r/unimelb

Hey guys, I'm an international student at Deakin with an 82 WAM and no honors. I have been working as an RA at Deakin for the past 2 years under my supervisor and want to do a PhD in a subarea of Computer Science/Math/AI. I have 2 first-author manuscripts by now, 1 of them at a NeurIPS workshop and one of them submitted to ICLR (and optimistic that it would be an accept, but cant say anything right now with how noisy the entire process it). Both papers are highly relevant in the niche area that I want to do my PhD in.

The problem is my WAM and my lack of honors/masters. The exact area I want to do my PhD in is kind of niche, with only a few professors across Australia (one of them being at UniMelb) researching in this area and both of my papers are highly relevant to this area. I also have 2 years of software engineering/ML engineer experience locally.

Before I spend another 50,000$ behind an honors, which I really, really cannot afford, I need to know if I should contact my potential supervisor with my current profile, or if I should really just hold back and cough up the $50K. As there is really only one supervisor at Melbourne, I really do not want to waste my one chance to do a PhD at UniMelb.

There is a "gotcha" on the UniMelb website saying "you would be considered for a PhD if you have done either an honors year, or a masters (equivalent relevant research experience can be considered if neither of the two pre-requisites are fulfilled). Would my 2 years as an RA likely help my case?

I just need some general advice. I probably do not qualify for a PhD, but it is still worth asking here before making the decision to cough up the ~50K.

first two heavy chem and bio subjects on the Monday and Wednesday of week 1 exams. lightest mcq pysc in week 3 🫩 guess I can’t go home

hi! i plan to study at the university of melbourne next year, and have been looking around at sharehouses at websites online (mostly fairy floss + flatmates.com) to get a feel for the climate and have found a pretty steep majority of sharehouses in around the inner suburbs area ask for people in about their mid-20s and above.

i come from a lower-socio economic region of regional victoria, so could possibly qualify for a naarm scholarship that could assist me in getting into a residential college, but even then i don't really like my chances, especially as i'll probably have little/no financial support from my parents and will likely rely on part time work.

would defintely prefer a sharehouse lol to alleviate some rent expenses lol :,-)

just asking for any advice from people who may have been in the same boat, especially recently, as a 18 year old turning 19 student looking for a sharehouse in around inner-north melbourne or atleast somewhat close-ish to campus

any advice helps!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks :)

Unimelb study on how there are a young people are having increasingly hostile attitudes towards woman was released about 2 months ago. I read it just now and it’s just shocking.
I understand if older and more traditional generations have horrible attitudes and misogynistic perspectives (but even then it’s terrible as well) but the increasing amount of youth who feel the same is just appalling to know when given the stats.

I’m sure some students from less advantaged backgrounds (first generation, low income, childhood trauma etc.) will relate to this particularly, but I’m also sure there’s a lot of people that have felt this that don’t necessarily relate to those labels.

I’m in my third year as a psychology major at Unimelb (Arts, I’m female and a domestic student) and I often suffer from severe anxiety, perfectionism and imposter syndrome. I can’t help this feeling, it’s like no matter how many times I prove to myself that I can do well, I just go straight back to putting off starting the next assessment and becoming anxious because I feel like I won’t do well or that I don’t have the skill set to score well, and I’m going to let myself down, and I have no hope for my career and a spiel of whatever thoughts come next. It’s like the longer I’ve studied the less confident I am in my abilities, despite that not having any real reflection in my grades or in reality. I feel like I strangely was much more confident in my first year and I’ve only become less confident— probably due to life difficulties and becoming jaded and exhausted over time honestly.

16 out of 20 undergrad subjects so far have been either H1’s or H2A’s, I’ve only ever scored below an H2A a couple of times and it was primarily due to struggling with the changes in exam format when everything went online during COVID. For some reason MCQ open book exams completely destroyed me and dragged my grade down every time I had one, which luckily was only 3 times, but the damage was done. I personally do really well with classic exams because my recall/memory is one of my strengths, and I went from scoring all H1’s in exams and having them reliably push my grade up to tanking them and having them drag my entire grade down. I honestly felt like I’d never know what to expect no matter how much I studied for online exams, it was so disorienting and upsetting. This was a big hurdle for my confidence. But I digress.

Over the course of my degree, I have been so hard on myself that I could barely function, and eventually completely stepped away for years. I convinced myself that without an insanely high WAM I had no future, and the two H3 grades I copped due to those online exams in Covid hung over my head like a dark cloud. To me, my high 70’s H2A WAM wasn’t enough.

Trust me I know I am too hard on myself. But this is something I’ve struggled with for so long, and I’m just exhausted by how much it has broken me down, and many times sabotaged my potential. I was meant to graduate many years ago which makes me feel even worse, because I feel like I’ve wasted so much time being destroyed by my mental health, and like I could have been so much further in life. I’ve returned to finish my third year because I am determined not to let my anxiety and mental barriers beat me, but sometimes it’s just so hard. I am constantly battling with the monster that is my anxiety and my expectations. Last sem I had a good semester and scored all H1’s and H2A’s, but I still feel insecure about my skills and abilities.

I’m a first-generation university student, from interstate, not from an elite school, not from money. I come from a trauma background and left home young with no family support, and my academic dream felt like the shining light, the way I could differentiate myself from the mess I came from. I’ve never fit in at uni, or really made any friends, which made the journey very lonely. I worked full time for a lot of my degree, went through a traumatic DV relationship and experienced so much housing instability, even sleeping in my car while actively studying at one point. I know I should be proud of myself for having an H2A WAM, but I can’t help but feel like I’m not good enough and like all this has been for nothing and I have no future or career. I often feel like I don’t belong or I’m never going to be competitive enough because I don’t have the stability, support and familial academic background that a lot of other students here have. I feel ashamed every day of how long it has taken me to get to this point.

I feel disappointed in myself despite knowing I shouldn’t. I’ve been here for years and years on and off and in many ways, uni has been isolating, lonely and miserable. Long hours sitting alone in the library battling my anxiety and imposter syndrome, with no one to talk to or share content with or bounce ideas off. Despite this, I do truly love what I study, and I feel passionate about it and enjoy the rush of learning and generating ideas. I just wish I could love it without all the baggage that comes with it.

This is a bit more of an emotional/mental health confession for those who can relate or might offer some advice. Sometimes just hearing other people have felt the same is really comforting. The academic environment of this place is tough, and I think sometimes we all get too caught up in tunnel vision about grades and end up missing the forest for the trees.

TLDR; I’m a first-generation university student that suffers from imposter syndrome and anxiety, I have an H2A average/WAM and I have trouble feeling like I have any hope for the future or a career. I know deep down that I should be proud of myself but sometimes I can’t help my catastrophising mindset.

Hey! I'm 22, originally from India, studying a Masters at UniMelb, and I live near the CBD. My friends are always busy with work, so I end up studying and hanging out alone most days.
Looking for someone (or a group, happy either way) to study with at the library, a café, wherever, and hang out with regularly(not only studies ofc). Also open to finding a housemate for after February if we click.

Anyone welcome. Comment or DM me!