RANDOM THOUGHTS ON GOING TO UNIVERSITY

Richard Field-Dodgson Scots College Careers

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Become an independent learner:

An independent learner:

• is aspirational , disciplined, has goals and is on task

• is motivated – on time prepared, can get themselves out of bed!

• shows good time management- diary, deadlines, involved in activities

• is a self starter – will try things, ask for help, engage with others , enquiry focus, positive body language

• is curious – asks questions, reads widely, does extra to build on knowledge.

• has courage – will pick themselves up after disappointment; confident

• is self-aware – has a sense of identity, knowledge of own learning preferences and adaptability to different

platforms for learning

• knows the research process- critical analysis, enquiry, listening and observing

University staff expectations of first year students

Adapting to the change

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

What were the biggest learning challenges you have faced so far this year?

• just the amount of reading we get given from our courses, I wasn't prepped for having 20-40 pages to

constantly read

• My expectations about Uni was that it will be tougher to learn compared to high school. Where high school

your teacher is at the back of your shoulder all the time making sure you do as you are

told and with Uni you have to do pretty much everything on your own. In reality, TPA and Student Learning

gave me the courage to get out of my comfort zone and talk to the lecturer and duty tutor.

• learning to be comfortable asking questions around people from other cultures because I always feel dumb

around them

Academic literacy Open mind to new ideas/change

Is learning focussed Creativity and curiosity

Deep vs surface learning Have some self efficacy Collaborate and respect others Be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them

Participate Manage themselves

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STUDENTS LEARNING FROM THE STUDENTS

(Thoughts of current Victoria students, 2016)

Transition from school

First year.

Time management: treat university as a 9am – 5pm job.

Work balance

Maintain Motivation

Lecture numbers!

staying focussed in lectures and

knowing how to reference,

need to keep up with things and plan

Second year

Self reliance

Take control of learning

Third year

New environment – nothing like first year lectures numbers

Different time structure day to day.

Get engaged in the community

ENSURING SUCCESS AT UNIVERSITY

Research shows patterns for success are firmly set in the first year

Common elements supporting transition

Sense of purpose

Engagement

Build resilience

Good teaching

Connecting with someone or something

Students need to know

How to search the internet and data bases effectively

How to construct knowledge from information

the library

At university students should

know there is no chasing up assignments

actively seek help

know how to write formally

learn early that reading is core to any course

always go to lectures

develop good study routines – use a year and weekly planner!

balance commitments

use peer assisted study sessions (PASS) when on offer

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EMPLOYABILITY: GRADUATE DESTINATIONS IN WELLINGTON

(and will be applicable everywhere).

From a survey in 2015 of over 1300 employers in Wellington :

Employment skills required

In 2006 In 2015 1 Interpersonal skills 1 Work ethic

2 Verbal communication skills 2 Verbal communication skills

3 Written communication skills 3 Energy and enthusiasm

4 Flexibility & adaptability 4 Analytical & critical thinking

5 Academic achievement 5 Problem solving

6 Self motivated 6 Team work

7 Team work 7 Interpersonal skills

8 Energy & enthusiasm 8 Written communication skills

9 Problem solving 9 Self-management

10 Analytical & critical thinking 10 Initiative & enterprise

Note the changes!

Expected competency levels

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES Mean/10

Work ethic 8.6

Written communication skills 8.1

Problem solving 7.6

Team work 7.4

Analytical & critical thinking 7.2

Initiative & enterprise 7.2

Self-management 7.1

Interpersonal skills 7.0

Verbal communication 6.5

Graduate profile ranking

ability to work both independently and collaboratively

ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and accurately

critical thinking

intellectual autonomy/independent thinking

ability to set and achieve personal and professional goals

intellectual integrity & understanding of ethics

degree-related knowledge and skills

creative thinking

commercial perspective

multicultural perspective

community engagement

global perspective.

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FINANCIAL SURVIVAL ALL universities have financial advisers. Use them if you need to! 1. Managing your money Work out a budget! Using 2015 – 2016 figures from Victoria LIVING AT HOME Do you live at home and don’t pay any

board? If so, we suggest you don’t claim

the living costs of the Student Loan.

Think about your budget and how much you

need to save over the year – either summer

holiday work or part time job during the

year.

SAMPLE BUDGET

LIVING IN THE HALLS Living in a hall can be more expensive than living in a flat,

but not always.

there are no transport costs

contracts correspond to the academic year (flat contracts

are usually for 12 months)

electricity/internet/food are usually included in the room

rate so fewer costs to worry about

That said, living in halls has financial challenges. The

money StudyLink provides is not enough to cover hall

costs. It is also paid weekly, whereas hall fees are paid in

four advance payments.

