BOS University Guide: A Complete Guide to 1st Year Uni [A Work In Progress] (2 Viewers)

[CM_Tutor]

I thought I might post a few pieces of advice that might benefit you all. Anybody with Uni experience, feel free to add add in some more hard won lessons.

Lecturers know

You might think that you are essentially anonymous in a lecture theatre of 150 people - unless you draw attention to yourself. You are wrong. Lecturers do notice when the numbers of people in classes drop off, and come to recognise most people who attend - not by name, but they recognise people nonetheless. As a consequence, they know who has not been attending. I know one academic whose attitude if you need help is "if you didn't bother to attend my lectures, I can't be bothered wasting my time helping you".

Your teachers are not stupid

By this, I mean all of your teachers, including demonstrators, tutors, etc. When you copy lab work, and it has the same mistakes as the last three people we marked, we notice. When 5 assignments in a row change a '+' to a '-' in the same step, we notice. When you haven't done the set reading, and are trying to make something up on the spot, we notice. Whether something gets done about it or not will depend on circumstances and seriousness - but don't ever think we don't know. It's insulting to our intelligence, and ultimately makes us a lot less helpful.

Oh, and on essay subjects - the academics are all computer literate. If you can find it on Google, so can they - and plagiarism and academic misconduct are taken very seriously.

University Administration can screw up anything

Believe me when I say there is nothing that cannot be screwed up by the administration. That means that you should check every piece of paper they send you, and you should keep every piece of paper they send you. Have a file, and keep it all together - you never know when you might need it. Let me illustrate with an example:

A couple of years ago, I got my enrollment paperwork. This showed two things that surprised me. Apparently, at some point during the year, I had invented a time machine. This was the only possible way I could possibly have organised for my own date of birth to have changed from the date listed on the paperwork the year before. Even more surprisingly, I had had a sex change - a procedure I felt sure I would have noticed occuring. In this age of computers, I have no idea how or why these changes were made, but nonetheless they were, and it was nessary for me to get them corrected. Which brings me to:

Any process that can be completed with two pieces of paper can be completed more slowly with ten

If you haven't noticed this one yet, don't worry. You will.

Fixing the above problem involved a letter, my enrollment paperwork, the previous years enrollment paperwork, my birth certificate (certified as being a true copy by a JP, of course) and several discussions - including one where I was told that what I was describing could not have happened (despite the evidence of the paperwork itself!), and another where we discussed whether my birth certificate was sufficient proof of my gender, or whether we needed to establish that I had not, in fact, had a sex change ("Changing information like this is highly unusual" - this about my request to have it fixed. I said I could prove it hadn't changed, but that I don't do that sort of thing in public. This comment was met with a blank look.)

If it isn't on paper, it never happened

Get everything on paper, and I mean everything. This will be your only defence when things go wrong, and believe me, something will go wrong at some point. If you have to hand in forms, keep a copy (preferably taken after it is signed by whoever had to sign it). Keep a copy of assignments. If you have a conversation at which an important (course-wise) decision is made, follow it up with an email (Dear Dr X, Following on from our discussion today, I understand that we have agreed that Y. Would you please email me a confirmation that my understanding is correct? Thanks, ...) - this technique minimises work for the academic involved, as they can just hit reply and add a "yes", and gives you the fabled piece of paper.

As an example, I was sick and missed a large chunk of lab at one point . When I returned (with medical certificates, etc), I spoke to the academic in charge of the lab (who happened to be Head of School) about what lab work I needed to do. Despite this, the Lab Director decided to handle special consideration in a different way, resulting in my getting 0 for some pracs that I was told not to bother doing. Ultimately, it was only the notes in my lab book (in the Head of School's handwriting) that made the Lab Director agree to abide by what I was told to do.

It is always your fault, even when it's their fault

The only exception to this rule is if you can prove (on paper) that it isn't your fault. My sex and d.o.b. changing was my fault - even though the administration made the changes. My not doing what the Lab Director wanted in the case above was my fault - even though I spoke to the academic in charge on the day of my return, who was also Head of School.

Oh, I could go on, but I'll stop now. I'm sure I could add more examples, which I will if people want them, but I do encourage you to learn from my (and, no doubt) others experience. It'll make your life at Uni easier in the end.

 

[CM_Tutor]

It's not so much the fact that Administration makes errors, it's the fact that thy're such stupid errors, and that they're so hard to fix, and at times it's also their shitty attitude.

A friend of mine was waiting for his paperwork indicating his acceptance into honours. We had all received ours, so he went to see the faculty office. The person there taps away at the computer, and then says to him "I'm sorry, we have no record of your existence". Not no record of his enrollment for honours, no record of his existence. No record of his grades for the three years of undergrad he had completed, no record of the pass degree that he was eligible for if he didn't do honours, nothing.

He was, understandable, shocked (and worried) by this statement. This was met with an attitude of 'the computer is right, and anyway what do you expect me to do about it'.

Well, he went to see the Student Centre - who have the computers that hold student records. Fortunately, they had record of his existence (lucky, as he was trying to figure out if he still had all of his exam result notices to prove his existence - another reason for my advice above to keep every piece of paper.) When he went back to the Faculty Office, they blamed the error on the fact that "the cable linking our system to student records does not like to transmit certain data". No possibility that an error had been made by administration - no, it was all the fault of the cable! Is it any wonder when they cause a stupid problem like this, causing a student some serious anxiety in the meantime, that people get pissed of at them?

