FF:NSW Any advice for a new uni student???

Im starting at uni in a couple of weeks and i was wondering if any of you guys have been there before and could offer advice as to what to expect/do, yada, yada, yada.

Thanks!

Melissa

Arrive on Monday Morning and sign up for all your tutes and workshops early so as to get the best ones (usually, it's first come, best dressed).

Study hard and get good results in your first year. Honestly, it's so easy to get good grades in your first year as you're spoon fed everything. Those good grades will push you over the grade curve in your second, third etc years.

Group work sucks. It's likely that you will be stuck with 3 other retards who couldn't organise themselves a piss up in a brewery. Learn to pick your next group with care.

The Uni Bar is there for a reason and the reason is not to get legless and pick up randoms. Actually, I'm not sure what the uni bar is for, but it's still darn good fun. On that note, NEVER SIGN UP FOR TUTES/WORKSHOPS after bar night. This should be self explanatory.

I was a campus guide at CSU a couple of years ago so if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me them.

Some Uni's have online registrations now. And if registration starts online at 9am, you can bet people will be online trying at 7am. And by 9am the website will be as slow as ... some very slow thing ... from the servers getting hit with page refresh requests every nanosecond.

On the other hand, in very popular degrees, they have a tendency to make first year courses more difficult to cull the numbers.

Another advantage of getting good grades in first year is that if you decide to switch degrees, you can use your marks in first year (or any year) to apply for a new TER that is based solely on your performance at Uni.

And don't think they'll appreciate it if you do all the work. They'll just complain about what you did and how you did it and how long you took.

And do not ... underestimate ... the power of group-work bitchiness. I've seen at least two groups come close to blows. Two members of one group had to be restrained in the cafeteria during an argument about their project.

And, well, on the topic, do not underestimate the levels of criminal cunning and backstabbing that people will use to (try to) get ahead of everyone else. We had one course that was given a research assignment that involved reviewing papers from journals in the library. A student tore one of the papers out of a journal so nobody else could read it. (They got caught. They were the only person with a review of that paper ... d'oh)

Don't know about other Uni bars, but ours is there for concerts. And potato wedges with sour cream.

Never Ever Leave. Do 100 degrees.

Full time work is one of the worst experiences. Uni isn't.

And when all else fails, think of the money you'll make in your career after you complete the course, That should push you along if times get tough Good luck for the year ahead!

As a lecturer and examiner here are my top 10 exams hints for you

Think of an exam as if your employer is asking you for your advice on the job and they are expecting an answer straight away. You are meant to have some expertise in your field of study and be able to respond in a timely manner.
Think of this simple scenario:

Employer: "Jones, why do we always use GIFs on our webpages as JPEGs look so much nicer? What are the differences?"

What would your answer be straight away, without consulting books/notes/internet? Now if you could not answer this to his face then your employment there may be under doubt.

Oh and 10 quick tips off my head from a person who also marks exams

1: Answer all questions if possible. Even if you are unsure of the answer memory dump what you think you may know. You will be surprised. Remember you get 0 marks for a blank answer.

2: Answer the question. Do not waste your time and mine by simply re-stating the question to try to pad out your answer. Some students answer in a circular fashion in this way and end up with no answer really at all.

3: In some cases try to relate the question to/or talk from experience in some fashion. This may help you with an answer if you can talk about something you have created/made but are unsure of how to articulate the answer

4: Make sure you can read your cheat sheet! Remember it is a single sided A4 hand written sheet. Try to compartment topics on the sheet so you can find them easy. You may even choose to use different coloured inks for different topics. Just make sure you can indeed read it.

5: Make sure you bring your single sided hand written A4 sheet to the exam!!!! So many people do not bother for some strange reason. The pure creation of it alone will help to commit points to long term memory.

6: Some students find it helpful to memory dump thoughts and notion onto paper as soon as they start writing and before attempting questions.

7: Make use of reading time. Work out what questions you know and which ones you may have to think about.

8: Try to order the questions as they appear. Even if you leave space for them in your books. This will make marking easier and it will also help you to know if you have missed any along the way.

9: Do not come to the exam with a 'I only need 50% to pass' attitude. Strive for the best mark you can possibly achieve. The 50% you think you have got is not guaranteed.

10: Bring spare pens, pencils, rubbers etc. All that you need and your student card. Pencils come in handy for any diagrams and can be easily adjusted/erased.



I lecture in IT though lol. Do your best. Start an assignment in some form the day you get it. Even if you simply type out a title page. Read your uni's style and citation guides and use them from day 1. If you are unsure of anything at all - ask ask ask ask ask ask ask. Uni is all about organisation so start off right. Keep to the time lines and do not leave all assignments until the last day. Remember to balance your study with your work and social life. If economically possible I would not work fulltime during study. Ask ask ask ask ask ask ask.......anyone and everyone. Look for units that give you industry contact and experience. Try to fall into a good crowd early. Try to develop effect teams early for group work. Do not fall into the mentality of just aiming for a pass and that piece of paper at the end. If you have to hand in an assigment via electronic format then test it b4 you hand it in. The same with presentations.

Also make sure all your lecturers know you by name. Attend every class (you will always learn something). Never ever miss the first and the final lecture of a unit. If you are working in a group and one team member is not pulling their weight then take steps to ensure they do not get the same mark as you. Ask ask ask ask ask. Do not approach a lecturer the day before or the day it is due with a lame excuse to not hand in.

Ask ask ask ask ask ask ask ask ask ask.

Develop templates of your own for various assignm

Please not at Macquarie. Please not at Macquarie. Please not at Macquarie.

Why would you not want me Scoot? I am upset now. No I am in VIC. I research in disability rights though lol

Mixo's a uni lecturer? I thought he was some Year 8 kid. Must've been all the lol's.

lol!!!!!!!!

Because you could be our crazy polish lecturer!

I may be crazy but I am not polish lol

You guys are really great!!!!!

thank you soo much!!!

Hanzik is polish. AND Crazy!

Maybe she is Scoots lecturer!

It's acutally funny because all the polish lecturers I've had over here so far have been totally insane. As in scary crazy. My polishness helps me stay on their good side most of the time but everyone else is pretty much screwed. So, uh yeah, my advice is to avoid Polish lecturers

we have crazy Russians lol

What degree are you doing? I can only offer advice with an arts degree or a science one...

Heres some advice:

NEVER EVER LEAVE UNI.