What changes from high school to uni

That break between after Year 12 exams and before uni starts is one of the strangest periods of time. For the first time in your life (as long as you can remember), there is no more school to prepare for next year, holiday homework to do, and a huge leap from childhood to adulthood awaiting you.

That’s certainly how I felt from November to February, excited at the thought of not having to wake myself up at 7am everyday, nervous of the thought that everything would now really be in my hands.

That feeling of freedom

First off, uni is 24 weeks a year, compared to 30 something weeks of high school, that feeling of it being February and still being on holidays is second-to-none. I spent the holiday travelling, hanging out with friends, doing my own shit, it was probably the most freedom I had felt since junior school.

In the lead up to uni, I learnt from older peers that you don’t have to attend lectures, so I sat there planning out a timetable to come in 2/5 days a week. That’s a 40% reduction vs school! And it was for like 2 hours on a Monday 10-12pm, and 2 hours on a Friday 12-2pm. Now we’re really talking.

Only in a select few subject tutorials do they mark attendance (tutorial is like a small group class); those 400 people lectures where you’re pretty much an audience member watching rather than learning, thank goodness we don’t have to go to those, right?

And then on top of that, all my friends from day school, Chinese school, old schools, everyone practically goes to the same uni, so there’s another level of excitement of being able to choose class times with everyone, and even go out for lunch together every day you’re on campus.

A hit of realisation

It’s just so good that nobody cares at all right? Right?

That’s where the first hit of realisation occurs. Not only do they not care about your attendance, but also your grades, your assignments, your anything. So suddenly, your unbound freedom needs self-guidance, otherwise you risk going into turmoil.

Skipped lectures very quickly pile up, assignment deadlines come every week, mid-semester tests appear. It’s an almighty shift from school—a huge change in responsibility. Just like the real world, you, are the one in charge of yourself.

There are no more notifications, no calendars, no teacher to personally tell you something is due soon, it’s up to you the student to figure it out. Information will be announced at lectures, posted in feeds, but if you’re not the one checking, it’ll be very hard to find out.

So now, how you thrive in uni is wholly dependent on how you manage yourself.

Handling the transition

Non-negotiable classes

Skipped lectures and tutorials don’t just add up, the multiply. There are 12 weeks of uni, each week you miss is nearly 10% of the whole course. Sure, there’s no one to chase you down, but you’ll eventually be caved by the overwhelming number of 1-hour lectures you gotta sit through and watch, just to catch up on content that was taught 3 weeks ago.

Accountability is a great trait to have, every week attending/watching online the lectures, participating in tutorials, it builds a rhythm that compounds, pushing you further and further ahead.

In fact, the greatest tip I can give is to stay 1 week ahead. It’s a habit I advise high school students to take on as well. When you’re learning content with the teacher, inevitably you’re going to fall behind, that’s just plain and simple. The only way to counteract it is to be ahead of the teacher, so if you do have any struggles, lectures and consolidating your knowledge, not giving you a migraine as you sit through them.

Plan out your week early

Each week of uni will be very repetitive, your timetable is the same, your friend’s timetables are the same, virtually nothing is different for the 12 weeks of learning.

So get ahead of the curve: block out lecture, tutorial, study, hang out with friends, grab lunch with friends, work times on a calendar. Prepare yourself the best week you can imagine, one that you would look back on and think “I’m proud of what I did this week”.

Questions first

As a student, I might’ve been one of the most passive people ever, rarely would I be the one to ask burning questions—I’d rather hope someone would some how prompt the question out of me.

But that doesn’t translate over well—even to real life. Only the people who really care and know you are able to get stuff out of you, if you don’t get it out first. That lecturer who talks to 400 students for 2 hours isn’t going to know you like that, so be the one to ask the questions: when is this due, what does this mean, what are we allowed to bring into the exam hall.

The answers aren’t going to come searching for the questions, it’s the other way around.

Get to know someone else

As with life in general, your greatest resource is the people around you. In uni, the number of people around you expand by a huge amount. But on the contrary, it can be hard to expand your own network of people you’re close with.

I know first hand that 99% of people stick close within their old friend groups in uni, and that’s definitely a good thing, but what happens if no one you know is in your subject?

That commands you going to your lectures/tutorials, sitting next to someone, and building a new connection (not the LinkedIn shitty type) with them. Even if it’s just for this subject, get to know them, why are they doing the subject, what do they like/not like. And at that point, you’re now not only sitting next to each other, but also able to depend on each other for important information, filling gaps in knowledge, studying together and what not.

Keep your study habits if they work

Last but not least, if you had any study habits that worked for VCE, they’ll translate over nicely to uni, just with a little room for adaptation.

So, e.g., I love to push that staying ahead mentality, whether by a week or a month, and that’s something I’ve definitely brought over from high school to uni now.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. However, this really applies to learning because all in all, learning is still very similar. In terms of managing your time and stuff, your habits will change for sure, the lifestyle is just hugely different now.

Looking back

Learning how to learn is something that really evades high school students for the better while. But be excited, the freedom uni gifts you is the number one motivation to practice being a better student. There’s time to experiment, make mistakes and try new things.

Once I built myself a sturdy structure, I got to enjoy much more flexibility.

One small caveat

My experience as a uni student is a bit different to most, given I only enjoyed one semester at UniMelb, before I’m heading overseas later. However, I’d say that these tips would be fairly applicable to anyone and I’ve seen many of my friends applying them with great success—leading to probably the most fun and fulfilling time of our lives!