Building castles in the shifting sands, in a world nobody quite understands (Sophie)

Just a quick update on things.

Firstly I want to let everyone know that my bio page is currently being formatted…so please excuse the fact I currently look completely out-of-proportion in my photo -I promise I don’t really look like that! I am crossing my fingers that by next week everything will be edited to perfection! I’ve been told Dr Who once said that “Computers are very sophisticated idiots” – nothing more true in my opinion!

Today I attended the first proper Political Interest Society meeting (last week was the welcome back/introduction) and it was just as fantastic as I knew it would be! We talked about issues from Simon Crean’s recent pre-selection challenge, to the issue of Iran and nuclear weapons, to whether or not public transport in Melbourne should be free. I heard some fascinating opinions and felt very comfortable in the presence of the other members to speak up with my point of view.

Tonight I am a bit frustrated though as I only just checked my uni email and found out that an email had been sent out THIS MORNING, to inform people who wanted to have mentors that the first meeting would be TODAY at 1pm! I was throughly disappointed to miss this as I had no idea it was going on. I thought I was enough of a geek to check my email once a day….now I’m thinking perhaps it needs to be checked morning AND night? I have emailed the organiser to explain how I didn’t check my email until tonight and am crossing my fingers that I can still get a mentor. Otherwise I will be SO disappointed as I think the whole mentoring program is a great idea and was really looking forward to having an older student be a mentor to me.

As for everything else, I think everyone is feeling very stressed right now. All the people I speak to are feeling like they’re not quite in control of what’s going on, and tell me they’re behind on reading, they haven’t started the assignments yet, or describe to me a feeling of being “lost”. (Definitely the most common term used). I’m glad in the sense that I know I’m not alone because I’m feeling so much of this too. I think in the next week or two though, everything will come together and make a lot more sense. New routines just take a while to get used to and this is a pretty big transition period in our lives.

I nearly freaked out yesterday to overhear a girl speaking on the train saying how she’d attended her first accounting tutorial the day before and only 4 people had done the required homework -which was being marked, and most of the class had received a score of ZERO. I suddenly realised she was talking about the Accounting subject I take and was shocked as I had no idea what homework she was talking about. As she kept speaking I soon realised she was referring to something our lecturer had mentioned very briefly in his first lecture. It was something that would have been very easy to miss and it had not been made at all very clear that this was due in the first tutorial.

I guess if you were a fully organised uni student you would have known, but for most of us it was such an easy thing to forget about or not realise was due in the first tutorial, particularly as every other first tutorial in other subjects had been an introduction with nothing expected to be due!

For a few minutes I was verging on a heart attack as I knew I had a tute that morning and didn’t know which subject for. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than receiving a big fat “zero” on my first tutorial for Accounting! Luckily fate saved me and I found out my Accounting tute wasn’t until Friday so I had time to prepare what was due.

I felt so bad for the people in that girl’s tute who received zero. I have however, heard conflicting reports that other people were let off the hook in their tutes and just told to hand the homework in next tutorial. I really hope that ended up happening for everyone because otherwise I think it is pretty harsh for those who didn’t do it to get zero (though I do understand the question of fairness for those who DID do the required homework).

Not much else going on. I have decided at this point not to join AIESEC. As much as I think it sounds fantastic, I feel at this point I am struggling to balance uni, social activities and extra curricular activities. I feel it’s pointless for me to join AIESEC unless I really know I can commit the hours needed to make it a worthwhile experience. I guess sometimes you just need to make tough decisions about what you can and can’t do.

I’ll end this now on one final thought.
Quantitative Methods 1 sounded like my worst nightmare…I considered renaming it ‘advanced Math Methods’ (taking into account Math Methods in yr 12 was my most hated subject). After 3 lectures….I am have to say that statistics are actually quite ok. High school maths is so abstract, but when you are actually applying things to real-life scenarios it’s quite interesting.

Wow I feel like a bit nerdy saying that. Don’t take it to mean I actually LIKE maths or anything….lol.

Sophie

8 thoughts on “Building castles in the shifting sands, in a world nobody quite understands (Sophie)

  1. May I first say I’m impressed with this whole first-year blogging concept and indeed the corageuousness of all the contributors. First year is often a defining period in life, and aside from the alcohol induced blur, will yield many a good memory.

    Worrying about marks in first year is a large-scale phenomenon. You are coming into university from an environment where there were teachers on your back, colleauges you were in direct competition in, and people to impress. University is a shock to the system for many, becuase the nature of success is very individual, there is no one to push you but yourself.

    The temptation is to worry about working hard and ensuring you don’t miss anything. I will impart a pearl of laconic wisdom that the key is working smarter, not harder. As you move through university and become more seasoned, you will find a swag of shortcuts which will save you considerable time and effort, and perhaps come to the realisation that hard work isn’t even necessary.

    This is why you can afford to miss the occassional lecture and needn’t stress over missing tutorial work one week. Take solace in the fact that you only need 50% to pass, and as long as you are above average and have command of the language, first year (especially) should be a low-stress experience.

    Yours in happy winging,

    P. Waterstone

  2. Thanks for the comment. I think you are definitely right that worrying about marks is something felt through-out most first year minds.

    I love the concept of working smarter, not harder. Reminds me very much so of the “80/20” principle.
    I’m hoping to find these short-cuts as soon as possible…so feel free to shed any light on them for me!!!

