Crushing Campus Life: Five Top Tips for your #UniLife debut

Ace your first year in tertiary education.

So, you've just finished Year 12. You did the best you could in your exams and are enjoying the summer break without a care in the world.

But, before you know it, it’s the end of January and your first semester of University is creeping closer and closer.

What’s the best times for classes? How do I get there? What do I need for class?

The answers to these questions racing through your head may seem hard to come by.

Well, we got your back. Here are five tips to crush uni life.

1. Register your timetable.

It may seem like an easy thing to procrastinate, but getting your classes locked in and scheduled is better done sooner rather than later. Most lectures and tutorials are limited by capacities so getting your preferred spot is best achieved by getting in early.

It might seem tempting to select all your classes for 8 am. Rise and grind, am I right?

But if you're not a #morningperson, you'll find yourself halfway through the semester skipping classes and arriving late and unprepared.

By scheduling your classes slightly later in the day, you give yourself a chance to properly wake up, finish off your readings and get to class on time. You'll thank us later when you can hit snooze (again).

Or, if you're an early bird and would prefer to get your classes out of the way first thing, then schedule according to your strengths and please tell us your secrets.

2. Take notes and organise your work.

This is an easy one to get right if you set yourself up for success before the semester starts.

It's easy to slide into the semester and by the time exam week rolls around, you have no notes and your assignments were all completed on Notepad documents saved on your desktop.

The trick here is to make use of a central cloud sharing softwares like Google Drive or OneDrive to organise your units into folders and keep your notes all in one place.

Having a separate folder for each week and keeping notes here lets you skip back when its time to study for exams and all your content is where it’s supposed to be.

This is also especially handy when you need a shared folder for a group assignment to work on documents together. You'll be everyone's fav team member when you offer up this easy solution.

3. Get involved in your Guild.

The Guild is a great place to take advantage of as there is support and resources galore to access.

From advice on your degree to joining a club (there are literally so many), they are always there to support your student life and help you get involved.

You can watch your fav movies with other students and or enrich your degree with networking and workshop opportunities – there's something for everyone.

So, if you're feeling anxious or unsure about how to best start your degree, the Guild is the best place to have your voice heard and get some good answers specific to your uni.

4. Get to Uni on time.

This can be a struggle, especially if you're taking public transport and your train or bus is late. Then add on that your class is all the way on the other side of campus and it starts in three minutes...

The secret to this is really quite simple and you could probs guess it, right?! Leave earlier.

Yes, this might mean getting to bed earlier the night before but having the time up your sleeve means you can relax, grab a beverage or snack, and process how you are going to best approach your class(es).

Added bonus: you have time to check out some new spots around campus, get some prep done or come up with some talking points with your classmates!

5. Have fun!

Your first year at University is meant to be an exciting experience! You get to meet new people, explore your career options and hobbies and start developing the skills you need to become employable.

But don't put too much pressure on yourself! There are plenty of opportunities to change or pivot your degree if you don’t enjoy the units in your first year, so if you find your chosen degree is not for you, there are always other pathways to take.

Header Image: Polina Zimmerman via Pexels.

Crushing Campus Life: Five Top Tips for your #UniLife debut