08 Nov 2016

Starting university is kind of like learning to wipe your own arse: it’s one of those weird and wonderful transitions where you’re suddenly handed all this freedom. And as a savvy political speechwriter once wrote, “With great freedom, comes great responsibility.”

At uni your responsibility is to learn. But university is also really fun, sometimes so much fun that you forget about university all together, and wind up embarking on an exhilarating, but ultimately painful binge on goon or chocolate or reality TV (or all 3).

One thing is for sure though: you’ve got to balance all that freedom and fun with a bit of learning here and there. So here are 5 things I wish I knew when I started uni.

1. Kooking the first semester doesn’t mean you’ll kook the whole thing

My first semester was my worst. I just wasn’t quite sure what was expected of me and it took me six months of mild disappointment and critical feedback to get my head around it. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed straight away and then give up when they don’t. But it’s actually pretty common to take a little while to figure things out. Don’t be bummed out, just persevere.

2. You’re actually a customer

At the time, it feels like it’s all free, but believe me, HECS debts are very, very real. It’s kind of a depressing thought, but even at a public university, you’re ultimately going to pay at least $20,000 for a degree. When you’re paying that much coin, you might as well get the most out of it, right? This means you should demand as much feedback as you need from academics, allow yourself ample study time and get involved in life on campus.

3. It’s really just about learning to communicate

The sooner you can muster up the confidence to express your point of view in a tutorial, the better. There’s always that fear that you might say something wrong or lame or ignorant and forever be known as that person who doesn’t really know what’s going on, but this is where the real learning happens. When everybody in the group starts expressing their points of view, you get a better idea of which one is the most logical. Tutors and lecturers are good to learn from, but the best part of uni is learning from your peers.

4. The loudest person in your tute probably isn’t the smartest

In the first year of uni, basically everyone is shy in tutorials. But there’s always that one guy (sometimes a girl but usually a guy) who already seems to know everything. They’re confident, dropping all the jargon and speaking with more confidence than the tutor. It took me a while to figure it out, but most of the time, that person is just an opinionated and foolish as the rest of us. They just have more confidence.

5. It’s all about networking

There are two words that make all uni students shudder: group assignments. Nobody wants to get stuck with the dude who never shows up, the girl who spends the whole time looking at her phone or that guy from college who straight up stinks. But there are always going to be some cool/funny/interesting people around too, and you might as well meet them and hang out. Who knows, one of them might get you a job one day.