A-students’ university experience post-matric

UNIVERSITIES are now in full swing across the province and country and Weekend Argus spoke to the top two pupils from the matric class of 2017, Janke van Dyk and Matthys Carstens.

Van Dyk scooped the number one spot in the country in the 2017 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams and Carstens was placed second.

Carstens, a former Hoerskool Durbanville boy, is now a second-year actuarial science student at Stellenbosch University (SU) and like he did in his matric year, he aced all his firstyear courses at university.

“I approached my first year at varsity with the same dedication that I had in my matric year,” said Carstens.

But it’s not just all books for this young man, he enjoys singing and has now joined his residence choir as well and serves on various committees at the university.

“Academics can be draining and that’s why it’s important to do other things as well,” he said.

This A student is not afraid to admit that there were butterflies at first but he soon settled into life at the university.

“I heard talk that top achievers don’t always make it,” he added.

The young man said he was not well known when he first arrived at SU despite his widely-publicised matric achievements.

“The lecturers didn’t really know me but the rector did call me to congratulate me after the matric results were released,” he added.

Van Dyk, also in her second year at SU, said she is now cruising through her chemical engineering studies but she did experience the usual teething problems.

“My first few days were quite challenging and it took me a while to adjust to everything. After that initial adjustment, going to class became very enjoyable,” said Van Dyk.

The former Bellville High School pupil said while she might be missing out on a “campus life” by commuting from home to university daily, she would not easily give up the comforts of home.

Van Dyk said while she loves every minute of studying, the workload is demanding and classes keep her busy until 5pm most days.