be degree/program-specific as I do arts.
- Book Depository is great

Also an ANU-specific one: live on campus at a college/residentiall hall.

[owidjaja]

First year uni students, what have you learnt this year?

- Uni is really full on in regards to how much content you cover within a week to the speed they cover the content (cough cough TRIMESTERS smh)
- Facebook is a legit social media platform that I use a lot more than Snapchat since I use it for societies or information on events
- FREE FOOD (thank god for Food For All Association) but also, there's a lot
- So many student discounts (e.g. Student Edge, UniDays)
- Group assignments are a mixed bag. My first group assignment was great and everyone worked well together, and we would always go on a Maccas run after working on our project. We still keep in touch even after the assignment and would try and plan a Maccas run. My current group assignment is a bit different since we have one person who doesn't do much and the rest do their stuff. Also, group assignments go for the whole term, not just a few weeks because we need to build stuff
- Societies offer so much more than just an opportunity to make friends. They offer free food but also networking opportunities, site visits and even exam revision
- Plan out your degree outline (I've come to love spreadsheets a lot more)
- FREE HEALTH CARE - something I always forget about

[angewina_naguen]

Adding on from previous points and also some deeper stuff on my end 

- Balancing uni, work and life has been an ongoing battle but I feel like the more I've been doing it, the better I have gotten at responding to busy and high pressure periods.

- It's okay to feel like I'm not going as well as I would've liked after an assessment. Sometimes it's just the nature of the assessment itself. While asking for feedback at uni has been quite frustrating from some tutors more than others, it's really that what is worth taking away from the assessment, not the mark.

- A small cohort has many benefits. Both musicology and music education are niche as niche can get which really has given me mini families to be part of. It's made the transition from high school smoother and built strong friendships.

- Student discounts are everything. Whether it has been for a hot chocolate at the nearby cafe or for tickets to see concerts in the Sydney Opera House, student discounts have definitely helped me save heaps.

- Burn out happens and it passes. I didn't think I'd experience it studying something I'm so passionate about but it did. Student help services were phenomenal at getting me back on track.

There's plenty more but those I think are the key ones 

[yourfriendlyneighbourhoodghost]

Hey everyone,

This is random but are hazing and initation rituals still a thing in unis? I remember a lot of talk about it on the news it was very scary.

[Joseph41]

Hey everyone,

This is random but are hazing and initation rituals still a thing in unis? I remember a lot of talk about it on the news it was very scary.

I've personally had zero experience with this, direct or otherwise.