WEEKLY $

Transport (e.g.bus pass) 37 When Amount to pay

$

Max. from Student Loan living costs

Snacks/drinks 30 Late Oct 599 0

Entertainment 45 (fees/deposit)

Mobile phone 5

Total 117 By 9 Feb 3 590 0

Total x 37 weeks 4 329 (1st instalment)

Extras (for two trimesters)

Clothing/haircuts 500 By 18 April 3 231 1 061

books/stationery 1300 (2nd instalment)

Birthdays/sports/gym 500

Total 2 300 By 13 June 3 590 1 415

(3rd instalment)

GRAND TOTAL 6 629

By 22 Aug 3 231 1 769

(4th instalment)

TOTAL 14 241

Total by 22/4 4 245

Total after 22/4 2 796

In a scenario such as this you will need at least $6 000 - $8 000 for the year from another source

parents

savings

work

scholarship And there are other incidentals to be considered

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Work out your budget (This for flatting!) INCOME EXPENSES

Weekly $ Weekly $

Student allowance Rent

Student loan for living costs Power

art time work wages Internet

Support from family Mobile phone

Scholarship payments groceries

Other Toiletries

Transport

Weekly income total Insurance

x 37 weeks (for year) Appliance rental

Debts

Infrequent $ Bank fees

Savings Sports/gym subs (if weekly)

One off scholarship Snacks/lunches

One off family help Entertainment

Tax refund

Student loan – course related costs

Weekly expenses

Bank overdraft x 37 weeks

Other

Infrequent

Total infrequent income Course costs (books/stationery etc)

Flat bond

GRAND TOTAL INCOME Flat items (bed etc)

Vehicle (WOF/repairs/insurance)

Doctor/Chemist

Dentist

Clothes

Haircuts

Trips home !

Sport/gym/clubs subs (paid yearly)

Birthdays/special occasions

Newspapers/etc

Insurance (paid yearly)

Total infrequent expenses

GRAND TOTAL EXPENSES

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Student Loan at a glance

Information taken from : http://www.studylink.govt.nz/student-loan. USE IT

What Student Loan is for Student Loan can help you finance your study. It’s made up of three parts:

course fees – for the compulsory fees charged by your education provider

course-related costs – to buy materials or services for your course

living costs – to help with your weekly expenses.

You choose which parts you need.

You have to pay back your student loan, so borrow only what you need.

Who can get a Student Loan To get a student loan you usually have to be:

enrolled on a tertiary course

studying full-time or limited full-time, or meet StudyLink’s requirements for part-time study

a New Zealand citizen, or meet residency requirements

You’ll also need to:

sign a contract with the government

nominate a contact person in New Zealand.

If you get a student loan, you’ll need to pass at least half the work of your previous study to get it again.

How much Student Loan you can borrow You choose how much of each part of your student loan you borrow. If you don't need the full amount, borrow

less.

Course fees

You can usually borrow some or all of your course fees.

Course-related costs

You can usually borrow up to $1,000 a year for course-related costs.

Living costs

You can usually borrow up to $175.96 a week for living costs.

Lifetime limit

You can get a student loan for study with a value of up to seven 'equivalent full-time students' or EFTS, which

is about seven or eight years of full-time study. This is your lifetime limit for a student loan.

When you get your student loan

Course fees

We pay your student loan for course fees directly to your education provider.

We pay your course fees on the later of two dates.

Two weeks before your course starts.

Seven days from the date of the letter we send you when we've approved your student loan.

This letter shows you the payment date and amount.

Course-related costs

We pay your student loan for course-related costs directly to your bank account. The earliest we can do this is

14 days before your course starts.

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Living costs

We pay your student loan for living costs from the latest of three dates.

The date your student loan is approved from.

The date you start your course.

The date you nominate.

We pay your student loan for living costs directly to your bank account. The earliest we can do this is in the

second week of your course. This is because we make payments a week in arrears.

What you need to apply for Student Loan If you’re applying for the first time, you’ll need:

your birth certificate or passport – to show your date of birth

your passport or citizenship papers – to show your residency status

a printed note from your bank with your account name and number – if you’re applying for course-

related costs or living costs – to show your bank account details

your marriage certificate or deed poll papers – if you’ve changed your name.

Go to the Documents supporting your application page to find out about verifying copies of original documents.

Other forms to complete your application When you apply online, you’ll answer questions about whether you:

plan to study overseas

need to apply for an extension to your lifetime limit

want to apply for limited full-time status.

Depending on your answers, the online application will give you the other forms you need to complete for your

application.

If you can’t apply online, download the other forms you need and contact us. You’ll need to complete these

other forms and an application form for a student allowance and a student loan.

Overseas study application form

Student Loan EFTS extension application form

Limited full-time application form

How to apply for Student Loan

You need to apply for a student loan each time you enrol for a new study period – usually each year.

