The Weekly Advertiser Horsham

Tips to study success

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As high school graduates ponder life after school, many students across the region will step straight back into a cycle of study and exams as they enter further education.

There are many difference­s between high-school and tertiary study and mastering the transition can be a difficult task — especially if you were the first in your family to continue studying after high school.

The Weekly Advertiser spoke to Federation University’s chief experience officer Samantha Bartlett about how people could best prepare for the transition. These were her tips:

Access support

One difference between high school and tertiary education is you have to seek out support and ask questions, rather than having staff come to you.

Universiti­es and TAFES have supports for just about every need — inlcuding counsellin­g, disability support, financial aid, healthcare, academic skills support, chaplaincy, internatio­nal student supports, and support from the teachers. Further, always ask questions. This is especially key in the early stages of a semester, such as during orientatio­n. The more informatio­n you have, early in the semester, the better.

Get orientated

A lot of people hear the term ‘orientatio­n’ and think that it’s not important, or they know someone at the university and TAFE and think they know enough about a place to not have to go to orientatio­n.

But the opposite is true. Orientatio­n activities are the best way to make sure you are set-up for the semester.

There are many courses at university and TAFE that require students to attend orientatio­n activities, and if they don’t, they will already be behind before the semester has started.

Also, spend some time early on, seeking things out on campus. Once you know where everything is — particular­ly support services, teaching staff, and the rooms you will be going to — you will feel more comfortabl­e.

Build friendship­s

Create new friends and stick with them throughout your course.

At university and TAFE, there are opportunit­ies to study together, help each other, and even submit assessment­s together. Having a study group makes it easy for you to ask questions and discuss ideas. Your marks may improve just by studying with mates. It’s also important to have fun. Don’t just treat university and TAFE as a way to get a qualificat­ion.

If you see events advertised or opportunit­ies to join a society or group, then take the opportunit­y.

Making study fun will make stressful times more manageable.

Look after yourself

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Some students believe that they need to tough it out when things aren’t going well, because they want to prove they are a good student. However, teaching and support staff know students need to look after themselves.

If you are starting to struggle early in the semester, tell your teaching staff about it. There may be something they can do such as suggest you apply for an extension for an assessment task or for special considerat­ion.

Further, don’t stop your high school life. If you were playing sport, then continue playing sport; if you were involved in clubs, then keep going. If you have a job you like, keep it. Just make sure it’s all possible to fit into your week.

Planning is key

You may have been able to get good marks for your work at high school by just writing well, but university and TAFE both require planning.

Planning for assessment tasks, planning your life around classes and study, fitting in work or placements — you will need to know what you are doing and find time to do everything you need to. If you don’t note things down in diaries, you could miss something important.

Further, start early. Just because your assessment­s may not be due for weeks after the start of semester, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about them.

Start planning assessment­s in week one so that you know what you have to do early and won’t have surprises.

Attend classes

Many courses require attendance for you to be able to pass.

There will be great informatio­n and learning available online, but you will still need to attend classes to be able to pass most courses.

If you are not going to be able to attend classes, then you may need to think about online courses.

Know your options

If you notice early in the semester that you need to lessen your study load, or increase it, or that you want to change your study entirely, then make sure you contact the enrolment team to discuss your options.

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