Studying while living in a College (1 Viewer)

[superchargedmr2]

I'm planning on doing my bachelor of pharmacy at Usyd while living in a college and am not sure if it would be possible to find a good balance between 'work and play'. Pharmacy would require roughly 40hrs+/week with lectures and studying etc. so I was wondering basically how much commitment a residential college requires during the week? I want to have a social life but I know I would often have to turn down invites to parties etc. Can anyone share their experiences?

 

[Niek]

I've started at college at usyd this year... let me just say it is awesome and a lot of fun, there is always someone to talk to or something to do!!
BUT if you need some time off or anything, it's easy as to have a night in or just go to your room and study. And most colleges have libraries that you can go to and they are always very quiet and at the moment very empty. Lots of the people at my college are doing very demanding degrees but living here is definitely the best way to get the work/play balance right :uhhuh:
Just be careful about which college you choose though!! Some can be noisy and disruptive etc so ask around... eg drew's kids can often find it hard to work cos there is ALWAYS a party there. It really depends what you want out of the experience.

 

[superchargedmr2]

I've started at college at usyd this year... let me just say it is awesome and a lot of fun, there is always someone to talk to or something to do!!
BUT if you need some time off or anything, it's easy as to have a night in or just go to your room and study. And most colleges have libraries that you can go to and they are always very quiet and at the moment very empty. Lots of the people at my college are doing very demanding degrees but living here is definitely the best way to get the work/play balance right :uhhuh:
Just be careful about which college you choose though!! Some can be noisy and disruptive etc so ask around... eg drew's kids can often find it hard to work cos there is ALWAYS a party there. It really depends what you want out of the experience.

Thanks for the detailed response! By the way, which college would you suggest then for these purposes? Are you in a co-ed house yourself?

 

[Niek]

Nah, I'm not co-ed, I'm at Women's College. But we do so much with Paul's that it doesn't really seem like an all-girls college.

 

[superchargedmr2]

Nah, I'm not co-ed, I'm at Women's College. But we do so much with Paul's that it doesn't really seem like an all-girls college.

Could you tell me a bit about Paul's from what you have experienced?

 

[inspectoroftide]

I'm planning on doing my bachelor of pharmacy at Usyd while living in a college and am not sure if it would be possible to find a good balance between 'work and play'. Pharmacy would require roughly 40hrs+/week with lectures and studying etc. so I was wondering basically how much commitment a residential college requires during the week? I want to have a social life but I know I would often have to turn down invites to parties etc. Can anyone share their experiences?

hey mate i'm at pauls and i can tell you would have a perfect opportunity to balance study and fun. you aren't actually obliged to go to any social events that you don't want to, its completely understood if you need to study etc. obviously if you wanted to you could find a party to go to every night but everyone finds their balance. in fact a 40 hour studying week is recommended as the minimum by the the college. i think they say that there is 168 hours in a week, 40 hours for study (including lectures), 56 hours for sleep and the remaining 72 for whatever you please!

 

[superchargedmr2]

Paul's is filled with people from GPS schools. Lot of sporting people, generally pretty smart.

Which colleges are more for the 'less-sporting' types?

 

[witide]

Which colleges are more for the 'less-sporting' types?

Women's, International, Mendelbaum or Sancta Sophia.

 

[bio_nut]

Women's, International, Mendelbaum or Sancta Sophia.

Not true, Women's is full of sporting girls who compete at national levels and world championships. We have quite a few who have the uni sports scholarships.

 

[witide]

Not true, Women's is full of sporting girls who compete at national levels and world championships. We have quite a few who have the uni sports scholarships.

But don't you have a larger range of girls there? I'm sure you'd have similar numbers on the other end of the spectrum.

Anyway, if you're not sporty, just fill that gap with other extra-curricular things you've done. There's plenty of college-folk who aren't into sports.

 

[bio_nut]

But don't you have a larger range of girls there? I'm sure you'd have similar numbers on the other end of the spectrum.

Anyway, if you're not sporty, just fill that gap with other extra-curricular things you've done. There's plenty of college-folk who aren't into sports.

Yeah, we have a pretty good mix of different types, we're the biggest college too. 34% percent of Women's girls last year received a D average or higher. We didn't win the Rosebowl though ( ) though apparently we have a lot of sporty fresh, so we'll see this year!

 

[katastrophe]

there's actually at least one guy at my college doing pharmacy. he really has to study a lot, but at the same time, he does have a life. nobody's going to judge you if you don't go to stuff, but there are always heaps of things to go to if you want. the only thing is, make sure you can concentrate with distractions, it can get hard to study when everyone else is partying.

 

[izzy88]

the only thing is, make sure you can concentrate with distractions, it can get hard to study when everyone else is partying.

this isn't a huge problem though- you can always go to the college or uni library (open till 10). Well I don't find it a big problem- wednesday nights is the only real issue, and the room i'm in this year isn't in a noisy part of college, so i don't really have any noise problems. Plus, the noise generally stops at midnight anyway.

 

[superchargedmr2]

there's actually at least one guy at my college doing pharmacy. he really has to study a lot, but at the same time, he does have a life. nobody's going to judge you if you don't go to stuff, but there are always heaps of things to go to if you want. the only thing is, make sure you can concentrate with distractions, it can get hard to study when everyone else is partying.

Good to know. Does your college differ from others in terms of how much partying goes on or are they all pretty much the same?