First Year University Q&A

Since we've been getting SO many questions about how we got through the first year, we decide to answer them all in this blog post. The questions have all been asked by you guys via our Instagram ( @nesa.meemees ), and will be answered by both of us!

M - Does forensic science with a major in biology at UTS

A - Does a bachelor of psychology and a bachelor of human sciences at MQ

* These are just our opinions/thoughts, there is no right or wrong g way to do uni. Do what works for you!

---

Do you use a laptop to make notes or do you handwrite them?

A: I use my laptop just because it's all in once place then, and its easier for me to track and find things, edit and sort things out. In saying that though, I do a science degree, and as such, I need to handwrite diagrams and things, so when that's needed, I will be pulling out my book and drawing or writing those. But usually typing is easier for me.

M: Both. During my lectures I use a laptop to make sure I get down all the information I can, add screenshots of any important diagrams, and add voice recording of the lecturers. When I get home, I will handwrite out my notes from the lecture into a condensed form that I can use to study from when it comes down to exams.

Study have shown that you will retain more information from writing out your notes compared to just typing it up, and I find that its the best way for me to study. (of course this is what works for me and is my preferred method. This may not be your best method, so do whatever you think is best).

What note taking method do you use?

M: I like to keep it simple. I prefer to take my notes in bullet point form as its easy to read and straight to the point. I also use a colour coding system for all my subjects to highlight important bits of information. I have a colour for titles and topics, examples / statistics and formula, definitions, and important names /organisations and dates /times. I use my colour coding system to annotate my textbooks, assessment sheets, and to annotate my assignments after I get them back.

A: Bullet points, easier for me to understand, or I follow the layout given in the lecture slides, so I can easily follow the information. When I'm handwriting notes, I like to colour code things, and use highlighters so I can tell which information is from where and if there are links between things or important things that I need to remember, it stands out easier.

Do you print out your things and file them?

A: Yes, a lot of my notes I do end up printing them, and any diagrams or things that are much better as a hard copy, they are all printed out. It also makes it easier to find things sometimes, as you can easily pull up your notes from lecture 3 etc.

M: Absolutely! I love printing out my notes and important notifications and readings. I find it helpful to highlight things that are important, and manually annotate them. There's not a need to spend ages trying to figure out what you saved a file as on your laptop or where you saved it, if everything is filed nicely its super quick and easy to locate things.

Did you join any clubs? Is so which ones?

M: I did not. I'm not a very social person, and I decided that I wanted to focus on my subjects and figure out uni first (plus a lot of the social events were at the uni bar and I was still 17 so). After completing first year however, I think I'd like to find a society or club to join this year.

A: I joined an Ancient History society, however, due to covid, we weren't able to do many activities together in person. However, in saying that, we did a lot of activities over zoom and I attended a few which was fun! Clubs and Societies are a great way to meet new people from across the uni, and these people can become friends throughout your uni career who can help guide you as well!

---

Thank you so much for supporting us! make sure to follow us on Instagram ( @nesa.meemees) and Twitter ( @MemesHsc ) to stay up to date with everything!