The UAC Student Lifestyle and Learning Report 2025 reveals a generation of students driven by passion yet navigating significant challenges related to finances, mental health, and a rapidly evolving world. I use this as a chance to prompt a mid-semester reflection.
Hey everyone,
So, we’re at the halfway point of Semester 1. You might be taking a well-earned rest. You might be catching up on some unfinished work. You might be in one of the car parks, confused and wondering why you decided to come to uni, during the semester break, when you could have gone to the beach.
Feelings-wise, you might be feeling a mix of things right now: excitement about what you’ve learned, exhaustion from the workload, or maybe even a bit of confusion about whether you’re on the right track.
As such, the mid-semester break is a good time for some self-reflection (yay!).
As Semester 1 has taken shape, you’ve likely settled into some routines, faced some challenges, and hopefully, experienced some of the excitement that university life promises.
Recently, I’ve been diving into the UAC Student Lifestyle and Learning Report 2025, and it’s given me some interesting perspectives on what students might experience as they enter higher education. For all of you that joined us this year (2025), that’s you!
So I thought I’d highlight some of the key findings and invite you to consider how your experiences have been.
🔍 First up, what’s the UAC Report?
For those who aren’t familiar, the University Admissions Centre (UAC) puts out an annual report that surveys thousands of Year 12 students about their expectations, concerns, and motivations as they transition to university. This year’s report, the fifth and largest yet, surveyed almost 18,000 students. It gives us a broad snapshot of the key trends and issues affecting new university students.
📌 Key Themes from the Report
The report highlighted several key themes:
- Passion and Purpose: Students are primarily driven by a desire to pursue their passions and see higher education as a pathway to their future goals.
- Financial Concerns: Cost of living and housing affordability are major worries, influencing students’ decisions about where to live and how to fund their studies.
- Mental Wellbeing: Stress and mental health remain significant issues for many students.
- Support Needs: Students are seeking practical support from universities, particularly in areas like career services, study skills, and time management.
- Evolving Learning: There’s a growing preference for blended learning approaches that combine online and on-campus elements.
- AI in their Future: Students are thinking about AI – they are becoming more positive about it, but also worried about its impact on jobs.
🤔 Time for Reflection
Now, let’s turn this back to you. How do these themes resonate with your experience so far at Flinders?
- Are you feeling that sense of passion and purpose in your studies?
- Have financial concerns been a significant factor in your decisions this semester, and has it been as big of a factor as the report suggests it is for students?
- How has your mental wellbeing been? Are you feeling supported, and are your stress levels manageable?
- Have you accessed or do you feel you need more support services from the university, particularly around career support and study skills?
- How are you finding the blend of online and on-campus learning in your courses? Is it what you expected?
- Have you learned anything interesting about AI that has changed your opinion on it?
- Have you had the opportunity to connect with others, make friends and develop a social life?
- Have you found any opportunities to do some self-development – maybe in the areas of confidence, relationships, independence, purpose, communication, balance, organisation, stress management, values, responsibility, adaptability and resilience?
There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. It’s crucially important to remember that each person’s transition to university life is different. For example, I basically just focused on the work for the first couple of years of my degree. It wasn’t until later that I started making friends and engaging more in the social side of things. The goal here isn’t to compare your experience against some mythical perfect experience. It is to help identify things that going well (and keep doing them) and areas where you might want to make adjustments or seek support.
🏁 Practices for a Strong Finish
Based on what the UAC report and our own experiences tell us, here are some practices to consider as you head into the second half of the semester:
- Prioritize Wellbeing: If stress has been high, maybe some kind of wellbeing investment is in order. BetterU is your gateway to what is available in the wellbeing domain.
- Seek Support: Don’t hesitate to reach out to student services if you’re struggling academically, financially, or personally. For a full list of support services, see here. This includes financial supports.
- Refine Time Management: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, revisit your study schedule and look for ways to improve your time management. Student Learning Support Services offer a number of services that can help you become a better student.
- Engage Actively: Make an effort to connect with your peers and participate in university life to build your support network and sense of belonging. Find and join a club.
- Get on campus: Sometimes online learning can leave people feeling a bit disconnected. Sometimes online learning can leave people feeling a bit disconnected. If possible, prioritize spending time on campus – whether it’s studying in the library, attending events, using support services, or simply finding a comfortable space to connect with the university environment.
- Start a study group: Online learners can put the call out to fellow learners to start online study groups. Helps address some of the isolation that can come from studying entirely online.
- Review Your Goals: Reconnect with what excites you about your studies and how it aligns with your future aspirations. The crew at Careers can help you envision your future and develop the skills to take you there.
- Start your Self-development Journey: If you are feeling on top of your academic work, maybe consider using some time for personal self-development. Check out some of our wellbeing and performance programs.
Do you need to do any of these things?
Nope, not really. If you are motoring along nicely, then keep yourself in gear and keep motoring 🚗
But if you think the break is a good time to change a few study parameters, I hope these suggestions help. Ultimately, this semester check-in is about empowering you to take ownership of your university experience. By reflecting on your journey and utilizing available resources, you can navigate the challenges and maximize your success at Flinders.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below – I’d love to hear how your semester is going!