05 Jun 2017

At this point in the year you’ve probably started hearing talk about preferences and final marks, and figuring out what you want to study when you leave high school is pretty high on your to-do list. While some lucky ones may know what they want to do, the rest of us are running around with uni booklets and open day pamphlets, desperately trying to figure out how we’re going to decide. While you’re ultimately going to have to make the decision for yourself, here are some things to avoid when weighing up your options.

1. Letting your parents decide

Spending the past seventeen or so years of your life doing what you parents have told you makes it pretty hard to come to terms with the fact that, all of sudden, the big decisions are on you. On top of this, your ‘rents are probably going to have some sort of idea of what they want you to do when you finish school. They mean well, but it’s totally okay to ignore what they want when choosing your degree. At the end of the day, you’re the one putting the hard work and money in, not your parents.

2. Rushing your decision

Application deadlines are a real thing, but rushing your decision and choosing something for the sake of choosing is one of the worst things you can do. Don’t throw yourself into something just because there’s pressure to choose and you can’t decide. It’s totally okay to not know what you want to do, and so is taking time off from formal study to work things out.

3. Choosing what your friends are studying

When you’re leaving school, it’s hard to say goodbye to your friends, and if you’re not sure what you want to do it can seem like a pretty solid plan to follow your crew into whatever they’re doing. That is, until you realise you hate small children and getting into a primary teaching degree because your best friend wanted to do it was actually a shit idea. While it’s comforting to have someone else going through the same thing as you, you’ll have plenty of people to bond with in a course you actually enjoy.

4. Basing your choice off some bs TV show

Basing your decision on a fictional show is never going to end well. If something piques your interest, do some real world research into what a career in that field is actually going to be like. Surprise, surprise, real life isn’t as glamourous as the actors make it out to be, and if you can talk to someone who’s actually in the industry you’ll be able to get a better idea of what you’re getting yourself in to.

5. Not considering other options

Despite what your teachers may tell you, you don’t need to go straight into uni from Year 12. There’s plenty of other opportunities out there including traineeships, apprenticeships, travelling, working and alternative entry programs. Even if you receive an offer, there’s options to defer for a semester or a year if want to try other things and don’t write off part time or external study options which will give you more freedom to work or travel.