 

[poloktim]

BOS University Guide: A Complete Guide to 1st Year Uni

I've been receiving questions recently, on BOS and IRC, and they're normally about choosing a uni, and a degree. I have a feeling in my opinion (others might think totally different to the way I am) that a lot of HSC school leavers are a little confused about university itself.

Tips to choosing a degree at a university
(This also goes for majors in degrees, such as Arts)

1). Load up the university webpage.

2). Open up the Course Handbook.

3). Load up the description of the degree you want to do.

4). Open up another browser and repeat steps 1-3 for each university and for each degree you're intending on doing which have similar attributes. (For example, you wish to study Computing, you could load up decriptions from the one university about IT degrees, Computer/Software Engineering degrees, Computer Science degrees, or Internet Science degrees. You can do the same for all the universities you're looking at studying the respective courses at.

5). Compare the courses of study. Decide which ones seem the most promising, and stick with those.

6). Look at the outlines for core subjects, and electives you might want to do, from each of these degrees/universities. These may help you make a more educated decision.

7). If possible consult the universities about these degrees. ALSO try to consult current students enrolled in the degrees.

8). Based on the Information given, you might decide that you'll include another degree in your pool to determine which one you want. If so, then add it and repeat step 6 for it.

9). Once you've made a decision on which degree to do, and where, alter your preferences.

Here is an important note:

University is not about getting a job. If you want a job, consult the newspaper on a Saturday, or seek.com.au or something. You go to university because you want to get an education about a chosen field that you could likely enter the workforce in. The reason this is important is because there are many people who'll choose a course of study at university having absolutely no interest in it, never getting an interest in it, only because of future job prospects. More often than not, these people fail.

Getting into USyd, UNSW, or ANU is not the most important thing in your life. Why would you choose such a university if you don't like the structure being offered? IF the structure/degree offered at USyd, UNSW or ANU is what you want, then by all means go for it. I recommend you do the degree you want, no matter where it is at. If it is not, and you're just wanting to get into a certain university, then chances are you'll get bored and dawdle in getting work completed.

Degrees, majors, minors, and even subjects are different at each university. The best advice I can give (and I was given) is ignore the name, or prestige of a university, and choose what's good for you. Ignore the job prospects, because an Honours looks nicer than a normal bachelor, and if you do what you want where you want, you'll have a better chance of getting one. If you have a BCompSc at UWS with Honours, you'll likely be preferred over someone with just a normal BCompSc anywhere else.

I hope this helps our future first-years make their choice.

 

[poloktim]

how do we know if we got into a uni? plz reply asap

If you read your UAC guide the answer will be found. There are a few dates that universities release offers. These are normally in January. Since there's about a few weeks until then, you should ensure your preferences are really what you want.

 

[Lainee]

Here is an important note:
University is not about getting a job. If you want a job, consult the newspaper on a Saturday, or seek.com.au or something. You go to university because you want to get an education about a chosen field that you could likely enter the workforce in. The reason this is important is because there are many people who'll choose a course of study at university having absolutely no interest in it, never getting an interest in it, only because of future job prospects. More often than not, these people fail.

This startled me for a second when I was reading it. A primary concern for me would be job prospects once I graduate - a university degree for me is a pathway to a career. And if job prospects - projecting 5/6 years ahead - are tragic, chances are that I'd reconsider my other options. Can you clarify what you're saying here? Or am I wrong to think of future job prospects as criteria.

 

[poloktim]

This startled me for a second when I was reading it. A primary concern for me would be job prospects once I graduate - a university degree for me is a pathway to a career. And if job prospects - projecting 5/6 years ahead - are tragic, chances are that I'd reconsider my other options. Can you clarify what you're saying here? Or am I wrong to think of future job prospects as criteria.

Normally one's future job prospects are based on the degree they do in university. If you're interested in law, and do a law degree, normally you'd become a lawyer or judge; similarly, if you're interested in humanities, you'd normally get a job having something to do with that humanities field. Many people base their future jobs on the course they decide to do. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm hoping to do the same. I'm doing my degrees because I have a keen interest in both fields I'm studying, and I want to learn more.

What is not a good idea is when one chooses to study a degree/at a university for the main purpose of getting a job. That is a waste of three to five years. If you're not interested in the content, don't like the way the uni does things with the content, then you're best off going somewhere else and/or doing something else.

What I'm trying to say, and it's not very clear is that if you've not interest in studying your chosen field further, then don't go to university. If you've no interest in the field at all, don't study it. If you're not happy with the running of the course of study at a particular university, don't go there. Don't waste your time (since all you're doing is wasting your own time) doing something you don't want to do for a few years. You're on the starting line, jobs are on the finish line. Before you worry about the job, you need to get closer to it.

Note: those who start a course of study in a field/university because they couldn't get into their chosen field are different. They have the intention of getting into their field when they transfer, and hope to be doing it later on.

 

[LeftrightOut]

That makes sense, though I'm not sure anyone would really do a course entirely because of the job that it leads to. I suppose there could be ('I'll be a doctor, sure!') but I doubt anyone is idiotic enough to choose a uni course that they're not interested in, just for the job that may come afterwards. I dunno, interest in the course/job should be one and the same. How can someone look forward to the job, but dislike the course?

You'd be surprised, a lot of people rushed to do IT prior and during the dot com boom and when they graduated (after the crash) there was not only a depressed IT job market but also an oversupply of university qualified IT people because of the large intakes. This meant that those who were in it just for the jobs got a huge shock and those who actually enjoyed the field were willing to tough it out.

