So you've been offered a place in a tertiary course and you've accepted it. Congratulations! Now what?
Here's a little run-down on the things you'll need to do and think about before you get to your first class.
Enrolling
The first step towards tertiary study is enrolment. This means fronting up at the time and place specified in your letter of offer.
When you enrol you'll provide information about yourself, pick your classes and find out anything you need to know before classes start.
If you're not going to be available to enrol on that day - because of travel or work commitments, for example - you can arrange for someone else to enrol on your behalf. This is called enrolling 'by proxy'.
Make sure you discuss the requirements of enrolling by proxy both with your course co-ordinators and with the person who is enrolling on your behalf.
Financial assistance
Tertiary studies can be an expensive proposal, but there are ways to make paying for study a bit easier.
- Check out our Paying for your course page for tips on paying tuition fees for uni and TAFE, as well as other financial options.
- Our Youth Allowance and other allowances page has info about financial assistance offered by the Commonwealth Government.
- Our Student concessions page has an overview of things you can get for cheap because you're studying.
Living away from home
The campus where you will be studying may be a long way away from your family. One accommodation option for students is to live on campus in a residential college. Check out the website of your tertiary institution to find out about how to apply to live in residential accommodation.
Instead of living on campus, however, you might prefer to rent a house yourself. For more information about sharehousing, cheap accommodation and renting a property, check out our Housing and accommodation section.
Orientation week
Most tertiary campuses run a week-long program for new students so that they can find out about their course, the campus they'll be studying on, and what kind of resources are available to them. This week is usually called 'Orientation Week', or simply 'O-week'.
As well as finding out about your course, O-week is a great way to make new friends out of your fellow students. Check out your institution's web site for details of their O-week program.
Roving reporter Nick's "Surviving O-week" article is a great overview of the things O-week has to offer.
Have fun with it
Starting tertiary study can be an overwhelming experience, but it's not impossible - thousands of people do it every year. As long as you're prepared to ask for help when you need it, the next chapter of your educational life should work out just fine for you.
Good luck!
