University students across Melbourne are struggling to maintain the balance between attending classes, working, managing personal finances and socialising.
Although most full-time university courses have between 12 and 15 contact hours, students are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their social lives while working and finding down time for themselves.
Zac Bain-Williams, a 21-year-old psychology student from Melbourne University, said that students are under pressure to find time outside of work and study.
“People sort of shoot off to their jobs immediately after classes so there’s not really that much down time to interact socially”.
A 2012 study by the University of Queensland found that more than 80 per cent those surveyed reported higher-than-normal levels of stress, while a survey in 2013 by the Australian Medical Students’ Association found about one-third of all university students reported suffering anxiety, harmful drinking or eating disorders.
Maintaining good grades while working can be seen as a stress factor for many. Mr. Bain-Williams identifies this as one of his “main annoyances” that he has to “actively navigate around”.