The IT sector is now stabilising a bit but all universities have recorded large drops in demand for IT courses since the crash as people have wised up that the employment situation is not very lucrative anymore. Indeed anyone doing IT now for just the job should think again as there are ads out there that are "junior" positions specifically asking for people with degrees and 3 years experience paying 25k a year, and there are literally hundreds to thousands of applicants for these. There are many factors that contributed to this situation but the end result is the same, people who picked IT for the money are stuffed to a large extent unless they have specialisations in other areas.

But that's just one example covering a very short period of time

 

[poloktim]

I just also think of the practical side of the degree -- is it going to get me a job. Yes, I want an education, and yes I want something I will enjoy and excel in, but there's no point to a degree unless it leads somewhere. I want to know what I'd reasonably earn after graduation 1/5/10 years down the track, prospects for growth in the industry so that I can consider whether I have a good chance of succeeding.

I'm very different here. I don't care where my degrees lead, I'm enjoying it now. In fact I have absolutely no clue what I'd want to do when I graduate from uni. I'll hopefully have a couple of degrees, to put in my resume, but what happens if I decide to do something totally different.

I know somebody who studied to become a primary school teacher. She absolutely loved the study of primary education, but when it came to graduation, she decided to persue a career that didn't require (or use) her degree. She loves where she's at now. So, it may end up that what you enjoy studying is not what you'll enjoy doing.

Basically what I tried to say was don't worry too much about job prospects. I've come into uni not knowing what I want to do, and I'm still unsure. If you enjoy what you do, and you know what you want to become, then bully to you! If you don't know what you want to become, but you're studying something you want to, then bully to you too!

I hope HSC kiddies enjoy their long break.

 

[daiana]

but doing degrees such as Lib Studies, is purely, in my opinion...not doing much good for ur future job prospects even though it surely seems damn interesting. it's so generalised. it sounds like something a hsc student can afford to study, not a uni student who should think about their future somewhat! i mean USYD prospectus had the following for its career prospects:

*postgraduate study*

**jaw drops** a student even said that you won't get a job from it, you just gain some "thinking and analytical skills"





now let's see the uai for liberal studies drop to a decent 72 haha

 

[poloktim]

Uni FAQ - Please Read!

For everyone about to start uni, congratulations.

Here's a few things that have come up a few times in threads and private messages.

Laptops
Many people decide that they need a laptop to go to uni. Fair enough, they're nice purchases. The question that needs to be asked is "do I need one?" and if so, then "what do I need one for?" Just because you do a degree involving some sort of computing doesn't necessarily mean you need a laptop, however just because you're doing a degree that doesn't have anything to do with computers doesn't mean you don't need a laptop.

To decide on whether or not one is needed you need to decide how useful one will be. An occasion where a laptop may be necessary no matter what the degree could be that you're moving out of home, and where you're moving to doesn't have a computer. The uni may offer computing facilities, but then you'd need to stay there all the time. The work around is that if this is the case, then why not get a cheap computer? Cases where a laptop might be very useful but not overly necessary include:

- You're doing a degree/subject that requires lots of access to online journals. If the subject candidature is large, you might find people doing the same thing at the computing facilities, or there might be other students doing other things.
- You're doing a computing degree, or an engineering degree that might require computer power, for tasks such as programming.
- You're afraid of touching the uni computing facilities because you're someone who is very aware of the horrible diseases that people spread.
- You don't have a computer at home, or access to the Internet, and would rather access the uni's network on your own computer so that you don't have hard disk space quota issues.

Be careful if you get a laptop. Sometimes fingers walk, and take things they shouldn't. You need to ensure that you've got your personal computer on you at all times, or else it might become somebody else's.
One last caveat, if you grow accustomed to typing up lecture notes, then be sure you know how to write. I know it sounds stupid, but believe it or not, the less you write the slower, and messier, you become. You don't want to write slowly and horribly in an exam, a laptop doesn't save you there. If you do get a laptop, and you decide to shorthand notes, please please please please please ensure you know the correct spelling of words you're shorthanding.

Notes
If you've decided to use a laptop to record notes during lectures, follow the caveats above, and also, ensure that during lectures you are typing notes. I've seen plenty of people load up a game to play, or a movie to watch, or surf the Internet, and watch anime too. If your laptop distracts you and others from lectures, leave it at home, or in your bag. If you have it in your bag and can't deal with the temptation of mucking about, get up and leave. Show some fairness to others.

If you decide to write notes, check whether or not the lecture notes for that subject are released. If so, you might just like to summarise what you hear in the lecture, and incorporate it with the notes in your own study. If not, you'll have to work a little harder, and learn to listen to the lecturer and take down notes off a slide at the same time. As mentioned in a thread which is stickied in this forum, turning up to lectures is a plus, your lecturer does notice you're there, and if they can see you've got time for them, they'll be more generous when it comes to time spent dealing with you in consultation.

If you have a tape recorder and decide to record the lecturers voice, in addition to your notes, then ensure you keep quiet, and sit with people who will keep quiet as well. Perhaps your friends might like a copy. Throwing the contents of a tape onto a computer isn't too hard, so you might upload it and share it with them. If you do this then make sure you will go over the tapes, and record anything you missed.

Study
Each uni has their own policy on how many hours per week per subject a student should spend in study. UoW says that for every one credit point in the subject, the student should do at least two hours study, including times spent in lectures and tutorials. A normal subject is six credit points, so total study per week is twelve hours. If you spend six hours a week attending various classes for that subject, you're left with six hours of personal private (or group if you so wish) study. But that's UoW's policy, of course other universities with different credit point systems have different policies. As a student at that university it is your responsibility to find out. That might be as easy as looking on the subject outline for each subject you do, or as difficult as searching the uni website (which isn't difficult at all).