    I guess the defining factor for me is that I don’t want to just “pass”…I want to do as well as I possibly can, particularly as one of my goals is to go on exchange next year to New York University….which of course I need high marks for.
    At the same time however, I know it’s important to put things in perspective and if I don’t reach that goal it won’t be the end of the world.
    As long as I pass…that means something.

    Keep reading,
    Looking forward to more comments!!

    Sophie

  3. Good to see you’re aspiring to go on exchange, Stern at NYU is fairly competetive, so you’d probably be looking at a 70-80 average to get endorsement. You may want to cast a glance over UPenn, which the university has partnered with recently, their undergraduate business school (Wharton) is ranked No. 1 worldwide.

    I have some tips on picking up great unique articles on a ‘frugal’ budget, but I’d better not diverge here, ‘cos I might get in trouble. I’ve got a generic .ugrad.unimelb.edu.au email, so interested parties feel free to contact for further information.

    Keeping it relevant:

    Smarter working tips:

    > Find someone who’s done the subject (well preferably) and hit them up for notes. I like to call this collaborative learning.

    > If your subject has streaming, download the lectures and play them back at 1.5x. This can capture the value of a lost week of lectures, in around 70 minutes. Also great for exam revision (put them on an Ipod and listen to them on the train).

    > Whenever you have group assignments, ensure you organise as early as possible, to ensure you get a good group of people who won’t free-ride, leaving you to do all the work.

    > Take advantage of PASS sessions if your subject offers them. I just found out we had this wonderful initiative this semester, and these sessions are actually more useful than my tutorial.

    > Online assessments are easy marks. Many commerce subjects have online tests which are a great way to bump up marks. Ensure you organise yourself with a bookmarked textbook, calculation paper, formula sheet, lecture notes, calculator, (phone a friend) etc before you start so you maximise time efficiency.

    > Invest in a laptop. They are heavy to lug around, but can prove indispensable for maintaining coherent notes in lectures and surfing the net over free wireless/watching the ocassional DVD when your lecturer gets boring.

    > Familiarise yourself with the APA/Harvard referencing system. Many colleagues had big issues with this, and if you can master it early, you can save yourself many a lost mark on an essay (most markers are very particular with referencing).

    > Listen carefully in lectures. First year lectures have a cetrain affinity to drop exam hints left right and centre, so it’s worth attending and paying attention, even if just for those tips 😉

    > OLT. If you can manage to decipher the SMS-lingo favoured by students on the online tutor, this can be a valuable resource for clarifying subject knowledge, or getting an answer for a nagging question. Checking over the OLT is always a good use of spare time.

    I think I may have revealed too many of my secrets – ces’t la vie, back to the skull cave.

    PXW

  4. Thanks for some of the tip posted by PXW and Sophine. This is some light entertainent But i disagree on the attitude of just aiming for mediocrity. I think we have the best oppotunity to learn now, so go for it and enjoy the exp.
    My tip for learning: ask lecturer for help outside class.

  5. Jim, you are right that being at Melbourne is a very special opportunity that we should take advantage of, but just to clarify:
    I don’t think Paul ever meant we should be ‘aiming’ for mediocrity. I think he just meant that if worst comes to worst, it’s important to put things in perspective and realise that as long as we pass our subjects, that’s the most important thing and not to commit suicide just because we don’t get an H1.

    Thanks for your comment though 🙂

    Especially the tip on asking lecturer’s for help outside class!

  6. Light entertainment? That was a dissemination of (slightly cynical) wisdom gained from a year at Monash (shudders) and two at Melbourne.

    Sometimes mediocrity is an inevitable byproduct of enjoying the experience. I have colleauges who spend their Friday nights poring over their textbooks, they’re the ones who tend to scoop up all the H1s – but I don’t think they enjoy the experience.

    I’m going to put on my philosopher hat now and make the important conjecture that university is much more than simply ‘taking an opportunity to learn’ and pursuing academic brilliance. Fact is, university is not just an opportunity to learn, but it is an experience of life itself. There is no other environment which endows a young person with so much intellectual, social and experiential freedom. High school has you killing yourself for those 4 little numbers, and once you get on the corporate treadmill, well…by the time you get off, much of life has passed you by. The lull in between is University, and it is a grand spot on the road of life to actually stop, think about your aspirations and smell the roses.

    I would be a fool stepping out into the real world with a transcript of straight H1s, but nothing else to show for 3 years at Melbourne. Make new friends, risk calling out in tutes even though people will think you’re an arrogant know-it-all, join some the wacky clubs, protest against VSU even though it’s already enshrined, poke fun at Arts students (sorry Johanna ;-)), impersonate a law student to get into LSS events incognito, …, join the hoodlums who race around campus pushing one another in shopping trolleys…and drink Coke Zero because it has no sugar. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, make the most of it.

    To borrow the words of a wise woman “This is uni life”

    (Steps down from soapbox)

    Sophie, did I ever tell you your way of thinking is faultless? :mrgreen:

    THIS is an evil smiley face: 😈

    Shalom.

    PXW

  7. A YEAR AT MONASH?! my god!!! you poor thing! ahahah…I must tell you about my “monash camp” experiance in Year 12.

    Wise woman?! My way of thinking is faultless?!?!

    You flatter me far too much Paul!!!! (I adore you for it though!!!!)

    AHAHAHAH now I know what an evil smiley face REALLY looks like. *runs away screaming*

    Now to the point of this comment.
    You are so damn right in everything you say.

    xoxo

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