APPLY AS SOON AS YOU CAN, even if you’re still deciding what or where you’re going to study, so you

get paid on time.

Each time you apply, you can apply to borrow for course fees and living costs.

When we’ve approved your student loan, you can claim for course-related costs separately, through your

MyStudyLink secure account.

You can also apply for living costs, or change how much you borrow for them, through MyStudyLink.

The quickest and easiest way to apply is online.

How to apply http://www.studylink.govt.nz/how-to-apply/

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1. Register

You need a RealMe login to apply.

If you don’t have a RealMe login:

1. Go to the RealMe login panel.

2. Click on 'Create account' under ‘FIRST TIME STUDENTS’.

3. Click on ‘Login’.

4. Click on ‘Create your RealMe login now’.

You need to create only one login.

Go to the RealMe login page to find out how to reset your username and password, and change your other

RealMe login details.

2. Log in

If you have a RealMe login and you are applying for the first time:

1. Go to the homepage.

2. Click on 'Create account' under ‘FIRST TIME STUDENTS’.

3. Click on ‘Login’.

4. Enter your username and password.

5. Click on ‘Login’.

These steps take you to the option to ’Start new eligibility test’.

If you have a RealMe login and a verified MyStudyLink account:

1. Click on ‘MyStudyLink login’.

2. Enter your username and password.

3. Click on ‘Login’.

These steps take you to your MyStudyLink account.

3. Complete the ‘What you can get online’ tool

Before you apply online, complete the What you can get online tool to find out what student finance you could

to get.

When you have logged in to apply online for the first time:

1. Click on 'Start eligibility test’.

2. Check what student finance you may be able to get.

3. Check that you’ve answered all the questions correctly before clicking ‘Continue to apply online’ – you

can’t go back to the eligibility test without losing all your answers and having to complete it again.

When you have a verified MyStudyLink account:

1. Log in to your MyStudyLink account.

2. Click ‘Apply for Financial Assistance’ in the left-hand menu.

3. Click on ‘Start new eligibility test’.

4. Check what student finance you may be able to get.

5. Check that you’ve answered all the questions correctly before clicking ‘Continue to apply online’ – you

can’t go back to the eligibility test without losing all your answers and having to complete it again.

4. Apply online

When you’ve completed your eligibility test, you can apply online for your student finance.

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If you have a verified MyStudyLink account, some of your application form will be pre-filled with your details.

1. Select the assistance you want to apply for and click ‘Apply Online’.

2. Make sure you read and understand your obligations before you click on ‘Agree’.

3. You can save your application form for up to five days before submitting it.

4. Submit your application and log out.

5. Verify your account

The first time you apply online for student finance, you are also applying for a verified online account with

StudyLink - your MyStudyLink account.

When you’ve submitted your first online application, we need to verify your account.

When we’ve processed your first application, we send you a letter asking you for the documents we need to

verify your account.

In this letter we also ask for the documents we need to support your application.

We also tell you whether you can get the student finance you’ve asked for.

If you’ve applied for a student loan, we also send you a student loan contract.

When you’ve received our letter, sign and return it with anything else we need.

1. Check, correct and update any details we ask you to.

2. Provide the documents we need to verify your application:

o your birth certificate or passport – to show your date of birth

o your passport or citizenship papers – to show your residency status

3. Provide the documents we need to support your application:

o a pre-printed document from your bank with your account name and number – to show your

bank account details

4. We may need to ask for more documentation. If we do, send it to us as soon as you can.

Go to the Documents supporting your application page.

5. If you’re sending copies of original documents, you must have each page verified.

Go to the Documents supporting your application page to find out about verifying copies of original

documents.

6. Sign and return the student's form and your student loan contract.

These steps enable us to verify your MyStudyLink account.

When we’ve verified your account, we’ll email you to confirm you can use MyStudyLink to progress your

application.

6. Progress your application

When you’ve got a verified MyStudyLink account, you can log in to MyStudyLink and:

check your application’s progress

check if your documents have been received

view and accept your student loan contract – if you’ve had a student loan before.

We check your study details with your education provider. Make sure you’re fully enrolled so that your

provider can confirm these details.

We use your confirmed study details to assess your application.

If your student allowance is approved, we send you a letter letting you know how much you will get and

when payments start.

If your student loan is approved, we send you a ‘loan entitlement advice’ letter letting you know what

you can borrow.

If your application is declined, we let you know why.

7. View payments When we’ve assessed your application, you can log in to MyStudyLink and manage your student finance

online.

Check when your payments start.

View details of next payments and previous transactions.

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Claim course-related costs.

Change the amount of your living costs.

Tell us about any changes in your income.

Tell us about any changes to where you live or who you live with.

View and update your personal details.

Get your mail.