How should one study? I can't offer advice to help here. It is up to you to find out the best way for you to study. Some people learn a lot by listening. People like this might benefit from recording lectures and such and listening to them a few times. Others learn from writing, and writing, and writing. I suggest you do that, if you're a written learner. Some people learn by reading (lucky devils), they'd spend more time reading and re-reading than others. Others need to express what they've been told orally in order to learn things properly. Find a time when you can talk to yourself or animals about what you're studying. Talking to oneself is supposed to be a sign of madness, but if it helps, who are we to judge?

A lot of people are better studiers when there's a mixture of above. Because of that, a lot of people are constantly learning how they can study more economically. One day, it'll click. When it does, everything you do will become easier (maybe not simple, but easier).

Overloading
Overloading means that you take on more than the full time study load a semester. Most people consider overloading as in doing another subject, but from the university's perspective, it's just doing more than the full time amount of credit points per semester. Overloading is a way for people who are doing double degrees, or longer degrees to shorten their time at uni. Some people choose to overload (in the subject sense) every semester, and if possible take a summer subject.

If you overload, it's your responsibility to get the extra work done, and on time. If you find you can't handle doing the extra work, then be sure to drop out before the census date. Otherwise you're financially locked into the subject. If you find you can handle it, but only when absolutely necessary, then it's best that you don't overload.

Transport
This is something that will set many many people back. Busfares alone cost me around one thousand dollars in 2004. Not nice when you're used to a bus pass and free travel, and since uni is right near where I went to high school, I'm basically paying to go somewhere I went for free during six years beforehand. It isn't fare, especially when there are fare hikes, but that's how the bus companies (if they're private companies) pay their employees' wages.

Also, buses and trains have a tendancy to stuff up (especially trains). Ensure you you're up to date on any city rail trackwork on your line, and if possible, don't catch a train that will get you to uni with only a minute to spare. Buses seem to be more reliable, except when they strike. But it's up to you to know when and where your buses come and go.

You'll could end up meeting people from uni who you catch the bus/train with. It's not unheard of, and it makes the trip so much nicer. Even better than music. I actually met someone from BoS when I was in year twelve, because I caught the same bus as he did.

Textbooks
Everyone rushes to spend on textbooks. Most people buy them before the semester begins. When I went to enrollment day at UoW, we were explicitly told not to buy textbooks unless the lecturers kept bugging us to say they were absolutely necessary. Sure, they're a nice resoucre to have, but if it can be found in a book, it can be found on the Internet. If you don't need the textbook, then decide whether or not you wish to spend the money on one.

Some subjects have books made by the department designed specifically for that subject. These are normally required. However, they're on the lower end of the price scale, so it's not too much of a sacrifice. Other departments (especially in Arts and Law) make books with different readings (a reading is a small text you read before a certain time, extra work that the lecturer doesn't have time to work through with you in a lecture). It's worth your while to get one of these too. Sadly some subjects have textbooks that are required. An example is any LOTE subject. On top of that students might want to buy other resources, like dictionaries (and character dictionaries if studying langauges such as Japanese). English students might be required to buy novels, etc.

You need to be sure about whether or not you need a textbook, and if you don't whether or not you want it.

Timetables
At uni, you make your own timetable based on the subjects you choose to undertake in a semester. This actually means that you are responsible for what days you have off, and what hours you are at uni. Some degrees are full with no electives. That doesn't necessarily mean you've no control over your timetable. You can choose electives and not have them count towards your degree (it'll cost you, but if you're a domestic HECS student, then you can always defer and pay it when you're richer). You don't have to take a full load (four subjects), you might decide that you need a break and only take three subjects.

The point is, you choose the subjects you do, and when you choose them, you accept the scheduled times. Some people choose subjects based on their times (since they have work commitments or just don't want to go to uni), others couldn't care what times subjects have.

Which brings me to another point. Clashes are a common occurance in every university. Some universities can stop you from choosing a subject if there's a clash, others don't care. If you have a clash, then it's your responsibilty to catch up on any work missed. If possible, talk to both teachers and see if you can reach an agreement. One of my lecturers when I had a clash told me to ignore his class for the duration of the clash. He published all the notes required for passing the exam, and if I needed help, I was just to email him. This is because I told him when I had the clash. I didn't wait half way through the semester, find out I missed something important, and went to tell him.

These are some of the point you should take into account now that you've been accepted. You'll notice that "your responsibility" and "it is up to you" is said a lot in this thread. That's because every person is different. How you deal with these things determines how successful you'll be at university. There is no one correct way to deal with a clash, or textbook purchases, or the use of laptops, this is because everyone has a different way to study. Basically, find out what works for you, and when you do, you'll be fine. If you don't, don't worry. A lot of academics still don't know what works for them. Education academics are even studying this field.

Good luck.

 

[poloktim]

but doing degrees such as Lib Studies, is purely, in my opinion...not doing much good for ur future job prospects even though it surely seems damn interesting. it's so generalised. it sounds like something a hsc student can afford to study, not a uni student who should think about their future somewhat! i mean USYD prospectus had the following for its career prospects:

*postgraduate study*

**jaw drops** a student even said that you won't get a job from it, you just gain some "thinking and analytical skills"





now let's see the uai for liberal studies drop to a decent 72 haha

That wasn't the point of my post. If you want to study Liberal Studies because you think it's interesting, then you should. You'll get better marks. You'll enjoy uni more, and hell, if say you do law instead, and that's boring, and you don't want to do it for anything buy career prospects, then I don't want you representing me. I'd prefer someone with passion for their work. It's all about the passion.

