How virtual Open House helped me choose my degree at Griffith University
Hi there! My name is Shirinah Sharif, and I graduated from high school in 2020. I’m now a first year Bachelor of Biomedical Science student here at Griffith, based at the Gold Coast campus. Griffith’s virtual Open House is coming up, running from 12 July – 20 August. I got so much out of the event last year. In this blog I’ll tell you about my experience and provide you with some tips to help you prepare.
Ever since I was in grade 9, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up – a doctor. My heart was set on it and all I had to do was put in the work to get there. But, like many other students, deciding which university I wanted to go to was quite challenging and stressful. On top of that, I had to investigate the different careers and pathways that lead to becoming a doctor. With so many choices and universities, picking a degree was overwhelming. Through my high school, we had a mini career expo and learned some broad information about several universities, but I was looking forward to attending Griffith’s virtual Open House to gain a better understanding of the facilities and experiences that were on offer.
I wasn’t sure how the virtual Open House would work, since I always thought that these things were better in person, but it actually worked quite well! All sessions were recorded and available for a bit of time after the live session in case I couldn’t make it to one, and it really helped flesh out what I wanted to do. Although I couldn’t explore Griffith’s medical facilities in person, attending Griffith’s virtual Open House answered all my questions and really helped me to sort out everything I needed to do. I was able to avoid topics that weren’t relevant to me, and pick and choose the topics I was interested in, for example – how to apply for a scholarship. The GriffithLIVE Health webinars were helpful, and I also checked out the FAQ for medical students to get a better idea of my future pathway. Most importantly, I could stay in my pyjamas!!!
Afterwards, I felt a lot more prepared to attend university and it helped me pick Griffith as my university of choice. I knew what my journey to medicine would look like, and I knew what steps I’d have to take to get to my end goal.
Here are my three top tips for how to make the most of virtual Open House, which runs from 12 July to 20 August this year.
1. Plan your schedule
There are so many sessions available to choose from, so be sure to write them down in your calendar! There’s no such thing as too many sessions or too few sessions, especially when you don’t even have to leave your room! If you’re considering different pathways, attending several sessions can help you make your decision about what you’d like to study.
It’s also important to attend the spotlight week that matches your interests. Here’s the schedule:
Week 1: 12–18 July | Spotlight on Creative and Performing Arts
Week 2: 19–25 July | Spotlight on Health
Week 3: 26 July–1 August | Spotlight on Education, Humanities and Languages
Week 4: 2–8 August | Spotlight on Business and Government
Week 5: 9–15 August | Spotlight on Law and Criminology
Week 6: 16–20 August | Spotlight on STEM
Each week has it’s own GriffithLIVE sessions, focused on the spotlight week theme. I recommend trying to attend as many GriffithLIVE sessions as you can, just so you can ask questions and have them answered in real-time. But, if you’re not able to attend them live, no stress! They’re recorded and you can always watch them later.
2. Ask questions
Q&A sessions are available, so make the most of them. The students and staff are there to help, and chances are there are more people wondering the exact same thing as you! Ease your mind by asking whatever question is bothering you.
3. Make the most of the resources
There’s a huge range of materials provided by Griffith to help you learn more about your future university life. With each study area booth there are study guides to download that are filled with more information about degrees in that study area, entry requirements and a lot more.
There are videos about student life at Griffith and information about parking, accommodation, financial support, university clubs: everything you need to know or are curious about. You can find information not only on the website, but also through Griffith’s YouTube channel, which is filled with virtual campus tours, FAQ videos answered by Professors and students, and videos on what you can expect when studying a particular degree at Griffith.
I hope I’ve convinced you to take a look at Griffith’s virtual Open House this year! Register here.