15 Dec 2015

Blind dating has two outcomes: incredibly rewarding or insufferably terrible. You go in knowing a name, a location, and a time and your chances are 50/50 for either result. I for one am not taking those chances when it comes to my degree. Not a chance am I going in one hand tied behind after what it took to finish those HSC exams. Finally, and what feels like for once, I have the loudest voice when it comes down to where I’m going on to study.

If I’d asked 16 year old me where I wanted to go I’d have repeated any of the five universities my friends were thinking. For some reason, in a year’s time, I feel like I’ve grown up enough to want to make my own decision.

I was stopped in my tracks when I thought about what that would mean. I’m going to need to suss about the ins and outs, the good and bad and potentially deal-breaking. What do I want?

Seriously, what do I want in a university?

I want to be somewhere I’ve never been before. A new locale means a fresh start, for me and for my studies. It’s a chance for some fresh air and to spread my feet away from my mum and dad because, god love ‘em, I need this for me. I can’t mature when I’m constantly being reminded of the time I wrapped my aunt a nice shtick of poo in toilet paper as her Christmas present –I was 2, mind you, but I’ve never been able to live it down.

I want, and you should want, somewhere that’s respected nationally and globally. I don’t think I’ll stay in Australia for work always and this means I need a degree that’s as respectable across Australia as anywhere else. Not just in certain subjects either, because if I change majors I want my new degree to be just as transferable as my original.

Off the top of my head, the people I want next to me in my classrooms matter. Distractions in a huge lecture aren’t as funny to deal with when exam period comes around and my GPA hangs by a thread, nor is it as enjoyable when I need to borrow someone’s notes from a sick day and nobody seemed to have taken any.

Spending more time commuting to and from uni isn’t my ideal either. Traffic is the bane of my existence and a waste of time I could be spending on sports, on working, on studying, or on some downtime. I can’t be asked to spend the next fours pouring paychecks into my gas tank and my car rego is beyond me.

Attending university is about expanding myself. Visiting campuses and meeting the actual people from the school are key factors in my decision. I’m not keen to choose where I’ll spend the next four years with only the word of a piece of paper. Statistics are great, don’t get me wrong, but I also want to get the sense of the area. Who are the faculty? Who are the student leaders? Who are the types of people I might room with, study with, and chill with? It might be my future, but it isn’t just about me.

I’ve worked hard and earned the ATAR to prove it. Now, the next step is figuring out what I’m going to do with that score and where it can take me. Who are the big players in higher education that care enough to open their doors, offer advisory dates, provide more information than expected, and open your eyes to what’s important? You and I don’t need to play the blind dating game of universities when the information is at our fingertips, so for your sake and mine, let’s not.