You think about your future once you have an education.

 

[daiana]

gomen, poloktim! yes i know my reply was a bit off centre, but u know what. different people wnat different things out of uni. i want to serve my passion (jap + eco) and hopefully my degree can allow me to broaden my interests as well as career prospects and perhaps my interests can be part of my job sometime.

Either way, it's sometimes really difficult to tell whether one should choose a degree just to..
1. go to uni
2. leadway for a desired career
3. serve interests
4. socialise
5. get out of the house
6. whatever

so many people these days just want a degree...and uni seems like the only other thing to do besides being at home and bludging...and ur HSC certificate doesn't mean much to an employer.. they want experience or a tertiary education of some kind.

just 18.. and have to choose choose choose...well at least there's choice! =)

 

[uwsstudent]

The right way you should view your university

i have studied in uni for three years now, yet it took me a long time to feel balanced inside about my uni, i used to worry about going to uws, after all those complains that i had, after all those times when i felt low, times has made me realize better and of course convincing facts about my uni has made me so proud and thankful about where i am

each uni has its own strength, there is no best uni, put it more truthfully, uni is just a class, the skill is all in u, if u study law, u better be good at it or else u can't find a job no matter wherever u graduate from. there is no such thing like u are super good at ur field, then u can't find a job in ur field. talents will always be noticed and appreciated, yet in our society, out of all the courses we study, how many people truly understand what they do? how many can really graudate from marketing and market a product to sheer success, how many can graudate from IT and be a computer wiz, not many all pretty average, so when u grow to 30, u will walk in the sea of people and just be one of them, which uni u went, nobody remeber, but what they will remeber is ur skill, if u kick ass in ur field, no worries people will employ u. i have seen so many research papers on psychology, man where are the harvard dudes? i didn't see many harvard researchers, i thought only hardvard is the best, the groundbreaking researches are done by people who love psychology, who devotes themselves to it and who graduated from any other university without any worries. for businessman i mean the good ones, not many are from good uni, they may never went to uni, so uni is a good chance to have solid fundation, but the success in life depends on u, uni's name is not going to be there to babysit u through business deal and all those things going through in a company.

universities are good education training centres and also money making machines of government. so many overseas students and new programs appear every year, that brings so much income to australia, therefore government needs to market their own university, they may portray sydney uni as good, they may portray mac as advanced in IT ect ect, now they are moving their focus to uws, building new schools and the key strengths in social science, policing and more. sydney is more like macdonald in fast food chain, being there for so long, having so many good products, attracing people, uws is like newly built fast food shop, having good established products, but the image is hard to spread, cause it's new and it needs time to grow more on many areas. u have a IQ of 120, but commonly it turns out u work for a boss whose IQ is only 100, life is not a straight forward thing with a uni, uni is only 3 to 8 years long, ur life is like 60yrs to 100yrs long, even the ratio tells u that there is more to life, i hope for people who worry about reputation or am i making the right choice, really relax and find a course that u enjoy, u shouldn't worry about acceptance from ur uni's name, be sensible about what to worry and what not to worry

when it comes to uai, it measures whether u are good at the five subjects u have studied back in high school, but it doesn't measure ur skill in ur chosen field, let me tell u a good IT person may not be good at writting english essay, a music person is bad with maths, a tourism experts maybe poor at language, what does measure ur performance in ur chosen course is urself, are u doing well in ur IT course, that's the real evidence, so please remeber uai measures nothing but a way of trying its best to allocate people into uni, still half of hsc students can go to uni, so if u can go to uni, good on u, if u can't, no worries world class chief and the best singers are really bad with 3units maths, how well u really master ur course is what u should be happy about or strive even more to improve for

 

[craz]

It seems now a days it is more practical to get a degree. Some see it because it's the thing to do others do it because they need it to get a job. It is obvious that some people are very worried about careers. I myself by growing up overseas...have come to realise...that people in hong kong are so worried about their kids doing what they want...not what the kids want - that doesn't matter!

Many people choose to do things for the sake of it like law or medicine or business.

I chose to do education...well i did arts last year and oh boy was that a mistake...it was a learning curve though. Arts does not get you very far...and it's very general. I love children/working with them. I've been known to get clucky around kids and i like IT/History and that's what i want to do. It's just what i want!

Where as...with some others it's I'll do IT because it's what everybody else is doing.

Some of this stuff is common sense but we still get dragged into certain things unknowingly!

 

[glitterfairy]

The Idiot's Guide to University (FAQ)

also see http://community.boredofstudies.org/...light=bags+uni and http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=56521 for what I don’t cover

DISCLAIMER: Written by a Mac student. I’ve tried to be general wherever possible, but if something I’ve written does not apply to your university, please let me know and I will edit accordingly!

WHAT’S A SEMESTER?
We’ll start off with an easy one. This is the Uni “term” - a semester is generally about 14 weeks, and we have two a year with a two-week break in between which may or may not coincide with NSW government school breaks (also, don’t expect all uni calendars to be the same because they’re not). You will have a mid-semester break at about week 7, and most uni’s other than Macquarie will also have STUVAC the week or two before their end-of-semester exam comes up. However, I think we have a much longer between-semester break, so it all balances out eventually.

WHAT DO I DO IN MY FIRST LECTURE?
*Lecture: Usually an hour in which all the students sit down whilst the lecturer talks. Not unlike english extension 1 lessons*

Firstly and most importantly (I can't believe I forgot this in the first draft) is that you turn up to this first lecture, because this is when your Course Outline will be given out. If you miss this opportunity, you may be able to download it from somewhere, but otherwise you'll have to run around to find the Unit Corvenor to get a copy.

