Non-residential colleges

[irradiata]

If you're starting at Monash Uni this year, you should check out the non-residential colleges! A lot of people either haven't heard about the colleges or have heard a bit but don't really understand what they're about, so I thought maybe I could come on here, explain what they are, and answer any questions if people have them.

Basically, the non-residential colleges are kind of like a club, but instead of being based around one specific interest, they're more general, and are open to Monash students from any faculty and any year level. Throughout the year the colleges organise a bunch of events for members.

It's free to join, and the events are free too (except for the Ball). The events are usually really fun (eg trivia night, casino night, move & pizza night, sit-down dinner, sport competitions etc), and have free food too (one of my favourite things, haha). The more events you go to the better you'll get to know everybody, but you're not expected to be able to attend every single event so if something doesn't appeal to you or you're busy that's okay. You also get access to a common room on campus.

Each college has 250 members, and they're further broken down into groups of approx 20 members (plus 2 advisors per group). These are the people you'll probably get to know the best, because usually you'll sit together for events. Your group's advisors will also organise some catch-ups for just your group.

Advisors are students in their second year or above who volunteer to help run the events, plus to help you adjust to uni. If you have any questions, they're great people to ask! They know lots about the university, and if you have a problem they can help you figure out the next step to take/relevant person to get in contact with. Lots of the advisors started off as members, and then became advisors because of how much they enjoyed being part of the colleges.

Joining is a great way to get to know people (some of the best friends I've made at uni I met through the colleges) and get involved in uni life.

I was a member in 2014 and an advisor in 2015 and 2016 (and will be in 2017 too), so if you have any questions I can probably answer them

If you're interested you can read more info and apply here: https://www.monash.edu/non-residential-colleges
There's a limited number of spots so the sooner you apply the more likely you are to get in.