28 Mar 2017

If you’re enrolled in uni you’ve probably noticed a couple of reminders about Census dates coming up. This super important date is the last day you can get out of your classes for semester 1, without having to pay for them (like $4000) and without receiving a grade. Now is a probs a great time to reach some kind of decision about it.

Is there another way to your dream job?

This might seem obvious, but your degree is a means to an end, and if the job you’re trying to get into doesn’t need a uni degree, there’s not a lot of point in pushing yourself through it. Can your dream career be achieved without slogging through 3-6 years at uni? Can you find a TAFE course that will get you your qualifications, or an apprenticeship or traineeship that will do the same thing? Before committing to a whole degree and everything that comes with it, have a look at other options that might work better for you.

Would you rather be doing something else?

There’s plenty of things I’d rather be doing over going to a 9am lecture or typing away at a 3000-word essay- spending all day in bed is one of them. But, that’s not the kind of thing I’m talking about. If you really want to be able to travel or volunteer or you’ve been offered a really cool job that you wouldn’t be able to do while you’re studying, maybe postponing the uni dream is a good idea for you. Before you get dumped with a tonne of HELP debt and adult responsibilities, it’s worth getting out there and seeing what other opportunities are on offer, especially if you’re going to spend the next couple of years wishing you’d taken the time to do the good stuff while you were young. Uni will still be there when you get back.

Are you still burnt out from Year 12?

If you’re one of those people that jumped straight from Year 12 into uni, you might find that you can’t take any more formal education. After all the pressure, exams and stress from your final year in high school, diving headfirst into a similar environment without a proper break can mentally and emotionally drain you. If this sounds like you, taking a break from uni might be the best option.  Give yourself some time off to focus on other things (like working) which can help make sure you’re ready for another stint of studying if you want to pick up your degree a bit later down the track.

Are you struggling?

If you’re crying on the train, struggling to keep up with work, handing your assignments in late and overall just hating the uni life, it’s a good time to revaluate whether uni is the right path for you. As much as there’s unenjoyable things about studying, if it’s genuinely making you feel like shit you don’t have put yourself through it. Find other ways to get where you want to be, or take a break so you can step back and look at the bigger picture.

leaving school

Why did you go to uni?

Finally, think about why you’re going to uni in the first place. Is it because it’s a genuine pathway option for where you want to be? Or is it because you didn’t really know what else to do when you graduated? It’s easy to fall into the trap of going to uni for other people, rather than your own desires and reasons… So with Census coming up it’s worth looking at why you’re really there and deciding if that’s a good enough reason to push through.

Emma Kocbek