My main advice here is that you turn up on time as a courtesy to other students – also, several lecturers (the minority) get antsy when people are late. Keep in mind that lectures (at Mac, anyway) start at 5 past and go on till 5 to the next hour - waiting outside the door an hour before your lecture starts is pointless because there will be another lecture going on in there and you won’t be able to get in! lol. That being said, getting there about 5-10 minutes early means you can choose the best seats in the house.

In regards to seating arrangements, don’t stress too much over them. But as a general observation, Mature-age students tend to gravitate towards the front row and people wanting a fast exit tend to sit near the doors/aisle seats. Other than that anything goes (however most students tend to sit somewhere in the middle). Feel free to sit next to someone new and strike up a conversation – you can meet new people this way.

When the lecturer starts talking, I advise against trying to write down EVERY single word he or she says. You’re there to learn from them, not to mimic. Jot down the important points and maybe a few notes of your own to help you grasp the topic better – remember that you are NOT there to regurgitate, you are there to LEARN. At the end of the semester you’ll be tested on your working knowledge of the course – that’s when these notes/summaries will come into handy.

OH MY GOD! I HAVE A TWO/THREE HOUR LECTURE!!! WHAT THE?!?!
Whilst nasty in the nastiest possible way, there is some light at the end of the three-hour lecture tunnel. The only three-hour lecture I've ever done had a "tute" session for the third hour. Whilst still in the lecture theatre, it was something different. Sometimes you even get a different lecturer. You can sit there and pretend it's a whole different thing

Most lectures that go over an hour will give you a break in between lectures. Depending on how nice your lecturer is, they can give you a nice 20 minute break.

WHAT DO I BRING TO MY FIRST LECTURE?
A notebook of some kind, and a pen. My advice is to get an A4 lined binder that has pockets in it to store your Course Outline (gives rundown on what will be covered that week, plus homework due, assessment list/ranking, etc etc). Quill makes one called “A4 5 Subject”, which has lined paper and 4 double-sided plastic pocket inserts to hold papers inside. A lot of my uni friends have this book and we all swear by it – it is SO much better than carrying 4 different notebooks around! Plus, this way all your notes (both handwritten and photocopied) are already sorted by subject – which makes life so much easier around exam time.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I’M LATE TO A LECTURE?
Try to open and close the door quietly and sit in the first seat you come across. No-one (including the lecturer) will mind if you come in late and don’t disrupt the lesson – yes, even if you’re half an hour late! (yes, this happens… but try not to make it a habit, ok? Lol)

DO I HAVE TO GO TO THE LECTURE?
Unless your attendance is marked at lectures (this happened in my Accounting lectures, also tourism/environmental/agricultural subjects at UWS) technically you don’t have to. However, you’re highly advised to – where else are you going to learn the material? But anyway. Most lectures are taped and you should be able to find a copy in the library a few days later (or wherever the designated place is). Mac students have it even better – we have “iLectures”, where most lectures are taped and put onto the internet for the students to download and listen to at home.

However: iLectures can be really boring to listen to, because you don’t have the visual stimulation of your lecturer walking from one end of the lecture theatre to the other. It’s also REALLY easy to say “oh, I’ll just listen to the iLecture later” because a lot of people don’t ever get around to it. It’s also really easy to say “oh, I’ll skip this lecture and go to the next one”. And guess what… chances are you’ll skip the next one too. Try to always attend your lectures, for good habit if nothing else.

WHAT IS A TUTORIAL?
Tutorials, commonly known as “tutes", are very much like your regular class - there will be about 10-20 people along with your designated tutor who is normally a professor or Doctorate student (and they know their stuff, trust me) and it should go for an hour. You’ll most likely have homework to do each week (as specified in your course reader) which relates to the lecture material for that week (this is why you should go to lectures). You’ll discuss the material in more detail – if you have any questions about either the topic or the homework, here is the place to talk about it! Most of your uni friends/studybuddies may come from tutes, as you’ll be on a first-name basis with everyone. Also – about 10% of your final mark will come from tutorial participation. Yup, this means you actually have to put up your hand and contribute!

If you’re late, just apologise and get settled as quickly and quietly as possible (just like in lectures). Make sure the tutor marks you as “present” at the end of the tute.

PLEASE NOTE: The roll WILL be marked at tutorials. Depending on the course, you’re allowed to miss a certain percentage without a doctor’s certificate – for first year you’ll get to miss 2 or 3. If you miss any more than this, you will FAIL. So if given a choice, miss the lecture but for your own sake, turn up to the tutorial!

WHAT DO I BRING TO TUTORIALS?
Pen, paper, and any Course Readers/Textbooks you have for that unit. A Course Reader is a book full of readings you buy at the beginning of a year – you’ll read a few each week and the homework is often based on these readings. They may or may not be related to the lecture content for that week.

WHEN AND WHAT WILL MY UNI EXAMS/ASSESSMENTS BE?
This depends greatly on the units (ie subjects) you study. Assessments may take the form of a hand-in-essay, assignment or in-class test, or something else. There may also be NO end-of-semester exam for your subject. See your course outline (you’ll get this in your first lecture of that subject) for what your assessments are, how much they’re worth, and when they’re due.

