.

[hobbitle]

The only thing that's a waste of your life is doing something that brings you no pleasure and brings the world no benefit. Everything else is just LIFE. And you never get even a day of it back.

When people say that taking time out, or switching careers/degrees, or dating someone just casually, etc, is 'wasting' their life, I kind of want to ask when "life" will *start*? Where are you going? And if years of your life aren't about actually enjoying living, if they're just a journey to somewhere better or proper or real... well, when and where does all that 'proper' stuff start?

**APPLAUSE**

[thushan]

"The only thing that's a waste of your life is doing something that brings you no pleasure and brings the world no benefit. Everything else is just LIFE. And you never get even a day of it back.

When people say that taking time out, or switching careers/degrees, or dating someone just casually, etc, is 'wasting' their life, I kind of want to ask when "life" will *start*? Where are you going? And if years of your life aren't about actually enjoying living, if they're just a journey to somewhere better or proper or real... well, when and where does all that 'proper' stuff start?"

Amen to this.

I was brought up differently - everything I was supposed to do was a means to an end. And I often do ask - when does the real life start? One sometimes can be brought up with the notion that if they don't do as they are told they will have fun now, but will ruin their entire life later.

[b^3]

And well, I totally understand it'd my loss if I simply got 50s in my first year but what if I were to put out a heap of time in my second year recovering my bases and filling up certain gaps?

To be honest with you, engineering/science is hard enough as it is even when you do have a good basis, and did well in first year. Why put yourself at a disadvantage already?

It's happened to me before. I didn't understand half the things we did in GMB, methods, physics and chemistry last year (didn't do much homework, I played footy/tennis most weekday nights then spent the rest of the night on Facebook..) I also nearly failed unit 2 chemistry and GMB as well, but I studied heaps over the summer holidays, stopped playing sport outside of school this year and pulled my head in.

VCE/school and Uni are different, yeah in school you might be able to slack off and then put hard work in and catch up. But once you get to uni you're putting that hard work in just to keep up with the course, you need to work your ass off just to be average. You will need these foundations for second year, and you won't have time to catch up on them in second year if you slack off in first. You hardly have enough time to get through the second year content.

Uni isn't easy, it's not VCE anymore, the amount of content and difficulty of content is a hell of a lot harder than VCE. You need to put the hard work in to get anywhere, and it just gets harder later on.

As other people have said, you get a really large holidays after VCE, it's long enough that you eventually get bored and want to get back into work. I don't see why you would purposely make it harder for yourself in the future (and which could result in you paying more as well).

If you do decide to do this, you'll probably get the wake up call after your results in first semester.

[hobbitle]

Goodness me, I'm not even sure why you posted this thread in the first place, since you are so intent on rebutting and denying all answers to your question.

And well, I totally understand it'd my loss if I simply got 50s in my first year but what if I were to put out a heap of time in my second year recovering my bases and filling up certain gaps?

I'm not sure how many different ways this can be explained to you.  You have had about 15 people who are already experienced at uni tell you that Uni is different to VCE.  Uni is hard.  There is a LOT of content in an Engineering major.   In first year you will discover new study methods, new ways of learning, and how to learn for yourself as opposed to being spoonfed.  If you don't learn these skills in first year there is a high chance that you are basically stuffed for the rest of your time at uni.

Your arrogance that you will be able to 'just catch up' in second/third year will be taken down a peg when you have to repeat every subject you took in first semester and have your whole study plan pushed back by a year.  Hey, at least it might make your parents see that you should have taken a gap year instead.

[hobbitle]

But could someone verify for me that employers don't look at your first/second year scores when considering applicants? Just something I'm wondering, thanks.

This can vary, but the most general answer is no.  From what I hear, employers are more interested in work experience than grades, unless you are a 95% average or something (kind of freakish) in which case they'd probably take you even if you were a social numpty.

They generally do, however, look at your marks for third year and Masters level years, and your marks in these years can be dramatically affected by your effort in first year.

FAILS do look bad no matter what you're doing.  If you fail a core subject in first year Science or Biomedicine for example, it's very VERY difficult to get yourself an interview to Medicine, for example.  I know you are doing Eng not Med - it's just an example - although Engineering is not as harsh as that.

[brenden]

Employers might look at the GPA/WAM, which can be influenced by first year marks even if they don't look at the first year marks directly.

[Greatness]

But could someone verify for me that employers don't look at your first/second year scores when considering applicants? Just something I'm wondering, thanks.

They won't specifically but since they contribute to your WAM/GPA you should aim to pass everything as a minimum. Most vacation/graduate programs require a 65+ WAM, so if you don't satisfy that it's unlikely you will proceed further in the application processes. Getting average grades in first year isn't the end though, you can always redeem yourself as long as you're willing to put in the effort.

You could study part-time during first year. So take 2 subjects instead of 4, or maybe even 3. It should give you more time as long as the timetables work out ok, but considering you'll be doing science it probably won't.

