skip to content

Start of a course

Along with studying, you are confronted with new and unfamiliar demands:

  • ’Student freedom’ requires a high self-responsibility and the ability to organise oneself effectively.
  • The high level of comprehension required to follow some lectures can make settling in difficult.
  • Efficient learning strategies are important to be able to cope with large amounts of material over a long period of time and with little feedback.
  • Working together with other students is often useful, but this necessitates organisational and social competencies as well.

 

Starting academic studies also means social changes :

 

  • Social contacts with other students cannot be taken for granted.  They demand initiative and willingness to establish contact.
  • Living in a student residence or a shared flat can make it easier to get in contact with fellow students.
  • At the beginning of the term, introductory classes will be offered which facilitate establishing contact with your colleagues.

 

The beginning of academic studies brings up  many organisational issues:

  • Schedules, departmental guidelines
  • Financial and social limits/circumstances
  • Getting to know and learning to use the infrastructure

 

You must obtain lots of information, e.g. from the Austrian Students’ Association, from  University Institutes, from study and exam departments and from the scholarship agency. The Psychological Counseling Centers can provide assistance with questions regarding orientation/guidance at the start of your academic studies and can support you with the task of settling in and readjusting.