Stepping up from secondary education to tertiary studies can be a stressful time for students, as well as their family and friends. With thousands of VCE students making this transition in the new year, thanks to the Better Health Channel (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au), we provide a handy guide to help new tertiary students deal with the issues of friends and family, and how best to manage both time and stress.

friends and family

Becoming a university or technical and further education (TAFE) student is an exciting time and the start of a challenging new phase in your life.

However, there’s a lot to adjust to. There are new academic requirements, unfamiliar surroundings and new people. You also have to find a balance between these issues and others like looking after your personal health and wellbeing.
You may also need to find somewhere to live and possibly a part-time job.
Some students find making the change easier than others. Making new friends and leaving family can be stressful for some. If you are the first in the family to have left home for tertiary study, it’s sometimes a little harder. Remember, there is plenty of support and advice available on campus if you need it. Don’t wait until you’re really in trouble - seek help early.

Feeling ‘lost’ is normal
If you feel a bit lost when you first start tertiary studies, you are not alone. There are many issues to sort through in your first few months of campus life. Issues of common concern are:

w How to make new friends

w Loneliness, feeling homesick and missing close friends and family

w Living and learning in new surroundings or a new culture

w Sharing a house or living in a college or student residence

w Coping with new freedoms and responsibilities.

Making new friends
It will help a lot if you make the effort to mix and socialise in your new environment. Here are some tips on how to meet new people and make friends:

w Attend the orientation activities organised by your faculty or student union.

w Check out the various clubs and student societies, and join a club that interests you or start your own club.

w Find out about campus sport clubs and teams or join the gym. Get involved in recreation or other leisure activities.

w Start a conversation with someone who is doing your course or someone who sits near you, especially someone who is doing similar subjects to you. You could suggest that you do some study or a project together.

w Join a local community organisation or charity. Find details at your local library or on the Web.

Dealing with shyness
Almost everyone feels a bit awkward about meeting new people in the beginning. Be patient and give relationships time to develop. Just keep in mind:

w Other new students may be feeling just as shy as you are.

w Someone who appears distant and uncommunicative may be shy like you - they may be waiting for you to start a conversation.

w Believe in yourself; your friendship will be valuable to someone.

w Remember you don’t have to be the life of the party, and not everyone wants to belong to the ‘in’ crowd.

w Keep things in perspective. It may take time to meet people and even longer to build close friendships and relationships.

w You can get help to learn skills to manage shyness, or use self-help strategies (websites or books). Ask the student support services at your university or TAFE institute for more information.

Family relationships
If you live away from home, your homesickness will usually lessen as you become familiar with your new life and develop a routine. Stay in touch with your family via a regular phone call, letter or email. If possible, take time out to visit your family or organise a member of your family to visit you.
If you are living at home, it may take some time for everyone to adjust to your role as a tertiary student.

Managing your time
Managing your time and finding a good balance between study, work, friends, family and leisure is an important part of coping with university life. It will keep you motivated and focused on your goals. A study timetable should include your various academic commitments but also time out for breaks and to have some fun (see ‘time management’).

Other issues
There are other common issues that can cause stress and anxiety when you start tertiary studies. These include:

w Housing - finding cheap rent, sharing a house with strangers or living with a roommate.

w Financial - supporting yourself, managing on your student allowance or learning to budget.

w Working - finding suitable part-time employment and juggling work and study commitments.

Support
Seek support from student counsellors for any personal, social or study problems. They can help you find ways to make the transition to university life easier.

Things to remember

w Starting tertiary studies at a university or TAFE is a challenging experience for all new students.

w Many new students feel a bit lost and overwhelmed at first. Being homesick and feeling stressed about making new friends is normal.

w Seek advice from student counsellors if you feel that you’re not coping.

managing stress

Stress is a common issue for university and technical and further education (TAFE) students, particularly around assessment or exam times. But there are lots of ways to manage your stress. Remember, you can always seek help from on-campus student support services if you feel you are not coping on your own.

