Starting uni can be an exciting, yet daunting time. There is so much to think about. What is the right course? What is involved? What subjects are on offer? Then there is the complicated business of structuring your degree so that you complete all the units in the right order so that you can complete your degree in the fastest time possible.

Then when choosing certain course – like psychology – it is not just about completing the degree, its about being in the top 10% of the cohort and even that might not be enough to secure yourself a place in honours (or masters). It’s competitive and based on grades, not your passion or desire… Or does your passion and desire create the warm environment to germinate those seeds of success?

In some instances, yes. It is about looking at the opportunities presented and taking advantage of those. It’s about learning how to structure essays, reports, reference lists in certain formats.

There are so many resources to assist. The PASS sessions provided, in some of the first- and second-year courses, are so important and it took me 3 years to attend one… but these Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) give you the opportunity to connect with other students and a past student. The conversations and ability to check in, for an online student, is so valuable.

In addition to PASS, I found that I started to engage on Moodle and interact on Zoom more frequently which has been good forums to meet and develop relationships with other students.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard of Studiosity … well that is a little gem of a service. It is where you can submit your assignment for an independent person to cast their eyes over it and give general feedback. You can submit it at 11pm and your assignment will come back to you by the morning. Just in time to make some adjustments and submit that day if you are running late getting your work done.

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