You know the process. Enrolment in tertiary studies can take months, or even years, of thought, preparation, auditions and examinations. And then, when you finally receive your course offer, you know it’s just the beginning!
Pursuing further education after school at any age can be daunting. So, to help make sure our new students maximise on the opportunities available to them, we’ve asked our experts in our Student Services team for their top tips on how to ace it at JMC from day one…
Get to know your campus (and its surroundings!)
Speaking from experience, you will get lost at some point during your first week.
Our campuses are meticulous mazes for creativity and venturing through them for the first time will feel like your first rock jam after 8 years of classical saxophone examinations (wild!). Be patient with yourself and maybe allow yourself a few extra minutes before class in those early days and we promise you’ll be fine!
Be sure to spend some down time exploring all of the perks of hanging in and around your JMC campus. Allow our libraries and student cafés to nourish your body/mind and venture out to the surrounding local businesses with your classmates! The best part about all of our campuses is that they’re all a hop, skip and jump away from the serenity of a park or a great open space, as well as the hustle and bustle of their respective cities.
Know what support is available
Yes, it’s exciting to be studying in a field that you’re passionate about, but there is no denying that student life can be tough. For a huge variety of reasons, whether it be to do with your studies or something else, you can expect to encounter obstacles at some point during your studies. This is why it’s important to know from the get go where you support networks are!
At JMC we have a range of services set in place to ensure our students reach their goals and stay on track. Whether you require extra one-on-one sessions with your teachers, an extension on a due date or a session with our in-house student counsellors, we’ve got you.
Before you even set foot on campus this year, we want you to consider what your weaknesses are (we all have ‘em) and what support you may need to ensure you can work to your potential. Clear and open communication of these needs with JMC staff is your surefire ticket to maximising on what we can afford to you as an education provider.
Mingle!
This seems like an obvious one, especially leading on from our last point, but we cannot stress enough how worthwhile it is to meet and mingle with other JMC students. Think about it… you might be a songwriting student with a single coming out… who’s going to design your cover art? You might be a game design student with a hot new take on the next Animal Farm… who’s going to engineer the perfect farm animal sound effects to give your game the edge? Why, it’s your best mate in the audio engineering course next door, obviously.
The friends you make at JMC will have the strengths to help bring your ~art~ to life. Time and time again, we have seen these relationships translate from campus hallways to waayyyy out there in the big bad world. Make sure to acquaint yourself with the Student Representative Council on your campus to keep up to date on all the latest news and social events happening near you!
Save sweet student $$$
Welcome to $tudent £ife!!! In all seriousness though, this newfound title bestows upon its owner a wealth (pun intended) of opportunities to save some serious cash money.
There are, of course, the obvious travel and movie concession perks, but beyond that there are a heaps of opportunities to save on things that may specifically benefit you in your line of study. We’re talking serious equipment for music making, designing and pushing beyond your limits. How? Let’s just say that, as one of Australia’s oldest creative institution, we've made a lot of friends over the years… Speak to your Head of Department or Student Services team to enquire about what’s on offer to you.
Time… wait for it… management
Tertiary study isn’t all fun and games, we’re going to lay down a harsh #fact about studying at JMC:
You get out what you put in.
Any student that has come through our doors and maximised on their JMC experience will tell you this and one of the biggest components to achieving this is, yep, you guessed it. Time. Management. It almost sounds too obvious, but when you’re being stretched left, right and centre with creative inspo it’s easy to divert your eyes from the prize. You won't be an expert straight away, but trust us on this. Practice makes perfect and getting the right study habits in place early will make a world of difference to your student experience.
Protect your mind and body
Seemingly another no-brainer but absolutely crucial. Protect that chi, fam. And by that, we mean balanced diets, daily movement and quality rest. Starting now means that you won’t snowball at the end of tri (which we have all experienced 89374982364 times, tbh) and cost yourself dearly in the long run.
To make your health easier to prioritise, include your family and classmates in routines that do well for the body and soul. Get ahead and do some cheap and healthy meal prep or walk to the next bus stop on your route to campus. Do some bedtime meditation. Do some youtube yoga. Go on a hot girl walk. Do whatever works, but make sure you do it.
JMC also celebrates a Wellness Week each trimester, where we encourage everyone to try new things to benefit their overall wellbeing.