-
“Why don’t you have holiday?!”
Some people I know have been wondering how I have no holidays when it comes to studying, well it’s a little complicated.
I’m studying from home, I have people that I have to care for, which means that my hours are slightly different for when it comes to study. Basically I’m studying in such a way that allows me to gain a very good degree from a number of different, recognised, universities, such as Monash, UNISA, Swinburne and Curtin. Doing it this way has some minor drawbacks; 1) I have to work alone and at a steady pace to keep things going in on time;2) Little contact with lecturers except through emails, and online tutorials (some units have no contact whatsoever);3) exam locations are sometimes in hard to get to locations, essentially wiping out a full day. Now you’d think “why on earth do it that way then?” well it works fine for me, I work well on my own, I always make sure work is completed on time, and I always hold myself to a very tough standard (maybe tougher then I should but I think it needs to be done).
So to get to the point of why I have zero holidays, basically the year is broken down into 4 “study periods”, with the first period running from March 1st through to May 29; the second running 1st of June through 28th August; the third ( the current period) running 31st August through 27th November; and the fourth runs over Christmas and into the next year starting 30th November all the way through to 26th of February. That’s why there is no holidays, the two or three day break is usually when exams are starting, which then roll over into the first week of the new unit. These study periods are 13 weeks long (with the 1st week of each period being the week of exams for the previous units), this means that the units overlap somewhat and this is what adds to the issue.
I try not to think about it as its a little depressing and confusing, but I’m getting used to it and still have another 3 years worth (about 2¾ to go really), then I’m free to do as I please.
