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How to be Successful at Uni

Success at uni is different for each student. The most important thing is knowing what success is for you.

Maximise your success at uni

One of the biggest myths at uni is that there is only one way to succeed. Your success at Western Sydney University depends on you, your program and your goals.

Success doesn't have to be getting High Distinctions for every assignment or running for a student representative role. If these are your goals, that's great, but if they're not, that's okay too – everyone has different goals and will face different challenges at uni.

Real success is about making your own goals and measuring your progress against yourself. You should always aim to do your best but it is important that your academic expectations are reasonable and achievable.

How to succeed at uni

Set goals you can achieve

Set SMART goals for yourself and work towards them. SMART goals are a really great way of setting goals you can achieve and the perfect way to measure your progress and success.

  • Specific – written simply and clearly define what you are going to do
  • Measurable – make it measurable so you have tangible evidence that you have accomplished your goal
  • Achievable – your goal should stretch you slightly so you feel challenged, but well defined so you can achieve them
  • Realistic – your goal should be realistic and within your reach. Make sure you take all your commitments and constraints into account
  • Timely – you should have a clearly defined time frame so you have something to work towards

Remember, the only benchmark by which you should measure success is your own progress and achievements.

Take advantage of what's available

Take advantage of every service, program and opportunity that you think might help you achieve your goals. We have a tonne of great (and free) services and programs available to help you with everything from academic skills to life skills, personal counselling support and financial assistance. There are also peer programs like PASS and MATES that can really make a difference both academically and personally.

To find out what programs and services are on offer, go to the Programs to get ahead page.

Ask for help

If you are unsure about something or you're struggling with your studies, then ask for help. We want you to succeed and so we have a wide range of people and services who a ready and willing to help with whatever you need.

To find out who can help and with what, go to the Help and support page.