If you’ve got TAFE* courses or university studies planned in the near future, you’re certainly not alone in Australia. As of 2022, 50% of Australian professionals have completed higher education, highlighting its importance for your long-term career plans. So, what can you do to prepare and ensure the process goes smoothly? Let’s explore together.
How Is University Different From Secondary School?
Well, you might think that as a recent school leaver, the learning experience you get at university or on TAFE* courses is something you’d be used to. However, it’s actually quite different in a number of ways. The main one is that you do much of your studying by yourself. This lack of the kind of supervision you get at secondary school can make it difficult to know.
What Can I Do To Prepare Myself For University?
Well, your personal development journey starts right now - even before you arrive on campus and there’s much you can do to prepare yourself. That’s exactly what you look at now, as we offer up some juicy tidbits to ensure you’re 100% ready for what’s to come. So, go grab a notepad and pen and get ready for some nuggets of wisdom!
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Tip #1 - Get A Planner…You’ll Need It!
The need to self-govern your learning in tertiary education means that your organisational skills need to be tight! You’re not going to get the same reminders you used to get at secondary school, so it’s vital that you have a clear and easy-to-follow way to track your schedule. The good news is that many free planners are available to download online.
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Tip #2 - Look After Yourself
With everything that’s going on at university or during your TAFE* courses, it can be easy to forget to look after your physical and mental health. This means eating right, sleeping 8 hours a night and doing your best to stay away from drugs and alcohol. Perhaps free downloadable apps like Headspace (for your mind) or 8Fit (for your physical fitness) give you the guidance you need.
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Tip #3 - Get A Grip Of Your Budget
Moving to residential education can be challenging if you’ve only ever lived at home with your parents - particularly when it comes to your finances. Sure, you want to hone your interpersonal skills by socialising and having a good lifestyle, but not if that means you can’t afford to buy food! Either keep an accounts book (old school) or use one of the many personal budgeting apps like GoodBudget.
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Tip #4 - Make Use Of Student Services
Depending on where you’re studying at university or TAFE*, there will be a variety of student services available. These may include library services, counselling, mentoring programmes, or learning workshops. During your orientation, make sure you're informed about what's on offer, and if not, don’t hesitate to ask.
Something else that can help you greatly as you prepare for tertiary education is taking short online courses that help you develop yourself personally and professionally. Also known as micro-credentials, they’re really useful for adding to your knowledge, as well as to your employability. Each one completed looks great on your CV, particularly when they’re CPD-Endorsed.
The work you do now to prepare yourself for tertiary education will set you well for the long term. This is a critical time in anyone’s life, so it’s important to get it right. Fortunately, often all it takes is a little planning and understanding of the kind of support you can get. Do that, and your chances of success go up significantly.
Support Your Learning With Short Courses Online:
For those preparing for the next stage in their educational journey, OCA online learning offers a head start. Our video-based CPD-Endorsed online coffers an engaging and immersive experience that makes learning new professional skills easy. What’s more, our courses are modular and industry-led, meaning they’re super-relevant to what’s needed in each sector.
Our next-level learning experience is one that leads to our students regularly telling us that we offer the best online education Australia can provide. If you’d like to see what that experience looks like, take a look at our Student Study Demo, which lays everything out clearly.
To see our full online courses library that covers over 20 different industries, visit us today at www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au. There you’ll see a selection of payment options that make our affordable learning even more accessible. Alternatively, to speak to us about your precise needs, give us a call at 1300 611 404 or email [email protected], and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
*What is a TAFE?
TAFE stands for “Technical and Further Education”. TAFE institutes are government-funded Registered Training Organisations (RTO's) that offer Vocational Education and Training relating to a specific industry or occupation.
TAFE Alternatives
There are other private (non-government funded RTOs) that offer recognised courses (just like TAFE).
Although Online Courses Australia is NOT an RTO, OCA has formed partnerships with a small number of RTOs to offer RPL or CREDIT from select Micro-Credentials towards RTO-recognised courses. Keep an eye out for our Accelerated Learning Pathway on our website.