Stress management tips
Suggestions include:

w Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and get enough sleep.

w Do at least one activity every day that you find relaxing - for example aromatherapy, going for a walk, listening to music, gardening, reading for enjoyment, keeping a personal journal or diary.

w Discuss your problems. Talking to someone else often puts problems into perspective. Talk to other students, friends, family members or a student counsellor. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need to.

w Work out which issues are causing the stress, and try to address them. For example, if you are having problems with a particular subject or assignment, talk to your lecturer or other students about it. If, despite your best efforts, you feel you are slipping behind, you could consider contacting student learning support at your tertiary institution or arrange for private tutoring.

w Have a plan to manage stress around assessment and exam times. A good long term strategy to deal with exam stress is to manage stress across the whole academic year.

w Learn a relaxation technique such as breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, yoga or meditation, and set aside at least 20 minutes each day to practise it. You may have to experiment with a few different techniques before you find the one that works best for you.

w Focus on your strengths. You could keep a list of things that you are good at, your achievements and successes, and refer back to it to give your self-esteem a boost.

w Keep your life in balance - it’s an important key to managing stress. Burnout can be caused by focusing on one aspect of life to the exclusion of all others. Schedule fun and enjoyment into every week, and allow time for family and friends along with your study. Put this into your study timetable.

w Make time management and getting organised important to you. Remember that you are less likely to worry if you plan ahead.

Take control

of your thoughts
Try to avoid getting caught up in a cycle of negative thinking. Challenge negative thoughts and self-talk such as ‘I should understand things the first time’ or ‘I’m not smart enough’. Ask yourself, ‘Do my classmates and lecturers expect me to know everything?’ or ‘Am I over-reacting?’ Jumping to conclusions is more likely to happen when you are under stress. Routinely think about all possible outcomes, including the positive side, so that you get a more realistic overall picture.

The challenges of distance learning
Flexible delivery of courses by tertiary institutions has many advantages for students; however, distance students and online students encounter different challenges to on-campus students. Common causes of stress include:

w Pressures of full-time work and family

w Lack of face-to-face feedback from lecturers and tutors

w Social isolation from other students

w Reduced access to student support services and study materials.

Tips for distance students
Your tertiary institution will have services available for distance students. You may be able to arrange a telephone appointment. Find out about these services from your student diary or tertiary institution website, and use them. It may also help if you:

w Keep in contact with lecturers via phone, email and computer conference.

w Talk to your lecturers about your concerns and issues related to

off-campus study.

w Keep in touch with other distance students, either via phone or email.

Don’t quit in a hurry
Sometimes, a student decides that the stress of study isn’t worth it, or they can’t see a way to deal with problems that arise. It is normal for your motivation to flag at times. However, don’t be in a hurry to withdraw or drop out of your course. Suggestions include:

w Remind yourself of your reasons for choosing to study. Don’t let stress take your focus off your long term goals. Get some support so that you can keep going.

w Talk over your problems and concerns with lecturers, student counsellors, the disability liaison officer and other support staff at your tertiary institution.

w Seek advice from equity staff, student counselling or the student union if you have experienced harassment or bullying.

w Review your workload. Make sure that poor time management skills are not to blame.

w Remember that quitting isn’t the only option. After careful review, you may decide that you can’t cope with your current workload. You could switch your course to

part-time or take a leave of absence. Consult with the student administration for more information. Find out any important dates and if any changes will affect your Centrelink study allowance or your enrolment fees.

w Don’t rush into a decision. Take your time, get advice, weigh up the options and then follow through. For example, if you feel you are doing the wrong course, make a time to see a career counsellor and plan what you might do about it.

w Make sure you understand the implications of any changes to your enrolment before you go ahead with your decision.

Things to remember

w Work out which issues are causing the stress and try to address them.

w There are lots of ways to manage stress that can help prevent you becoming overwhelmed in your life as a student.

w Talk over your problems and concerns with lecturers, student counsellors and other support staff at your tertiary institution.

time management

Time management is an essential skill for all university, technical and further education (TAFE) students. Managing your time will help you to cope with the pressures of tertiary study. Self-help strategies and student support services on campus can be used to help you get organised and keep on top of your studies.

Get organised
Getting organised and keeping on top of study commitments is an ongoing challenge for university and technical and further education (TAFE) students.
If you’ve just left school, you will probably find yourself in a much less structured environment; you may have more free time and need to develop independent study habits. If you’re a mature age student, you’ll need to carefully allocate your time to juggle work and family commitments.
Time management is an essential skill to help you to get organised and cope with the stress associated with tertiary study. Self-help materials such as quizzes and activities can be used to improve time management strategies, and advice can be sought from on-campus student support services.