Also, I know plenty of people who do shit all during semester except the required assessments then cram it up during SWOTVAC and manage to pass or even get good grades. That's what I did in first year although with mainly commerce subjects. IMO it's only doable in first year since most of it is introductory/VCE stuff. But once you move onto 2nd year and you start extending on that knowledge it would be incredibly difficult to do that.

[Truck]

Some of you guys don't understand though, I'm not allowed to take a gap year.

When I asked my dad if I could tale a gap year he replied, "Sure but you can find your own place to live, pay your own bills and buy your own food."
In other words, he'd kick me out of the house of I took a gap year, and obviously I can't simply live on my own like that with no (financial) support, so no thanks.

he's bluffing

also there's a difference in coming to your parents with a detailed plan of how you're going to spend a year not at uni (i.e. working, volunteering, travelling, internships etc etc) vs going up to your dad and saying "ey bro can i take a gap year please?"...

[Starlight]

he's bluffing

also there's a difference in coming to your parents with a detailed plan of how you're going to spend a year not at uni (i.e. working, volunteering, travelling, internships etc etc) vs going up to your dad and saying "ey bro can i take a gap year please?"...

In addition, OP: Would your parents rather you take a gap year (or even 6 months) or deliberately fail/ just pass classes during first year?

[Fyrefly]

Overall, apart from that and wasting money if I fail, there are no long-term effects right?
I heard employers don't really look at first/second year scores, mainly just your final few years', is that correct?

I think you misread everything everyone just told you.
There are long-term negative effects and you should not do this.

obviously I can't simply live on my own like that with no (financial) support, so no thanks.

Why not?

I agree with Truck's comments in this regard. If you just want to laze around the house playing GTA V for a year, then of course your dad's going to tell you to f off. If you plan a structured and productive gap year and you can prove this to him, he's more likely to listen. But remember that you're an adult now, and if your dad chooses not to financially support you in your endeavour, then you need to respect this and find your own way of doing what you want to do.


Source: Life. Took half gap year before starting my degree. Will take a post-grad gap year after finishing my degree. Worked two part-time jobs alongside uni. Financially support my family; I've not received any support from them since I was 18. This shit is possible if you have the determination to make it happen.

[meganrobyn]

Just saw this:

https://theconversation.com/study-links-a-gap-year-to-better-university-grades-18275

Good predictors of overall uni success? Seems to be how you go in first year, and... taking a gap year. Ha ha.

Mind you, I took no gap, shanked early uni a bit and am now doing my PhD, so...

[honey-corowa]

I know as a fact that you have to pass in order to 'move on', but what exactly happens if I simply scrape through with low 50%'s throughout my first year?
I'm aiming for a masters in engineering, but that's not until after my third year, so the first year shouldn't matter much right?
Also, what exactly happens if you fail a subject? Are there any long term implications?

While I take issue with a lot of what you said in your original post...I'm going to focus on this in my reply.

If you are hoping to get into postgraduate in a faculty as 'prestigious' as engineering, you have another thing coming if you honestly think you will be accepted with such a dismal average score. The competition for these courses is high, and often very high performing students are still not accepted.

While I understand that you are burnt out and that your parents wouldn't accept you taking a gap year, you might want to reconsider other alternatives.

Perhaps you could study part time for a year, while gaining industry experience in a science related part time job, or even just taking it a bit slower. If absolutely necessary your parents would not even need to know that you are reducing your study time, you could accept your offer and then apply as a part time student.

Just an idea!

[charmanderp]

take a gap year - travel, work, live your life before you get stuck back into the daily grind of what is statistically most likely to be a life of mediocrity.

http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/time_off/index.html

Well this is depressing.

In seriousness though uni is a genuinely fun time. I've been stuck into extra-curricular right from the word go. I probably did more stuff outside of school and that schoolwork during high school too, but I've ramped it up at uni. As a result I didn't do as well as I probably could/should have in terms of marks but it was still a very productive time, and despite even more commitment this semester my grades have gone way up. It's all a learning experience, and if you try you can really find your niche in terms of the clubs you join, people you meet, etc.

The culture is great too, if you play it right. You meet fantastic people and learn things that the classroom can't teach you. And if you pick a course you're passionate about the content itself can be so rewarding too - you're really forced out of your comfort zone but you have the freedom to study in the way you'd like, and to an extent what you'd like. So doing badly I'd say is really a matter of choice and prioritisation. It's important to think of uni as a 3-5+ year process, and what exactly you want to achieve in that time and going forward.

[Starlight]

If you are hoping to get into postgraduate in a faculty as 'prestigious' as engineering, you have another thing coming if you honestly think you will be accepted with such a dismal average score. The competition for these courses is high, and often very high performing students are still not accepted.

I can vouch for this. My brother has been looking for eng jobs all year and just recently there was a job where 250 applicants applied, 10 received interviews and there is only one position.

[Fyrefly]

I can vouch for this. My brother has been looking for eng jobs all year and just recently there was a job where 250 applicants applied, 10 received interviews and there is only one position.

I know another AN member with a similar story.
She spent soooo long job hunting and ended up having to move overseas just to get an eng job, and now she's unhappy and homesick.