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Regardless of whether you left school last year or two decades ago, your expectations of university will most likely be based on your last educational experience--and for most students, that experience is high school.
At school, you'll often know exactly what you need to study. At uni, you don't receive everything you require in class or from your teacher.
Much uni learning is done outside the classroom, and you're expected to locate information by yourself. Although you may have to spend less time in classes, you're expected to do much more self-guided study.
The HSC requires a student to work hard over two years. Uni degrees require effort over three, four, even five years.
Uni study can involve meeting conflicting deadlines. You may feel intimidated by the intensity of study required in a relatively short period.
Time management for Non-school leavers
You might find that university teachers are more critical of your work. You may also get feedback on your work more slowly and infrequently than you expect.
Many students expect uni subjects to be a direct continuation of what they studied in high school. You will likely find that there is a difference between the subjects you studied at school and those you take at uni.
What you did in English or Science at school may not correspond with those subjects at uni. Indeed, there are many occasions when the things that you learned at school may be challenged or even rejected.
At uni, you need to be more flexible!
Compared to the amount of time spent in the school classroom, uni class hours can appear low. Contact hours (or time you spend in class) depends on your course. Some courses, especially in engineering and sciences, can have up to 35 contact hours per week. Other courses have few contact hours, some as low as 10 per week.
A low number of contact hours can result in students initially thinking that uni study is not much of a commitment. But the reality is quite different – at uni, most learning occurs outside class hours. While you may not have to attend classes all day, the amount of time you'll need to spend preparing for tutorials and completing assignments is greater than that expected of you in secondary school.
In order to be successful at uni, students need to spend time doing independent study and research. For every class hour, students might spend three hours on study and assignments. All students at university are expected to be self-directed learners.
This freedom can seem scary at first, and your study can seem to lack structure – but managing study is a skill that all students can learn.
Students Comment
"Starting out was a bit of a slap in the face. We adjusted to it slowly."
(First Year Student UNSW)
"With school, we were pretty much spoon-fed, whereas when we came to uni - the independent research - I found myself quite unprepared."(UNSW Student)
"I was told that uni would be much easier than the HSC and that we'd sort of be able to take it easy, particularly in first year, and that it would get more intensive as our degree progressed. I actually did find that."
(First Year Student UNSW)
"At uni, one semester was like doing the HSC, but you were actually doing two HSCs per year."
(UNSW Student)
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