I'm the same way as you - I'm not a huge fan of big changes.
There was a feeling of being a little fish in a big pond - just because uni is so big (although the part of the campus that I'm expected to be in isn't that much bigger than my high school, I don't think) and with more people. (It seems bigger than it is because it's new, you don't know where the heck you're going, or where the nearest toilet/bubblers/good food place is).
You might also find, that after working to a syllabus for so long, that you get a little lost in your subject - 'what do I need to know??' style of thing. The subject outline that they'll give you on your first day is important, as is any extra stuff they point you to.
Look up where you're expected to be on your map first - this can help you reassure yourself that you're not going to get lost. It was a real help for me. And it's a good idea to show up a little early, so you can actually find the room within the building.
Making friends isn't too difficult - in the first couple of weeks or so, everyone's on their very best behaviour and wanting more friends, too. A friend in second year, doing the same course as you are, would be a dream.
Profs/tutors - can be bad, can be good, can be boring, can be engaging. Same as HS, but there is a lot less external structure/nagging to your learning. Towards the end of each semester, you can critique your prof's performance anonymously - you can also critique your subjects as a whole on SOLS.
You may find that the lecturers can go off on detailed tangents that are vaguely related to the subject matter - because they've been studying the subject for so long, they know much more than can ever be crammed into an hour of lecture time, so they might get a little frustrated that they can only give you the barest picture of a topic that they know is much more complex and interesting.
SOLS is Student OnLine Services - you use it to enrol, get messages.
Your uni webmail is separate to your SOLS mail.
WebCT is a useful thing, when the profs use it properly - it's a mini-website for each of your subjects - discussion forums, lecture notes (before the lectures is ++good), a voice recording of the lectures are some typical things that you'll find there. It can also be used for quizzes. It depends on the individual lecturer as to how useful it is.
There are also other support structures available - find out which ones might be able to help you. (
http://uow.edu.au/about/facilities.html)
The workload is =HSC in 13 weeks, twice a year, although I would suspect it depends on your course, the type of work you do, how seriously you take it, etc. . It's quite common for due dates for things to overlap, so you have a couple of projects due in at once.
Textbooks, workbooks (which is like a textbook for your prac work), are expensive - there is a 2nd hand shop, but they tend to sell out quick and not have the ones you want anyway.
Actually showing up to lectures/tutes/pracs is a GOOD THING - some lecturers have been known to say on the voice recording "Ok, I'm going to tell everyone who's showed up today all about the exam. Now I'm going to turn this thing off... *click*" so you're stuffed if you didn't go.
