What the Transition from High School to Uni is Really Like, According to a Student Ambassador

"University gives you the chance to learn in your own way."

This article is presented in partnership with Monash Business School. You can listen to the full podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, or right below.

If you’re a little intimidated by the vast, unknown experience of university life, we get it. Lots of us have been there before and guess what? There are a lot of wise peeps out there to build your confidence.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monash Business School to bring you a special five-part podcast series called “What I Wish I Knew About Studying Business”.

In our first episode we welcomed Fiona Tran, an IT and Commerce student, to focus especially on the transition from high school to university (plus, where you can grab the best coffee on campus).

This one’s not just for the biz-school kids.

A bit about Fiona.

Fiona attended The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School in Melbourne and graduated Year 12 feeling liberated.

“I just felt so free. I could do anything,” she told us on the podcast. She hopped on a plane to Japan and Korea and didn’t look back.

When it came to her feelings about university, she recalls thinking it was “pretty daunting”, witnessing the stress it seemed to cause her older sister.

But she came across Monash University, where “everyone seemed really friendly”, and they offered Fiona a double degree.

“I felt like I always wanted to do commerce…then someone came to our school and talked about women’s representation in STEM, and [I realised I was] lowkey interested in tech.

“The fact that I’m able to explore both commerce and IT and don’t have to stick to one, that’s really cool.”

The first day of uni.

Skipping ahead and Fiona found herself amongst the hustle and bustle of campus.

“It was a bit of a blur…but my perception of uni definitely did change," she said.

“I feel like uni is definitely a big jump from high school, but it’s not that bad of a transition. You have teachers who are really accommodating and understand that we just left high school!”

Myth-busting and advice.

Fiona is full of wisdom when it comes to university life.

She wanted to debunk the persistent myth that you have to know what you want to do from the start—because the truth is, most people don’t follow through.

“All my friends have changed their courses since they started,” she said, “it doesn’t hurt to take an extra one, two years to be doing what you want to do.”

She also highly recommended joining clubs and societies, shouting out the Economic Students Society of Australia and the Vietnamese Student Association at Monash in particular.

“(Joining clubs) is the best way to meet new people and to really make the most out of your first-year experience.”

Career opportunities and networking.

Through Monash’s Industry Based Learning program, Fiona secured an internship at Coles, which also provided a scholarship.

Along with that fantastic experience, Fiona is a Monash Business School Ambassador volunteering to give advice to Year 12s and high school students.

“It’s a really good community to just gain exposure to different activities that you can join and engage with different people,” she said.

Fiona reassured us that there will always be people you can go to for support.

“Don’t stress out too much and just know that there’s people you can go to and ask questions. There was definitely a lot of help during uni.”

Oh and we know you were wondering—Fiona recommends Grafali’s at the Monash Clayton campus for the best coffee.

Be sure to hear the rest of Fiona’s advice on our first episode of “What I Wish I Knew About Studying Business” and check out more information about Monash here!