You will get a rough exam period marked out in your Uni calendars, however you won’t find out the exact date until a few weeks beforehand. Don’t plan any holidays until you know when your exams finish, because the administration is highly uncompromising - they will NOT move your exams for you unless you have extremely dire circumstances, and even then they prefer to give you an estimated mark (so this sucks if you’ve been getting lousy marks up till now, and have been studying really hard for the exam).

WHERE DO I HAND IN MY ASSESSMENTS?
Don’t hand them into your tutors. Instead, in each department (Humanities, Sciences etc) there should be a stack of boxes with the unit name at the top of their box. Once you’ve filled in your cover sheet and signed it (yes, this means you have to go to uni in person!) you put it into the box. Your tutor will either give it back to you after it’s been marked, or tell you where to pick it up from.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY ASSESSMENT IS LATE?
If you hand in your assessments late, marks will be deducted unless you have a doctor’s certificate or similar (notes from home won’t cut it). Exactly how many marks deducted depends on the unit and your university – they may get deducted at a rate of 2% per day (including weekends) whilst it’s almost 50% per day for others. Check your course reader for details.

*UWS: According to Cape, "you are penalised 10% each day the assessment is late, and this includes weekends. If you are sending it through mail, be sure to get a stamp and a reciept from the post office."

Note – most university assessments are due at a particular TIME on a particular day (eg 5pm). Whilst some units are a bit lazy in picking up the assessments, others will be right on the ball. Do yourself a favour, and get it there ON TIME!

PLAGUIARISM
Warning you now, University takes plagiarism extremely seriously. If you write in a quote from somewhere, or throw in someone else’s idea (whether professional or otherwise) you MUST reference this correctly using your unit’s preferred referencing system. And yes, you may be penalized if it is discovered that the majority of your assessment is not comprised of YOUR ideas. You also have to try to avoid relying too heavily on any one source. Headache? Yes, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

Some uni’s – ie Mac – have started using the Turnitin system where written assessments are submitted online and checked for plaguarism (it’s something like if they find 5 words in sequence that match up to someone else’s, they’ll notify someone and have it manually checked from there). Provided you do your own research (most assessments are research-based) and write your own paper you’ll be fine, but if you try and cheat, there’s a possibility that it may be picked up and you’ll fail that assessment.

WHAT SORT OF MARKS CAN I EXPECT?
When they say “you only need a pass!”, it was obviously said by a Uni student. Because unless you need a credit-average, “at least a pass” is what most people will aim for – and get.

Marks tend to fall in these “bands” at Uni – Fail, Pass, Credit, Distinction and High Distinction. The exact marks will differ from uni to uni as each has their own marking system – there may also be a “Conceeded Pass” which means “you didn’t really do as well as we wanted you to but we’ll pass you anyway”.

Something important to note that Uni marks are NOT a rank. There is also nothing that says the entire class can't be failed if their work does not meet standards (however at Mac - and I imagine most universities - the tutor is held to account if more than a certain percentage of their class fail). The mark you get for uni assessments is what you deserve.

PASS means you’ve satisfied the criteria. Marks will be 50-64%
CREDIT means you’ve demonstrated capabilities and understanding beyond what was expected of this course at this level. This is above average, so 65-74%. Rough estimate: like getting 90+ for HSC assessments.
DISTINCTION – Speculation says that it's like getting a 96+UAI... however it's not unachievable. Pretty bloody good, though. Marks are about 75-84%
HIGH DISTINCTION – Use your imagination. Again, not unachievable (I got a few last year, however I think they were flukes though), marks of about 85+%

The biggest shock HSC students will find is that your marks will be significantly lower in Uni even if you work harder. That's because in the HSC, it's a shoe-in that most people will pass, and you're just seeing how high you go. In Uni, you have to work a bit for your pass - anything over is a bonus. Anything over a pass is GREAT!

Most people will find that they do ok in most subjects, really well in some and absolutely suck in others. This is perfectly normal. It’s also not unheard of for people to fail subjects and have to repeat it if it is a core unit – as your tutors may or may not have an interest in you actually passing (most don’t), it’s up to YOU to ensure you pass.

HOW DO I STUDY FOR UNIVERSITY?
For the most part, reading over your course readings, paying attention in lectures and contributing to discussions will stand you in good stead. Remember, you have to understand what you’re learning (you will NOT be spoon-fed) – past papers won’t help because few papers are ever alike, and they tend to re-vamp some units (eg sociology, cultural studies, humanities) every few years as well. Furthermore, you will rarely be tested on the entire semester’s content – rather, they’ll focus on a select number (4-11, for example, when you’ve learnt 2 each week). And you’ll be expected to know these in relevant depth – rote learning will not save your butt. Rather, it’ll bring you down – they want to see what YOU think, not what someone else thinks.

DO I BRING FOOD FROM HOME, OR DO I BUY IT?
The majority of students I know tend to bring some sort of food from home. Uni food tends to be pricey (even though we get some sort of student discount…!) and depending on which Uni you go to, there may not even be a good food court. However most universities are very close to commercial food outlets except for:

*UWS Hawkesbury is located nowhere near a shopping centre, so bring food, buy expensive food or starve, unless you can drive to Richmond.

And if you do bring food from home – there are normally a couple of student microwaves on campus, so you can heat your food up for free!

--- and now, for the important – material! – matters! ---

WHAT BAG SHOULD I BRING TO UNI?
You’ve got a large variety of options here. You can wear the cute little fashionable handbag, which looks good but can’t carry much other than valuables (meaning you have to carry another bag as well), the large trendy tote which looks good and can hold everything (but do you really want to bring that to Uni?! Might get damaged on the inside, just pointing out risks), a large shoulder bag (leather, fabric, even the free ones you get from Supre, anything goes), a backpack (top marks for comfort here) and even No-Bag: carrying your books in your arms (which you can do if you don’t have a lot to carry).

