Study Tips: 5 things people don’t tell you about university
What are your expectations of university, both academically and socially? If you have friends and family who’ve gone to university, there’s probably a bunch of stuff they’ve forgotten to mention.
There are several reasons students choose Bulgaria for their studies. Some of these requirements include low tuition fees and very low living expenses in the country.
The cheap tuition fees of their universities and their very much easier entry requirements and most importantly their internationally recognized degree.
1. Nobody cares about your ATAR
All of Years 11 and 12 have been focused on your academic life: conquering ATAR. Once you get into university, nobody cares what score you got and you’ll probably never be asked anyway. This is a major relief if you didn’t do as well as you’d have liked. It’s also worth mentioning that your high school performance isn’t necessarily a sign of your future success at university.
2. You’ll have loads of class-free time
After 12 years of being told when and where you need to be, lectures can be mind boggling. But here’s the thing: you’ll need to be far more productive about your studies now and put in more study hours than you might think. There are lots of opportunities to join clubs and sporting teams, work different hours at your job. You can meet up with people for coffee whenever you like throughout the day.
3. You’re not stuck with the course you enrolled in
You probably spent most of your final school year carefully weighing up which degree is right for you. This wasn’t a wasted exercise but the fact is lots of people change their minds once enrolled. You might figure this out in your first week, or maybe in your second year. Even better news, you can swap courses fairly easily.
4. Work experience matters
Don’t wait until you’re about to graduate to do work experience. This is an invaluable part of your academic life and employers look on those who had the motivation to do unpaid work in their future field while juggling their studies. And it will show you what you do and don’t like about your future career.
5. There’s nobody watching over your shoulder
You’ve had gentle prompting all the way through your academic life so far. Your teacher reminding you about assignment due dates, or your mum and dad pestering you to finish homework. At university, nobody will chase you for assignments or tell you off for not attending lectures. This sounds like a blessing but it really means you are now fully responsible for yourself and whether (or not) you succeed.