Uni Stuff > The University Journey Journal
I came, I saw, I fell in – A hums student's journey through BA
hums_student:
Update #9: 6-11-2019
That's a wrap on my first year of uni! Well, sort of. I have a highly likely chance of failing a core subject, so - not so free yet.
All of my exams are done, and final assignments submitted. The macroeconomics exam was at 8.30 on Cup Day, and while I sure did my fair share of complaining, I'm now glad it was out of the way early.
Units and Exams
Econ has been a bumpy ride. After failing 2 tests and narrowly passing 2 assignments, I'm preparing for the fact that I'll be repeating it next year. The other option is to swap majors, which I'm not too opposed to, as I've immensely enjoyed Political Science this semester. The exam yesterday wasn't great. There was an 18 mark question on Growth Accounting, the one topic I did not study for :P
PolSci is by far my best unit! I'm surprised at how much I'm liking it. It's so philosophical and I avoid philosophy at all cost. But the subject is well organised and the content is captivating. Machiavelli and Rousseau has been especially interesting to read.
Also, I got a H1 on my essay on Rousseau and inequality!
My favourite unit this sem is by far Roman Archaeology. It's a small subject with only 27 people, and there's also a lot of mature-age students in the class, making tutorials rather different. For our research essay we get to make our own topic, mine is "Rome's Influence on Pop Culture" and, living up to the title of this journal, examined all the possible ways one could parody 'I came, I saw, I conquered'.
Any ghostbusters fans?Finally, my "bludge" unit - History of Science. While enjoyable, my shallow knowledge of physics meant that I had no idea what was going on half the time (someone explain inertia again). Still, it was interesting. I especially loved learning about the Christian/Catholic Church's role in helping scientific development, because it's really not something you'd expect, is it?
Now the only thing left is to pray that I passed econ, because swear to god I’d rather watch My Little Pony A-Clockwork-Orange style than to retake this unit.
2020 Peer Mentoring!
Next year, I will be taking part in the Melbourne Peer Mentor Program as a Bachelor of Arts mentor! The program basically is to help new UniMelb students get used to uni life. Each mentoring group has ten new students and one mentor, all from the same course. For anyone else thinking of taking part in the future (highly recommend), this was the process:
SpoilerTo apply you must fill out a form which mostly just asked for details such as name and course, as well as a "your top tip to new UoM students". At the end of the form you select a time for a group interview.
I attended the interview in mid October. The whole session had roughly 15 people and we were split into groups of 4-5. In the first half, we were introduced briefly to how the program works by a staff member. The second half was the actual interview, which had 2 parts. For part 1, the four of us had to collectively decide on one advice to give to future students. Most groups, ours included, chose networking. For part 2, we were given a scenario: a student in your mentoring group said something disrespectful to a fellow mentee, which resulted in them wishing to leave the group. What would you do to resolve the issue? We had to discuss and agree on 3 best steps to take.
Throughout the whole interview, an assessor sat opposite and watched silently while grading our performance. When the interview was over (the whole process was about 45 minutes), he stood up and left without a word.
Anyway, interview results came out during SWOT VAC. I thought I didn't get in at first - the first half of the email was phrased like a rejection letter - "Dear Candidate, thank you for attending the assessment centre for the Peer Mentor Program. We had an overwhelming response with over 2,000 applicants, mAkiNG oUR dEciSiON pRocEsS a diFfiCuLT oNE". Then it proceeded to say I got in. Stop playing with my feelings smh.I'm keen for the program to start. In a few weeks I'll have to go to uni for a training session, where I'll hopefully get more details on how it works. But for any UoM students reading, highly recommend getting involved in the future.
I will update again when results come out, along with a reflective post on my first year. Find out next episode if I have to spent another $1,400 repeating econ!
yourfriendlyneighbourhoodghost:
Wow I saw your journal and i fell right in
I also want to do a BA at Melbounre, but major in completely different subjects 😂 I do have one big worry which remains very alive in my mind, the whole party and drinking and if any, sex, culture of uni, I'm quite a timid and shy person lol and I am worried that there is a lot of this and you are low key forced or coerced to go or else you'll have no friends (sounds a bit dramatic now that I read it back lol) . Friends is another thing I'm worried about 😂
Thanks, I love your journal a lot ❤️
Joseph41:
Keen to hear more about this mentoring as it progresses. I did a similar thing at Monash but didn't get involved until my fourth year - wish I got involved much earlier! Nice work (and fingers crossed for Econ). :)
hums_student:
--- Quote from: yourfriendlyneighbourhoodghost on November 07, 2019, 09:09:56 am ---Wow I saw your journal and i fell right in
I also want to do a BA at Melbounre, but major in completely different subjects 😂
--- End quote ---
Hey! Thanks for reading! And good choice on choosing BA haha no shade at BSc tho.
--- Quote from: yourfriendlyneighbourhoodghost on November 07, 2019, 09:09:56 am ---I do have one big worry which remains very alive in my mind, the whole party and drinking and if any, sex, culture of uni, I'm quite a timid and shy person lol and I am worried that there is a lot of this and you are low key forced or coerced to go or else you'll have no friends (sounds a bit dramatic now that I read it back lol) . Friends is another thing I'm worried about 😂
--- End quote ---
That's definitely a valid concern, and don't worry, a lot of people are in the same boat. There is quite a lot of partying and drinking at uni (and very occasional nudity during certain times of the year). It'll be hard to make it through 3-4 years of uni without ever being offered a beer, as most clubs and societies (even faculty/subject-focused ones) would hold their events at the various pubs around campus.
That said, you would never be forced or coerced to go to any of those events, and even if you choose to go, nobody would judge if you choose a glass of water over a pint of beer. You won't lose friends just for not drinking (and if you do, consider it a good thing. Someone that forces others to drink isn't someone you'd want to be friends with in the first place). Generally, as long as you aren't one of those goody two-shoes who goes around shaming other people for drinking, nobody cares if you don't drink yourself.
I quit drinking when I turned 18 (don't judge lol, my parents weren't opposed to underage drinking) which was during the break between sem 1 & 2. In sem 2 I was still involved in a bunch of club activities (most of which involved pubs) and nobody really cared that you've got a group of people downing beer and then there's me holding a glass of water. Occasionally someone asks "So why don't you drink?" in a conversation-starter way but that's about as much attention as you'd get as a non-drinker. I made it through semester 2 without touching a drop of alcohol while still hanging out with (drinking) friends at pubs almost everyday.
Tl;dr - drinking and partying is a big part of uni life but you would never be pressured into taking part. Everybody respects your choices and you can still get a lot out of uni life without bending to the 'norm'.
If you have any other questions about Melbourne, feel free to ask! Good luck with all your exams, maybe I'll see you around next year. :D
--- Quote from: Joseph41 on November 07, 2019, 09:14:57 am ---Keen to hear more about this mentoring as it progresses. I did a similar thing at Monash but didn't get involved until my fourth year - wish I got involved much earlier! Nice work (and fingers crossed for Econ). :)
--- End quote ---
Thanks Nick, I think it's so great that universities offer these opportunities, and I'm sure you got a lot out of it no matter when you got involved.
I'm keen to talk about this too, I have a training session on the 26th of November so I'll update on that next time!
yourfriendlyneighbourhoodghost:
Thank you (: it's nice to hear that.
Yes, from your journal it makes me even more excited to go (:
Good luck with everything (:
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