Choice of bag is really up to you and what units you’re doing. Humanities/social sciences people who aren’t on campus for too long can probably get away with either no bag, or a light bag. Any accounting/science people will very likely have big fat textbooks to cart around – a backpack is highly recommendable here.

But aside from that, few people really care what you use to carry your books around. So long as I can get my stuff from A to B, I’m happy.

WHAT DO I WEAR?
Most Uni students tend to dress up casual for Uni. Making it clear now – CASUAL. Much like what you’d wear around the house when you’ve got close friends over – not what you’d wear “out” when it’s even a minorly special occasion. As most people our age live in jeans, guess what! Most Uni students live in jeans too. But it doesn’t really matter what you wear – we’re far too lazy to care. Personally, I wear jeans a lot but in the warmer months I’ll wear a skirt. I’ve seen a lot of girls in skirts, and even summer dresses – and honestly, it’s fine. You don’t have to go out and buy jeans if you’re not a jeans person – just wear what you would normally.

As for shoes, a lot of people wear thongs or sneakers. Comfort is the golden rule here as you’ll likely be doing a fair bit of walking to and from lectures/tutes (so for girls - flats are great! Boots are good in winter if they have a decent heel – ie not a stilletto). A lot of asian girls (myself excluded!) tend to wear heels as well, but… ouch? But whatever floats your boat - most people really don’t care what you wear. I really can’t stress this enough.

Actually, I'll rephrase that. People as a general rule are far more tolerant in University. If you want to dress up, fine. If you don't, fine. There aren't really any "rules", but for those who wanted to know what most people normally wear, it's outlined above. Don't stress over it that much because it's not worth it - when in doubt just wear what you'd normally wear out, ok?

HOW DO I DEAL WITH PEOPLE SEEING ME IN….*gasp*…THE SAME OUTFIT TWICE?
It happens. And then you get over it very, very quickly.

 

[Cape]

Some for UWS, as they slightly differ:

At UWS you will get one week mid-semester break, and you'll get another week off between the end of semester and the start of exams (known at stuvac). Even though stuvac is set aside for studying, be aware that some assignments might be due during this time.

First lecture Its very important that you attend, because this is where you get the unit outlines for your courses, and the lecturer goes in detail about assessments, when they are due, where they are supposed to be handed in, what topics you will cover and also what textbooks you will need.

Late assessments At UWS you are penalised 10% each day the assessment is late, and this includes weekends. If you are sending it through mail, be sure to get a stamp and a reciept from the post office.

How much study should I do UWS recommends that for every credit point you do, thats how many hours you should study, in class and out of class. All credit points are worth 10cp, so every unit you should be studying 10 hours per week. The average full time student, should be studying 40 hours per week.

Other general notes:
- If you are doing tourism / environmental / agricultural subjects at UWS, the roll will be marked during lectures, so try to attend them. As tutorials are rare in these subject areas. And if you attend less than 80% of the lectures, you will fail!
- UWS Hawkesbury is located no where near a shopping centre, so bring food, buy expensive food or starve, unless you can drive to Richmond.
- Lectures are usually but up in powerpoint presentation or word format, on webct, so you don't need to break your hand during a lecture, just take notes of the important stuff. When uni begins, you'll figure it out, eventually.
- Enter quietly and quickly if you are late to a lecture, don't slame the doors and make a big fuss that you were late, especially if your more than an hour late.

 

[hfis]

Just something new students should probably note with marks and the marking scale: a '90' at university is much, MUCH, harder to get than a '90' at high school. Of course, this depends largely on your course, but as a general rule these kind of marks are much rarer.

 

[Demandred]

To me, 90 in high school = 75+ at Uni, so don't get smashed if you get 60s or 70s, its still good.

Might I add, don't forget about the pre-semester uni work:

- Confirm that you have enrolled into the right degree and right units.

- Check that you HECs details are all correct, it's all checked my computers, a little smudge can completely stuffed up your application and unknowingly set you back a semester.

- Your timetable, unlike high school, you don't get your classes all done for you, you have to go to the university site, look up the time table for the units and make it yourself.

- Enroll in tutorials, this is done online, find out the exact time tutorial registration open and be ready on the minute if you want to get into the tutorial classes you want, otherwise you'd be left with 8am classes or 9pm classes.

- Buy your books, different unis have different policies towards prescribed textbooks. Some lecturers post them on the net near the unit timetables (for UWS anyways) and expects you to acquire them before the first lecture, some lecturers tells you the books during class and may prescribe some books on the list, some lecturers may go against the unit outline and tells you not to buy any textbooks because he/she had a fist fight with them during their academic days and prefers you to buy their books because they want to make big $$. Lines are VERY LONG during the first week of the semester, so preferably, get them before the semester starts.

 

[Demandred]

From what I have experienced, the majority usually give you the benefit of the doubt, of course, there's always an minority who likes to go on a witch hunt for plagerism in every assessment.

Almost forgot, if you do get an unfair mark, for instance, plagerism, even though you truly have not, you can appeal for a remark. For most universities, you appeal to your lecturer/tutor, then to the unit co-ordinator, then his/her boss, and once last time to the boss of the boss of the unit co-ordinator. The downside is that it takes a long time to get through this process and you may even lose marks as well!

 

[acmilan]

umm the only thing maybe is the explanation of what a lecture is, mainly that there are often 2 or 3 hour lectures