Taking this semester off has made me realise a lot of things, among them being that I need to work hard on being more disciplined, especially when it comes to 'doing my own thing'. 'Doing my own thing' sounds easy when you think about it, but it is actually a lot harder when you sit down and do it. So not wanting to shut any doors just yet, I've gone back in time to when I was in year 12, and I've started looking at universities again.

This time round, I reckon embedded systems software development is my thing, so at least it's not about picking the course with the coolest name, the broadest content coverage, or the one that everyone else is doing. All that in mind, going back to Mechatronics Engineering/Commerce is unlikely. Even the engineering side on its own doesn't seem that enticing, with only around a quarter of the units dedicated to some kind of programming. The two main contenders now seem to be either Computer Science, or Software Engineering.

The first uni up was Monash's open day on the 5th August, which I forgot about but I've sent an email to the IT faculty so hopefully I'll be able to get some course advice soon-ish. From what I can see though, Monash's courses seem a lot like Melbourne Uni's, in that they're quite general in nature, especially with regards to embedded systems, which is not really what I'm looking for. The constant rumours about the IT faculty being in financial trouble doesn't help either. But we'll see what happens when I catch up with a course advisor there.

Next up was RMIT's open day, on the 12th. This was actually one of the most well-organised uni open days I've been to - everything was signed, areas with nothing going on were closed off, and there were friendly volunteers everywhere to guide you. The staff there seemed very helpful, in fact the course advisor there got a bit excited when she heard my ENTER . And that leads to one of the issues I have with RMIT - my ENTER is over 10 points above the 'clearly-in' rank, so it seems like such a waste of my hard work. If only I could sell the remaining part of my ENTER...

What made RMIT's courses stand out for me was that they had an Embedded Systems major as part of their Computer Science course, which fits in well with what I like. I keep being told that their reputation is 'inferior' compared to Monash or Melbourne, but talking to some of the industry reps there it doesn't seem that much of a problem (of course, they had to say that I guess ). Plus I got a good overall vibe from there - I even ended up having a Windows vs. Linux debate with one of the 2nd years (that's as good as sign as I'll get I reckon ).

The weekend just past was University of Melbourne's open day. Boy was this a different experience. I'll start off with the positives - most of the staff were quite helpful, and after hearing the Melbourne Model being explained, while I still don't like it as much, I can understand why they did it. The new model means that students have less (read easier) choices at the beginning, and are forced to gain a much wider range of studies. So you can take a Bachelor of Commerce, take engineering units as electives, then take a Masters in Engineering and become an engineer as well. The downside is that it becomes confusing as to which units you need to take to go on to your preferred Masters. The fact that they enforce studies from different faculties (around 8 of the 24 subjects in a degree) also means you have less and more general knowledge in a particular field than your peers. This could also lead to a wider employment side-effect in that employers will soon get engineers with only a Bachelor degree (e.g. from Monash, RMIT), and engineers with a Bachelor and Masters degree from Melbourne - which will they take? The new Melbourne Model degrees are being phased in though, so many of the existing degrees are still available, although support for them is questionable as the years go on.

But that aside, I didn't get a very good vibe at Melbourne. They need to work on their urban planning for starters if you ask me; the campus is a maze and lacking in signs. The degrees, like I said before were like Monash's, in fact even more general I reckon. I can understand their position, but I personally like learning the principles through more focused projects and subjects. Not many embedded-focused subjects either, from what I can see on their confusing website.

And the staff. Well as I said before, they were very helpful, but basically it seems that you have to be cocky and arrogant to be there - the staff all trumpet the 'quality of their staff, research, and student body' and posters everywhere talk about their awesome uni rankings. The course advisor even laughed when I told her what course I was doing, saying 'I love how they try to fit everything in'. Funny, NOT Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, and my preconceived ideas are creeping in...

Finally the students. Well, not sure if it's representative, but it seemed like over 90% of the students in the IT and engineering faculty are either Asian or Indian. I'm not being racist here - I mean, I'm one of them myself - but is Melbourne really taking in the 'cream of the crop' in Australia, or just the ones willing to pay the most, or the most easily exploited? I don't believe there's much correlation between race and intellect, and the situation at Monash or RMIT seems more balanced. Maybe it's just one of those weird coincidences... (they weren't very helpful either.)

While talking about students though, the bigwigs at Melbourne must've forgotten that arts students are the one group you shouldn't piss off (by scratching hundreds of subjects), because they're often the most active in terms of student activism, and they didn't disappoint.

They also had a fake memorial in the middle of University Square for all the subjects that didn't make it. I thought it was quite odd that it was allowed, given it was in the middle of University Square, surround by tents full of Melbourne staff keen to trumpet the Melbourne Model, but security allowed them. That is, until one got their hands on a megaphone and started protesting. They were gone by the time I had returned, relegated to the kerb .

So all in all, depending on what happens when I meet with the Monash people, I think RMIT's Computer Science course seems the best fit for me. Now just have to go dig up all my VTAC stuff from two years ago, and ponder how I'm gonna deal with the 1 hour+ trip to uni every day...