Time management - consider the alternatives
If you are unsure about the value of time management and how it can make a difference to your stress levels, consider the alternatives. If you don’t manage your time, you may:

w Feel overwhelmed by the demands and details of study and life in general.

w Be listless and use up hours in non- productive activity.

w Have little time for rest, relaxation or personal relationships.

w Miss deadlines, rely on extensions or lose marks because work is submitted late or not handed in.

w Be indecisive about when tasks should be done.

w Rush to finish tasks and get to places on time or generally spend a lot of time just trying to beat the clock.

Planning is essential
Planning is the key to getting organised and you should start right from the beginning of the semester. The skills you gain from learning to manage your time will always be useful to you as a student, but can also assist in other aspects of your day-to-day life.

Tips to manage your time include:

w Develop the habit of listing your tasks and putting them in order of priority, which means you attend to the urgent tasks first. You might use headings like ‘must do’ and ‘wish to do’, or number them in order. Tick them off when completed.

w Make short, medium and long term plans. For example, write study schedules for the day, the week, the term and the year.

w Get yourself a yearly planner or calendar. Keep it handy in your study area so that you can see it at a glance. Write important dates, your assignment deadlines and exam schedules into your planner. It is a good idea to write each task in a different coloured pen. Estimate the time you will need to complete each task. Write a ‘start date’ for each assignment into your planner.

· Use a diary with a timetable for weekly planning - many tertiary institutions provide diaries for students and they also contain important information. Write in every commitment across the whole week: for example your classes, travel to and from TAFE or university, meal times, part-time work, social engagements with family and friends, and regular sport. Include your start dates for each assignment in your diary. Then, assess each day and find empty time slots that you can devote to study. Write these in.

w Don’t worry if unexpected events cause you to miss a study period. Your planner is only a guide. Be flexible in your approach and reschedule your study period.

w Discover your learning style and experiment with study techniques to find out what works best for you. That way you will get the most out of your study time. Ask yourself questions such as ‘Am I a morning or evening person?’ and ‘Where do I study best?’.

w Be assertive and learn to say ‘no’ - it can help to prevent you becoming overcommitted timewise.

w Have some exam strategies in place and ways to deal with exam stress. Exam periods call for a different time management approach as you revise and prepare for final assessments. Managing your time throughout the semester is one of the best long term exam strategies.

w Be realistic; don’t set impossible goals such as six hours of continuous study without a break. Reward yourself for your efforts and plan to have some fun and relaxation so that you don’t experience burnout.

Quick time management tips
Suggestions include:

w Take advantage of small chunks of free time: for example, while travelling on public transport. You could read over lecture notes, make assignment plans or proofread.

w Avoid ‘double handling’. Tackle small tasks as soon as you get them.

w Keep something handy at all times to write things down. Don’t lose those valuable thoughts that you might have while you’re waiting in a queue for the photocopier.

w Spend a few minutes writing up a plan for each assignment. Break down the various tasks and list them in order of priority.

Don’t procrastinate
Procrastinating means putting important things off to another time, so you spend your study time doing other things. This can be a big issue for many students, so try not to let it derail your studies.

Try figuring out what makes you procrastinate -you’ll then be in a better position to do something about it. Routinely break what seems to be a large task into manageable parts. Prepare drafts of your work in advance. Consider making changes to your study environment and reduce distractions.
Use ‘self-help’ materials to overcome procrastination, or get help from a student counsellor or learning skills advisor.
Identify your own time wasters and have strategies to manage them. Common time wasters, and ways to deal with them, include:

w Television - plan what you watch rather than surfing channels, or make watching a program a reward for studying.

w Internet, email or text messaging - limit the amount of time you spend online; avoid the temptation to keep checking for messages when you are working at a computer.

w Telephone - make use of voicemail; catch up on calls as a break from study.

w Housework and chores - use the time when you are most alert for study, and schedule other times to catch up on housework.

Things to remember

w Effective time management will help you manage your tertiary course commitments.

w Planning is the key to getting organised; this will help you cope with the stress of study.

w Beware of your ‘time wasters’ and get help if procrastination becomes a problem.

Where to get help

w Student counselling at your university or TAFE institute

w Learning skills advisors

w Other student support services

w For Victoria University students, Counselling Services

Tel. 9919 4418, 9919 2399 or 9919 8801

w Centrelink Specialist Youth and Student Officer Tel. 131 021

This information has been provided by the Better Health Channel and was last reviewed in March 2005. Material on the Better Health Channel is regularly updated, for the latest version of this information please visit: www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.