The Future Student Podcast

What happens when you drop out of high school, get diagnosed with ADHD and autism at 21, and then discover your perfect degree? For Keira Plozza, that path led straight to La Trobe University and a deep love of anthropology. In this episode of Choosing Your Uni, Rob Malicki sits down with Keira to explore how she found her place—and her people—at La Trobe. From researching the unspoken rituals of...

From decoding puzzles to decoding the uni experience—Vamika's journey from New Zealand to Deakin University is anything but ordinary. In this episode, Rob Malicki chats with Vamika, a third-year student studying a double degree in Criminology and Cybersecurity, about what drew her to Deakin and how it completely transformed her life. She opens up about the decision to move countries, how crypt...

What’s it like to pack your bags and move across the country to chase your dream degree? In this episode of Choosing Your Uni, Rob Malicki chats with Peter Nguyen, a final-year dentistry student at UWA who left Melbourne to study in Perth—and hasn’t looked back. Peter shares the highs and lows of the journey: from missing out on a Commonwealth Supported Place at home to landing one at UWA, making...

What makes Murdoch University magic? From a stunning timber building that honours First Nations culture to a student village where lifelong friendships begin with burnt noodles, this episode is packed with reasons students fall in love with Murdoch. I sat down with Samantha Ferguson from Murdoch’s News and Communications team for a deep dive into the heart and soul of this uniquely welcoming unive...

One of the most confusing parts of starting uni is navigating the maze of acronyms, deadlines, and paperwork. What’s a CSP? How do HELP loans work? And what’s the deal with Census Dates? In this episode of the Choosing Your Uni podcast, Rob Malicki sits down with Nicole from the Federal Department of Education to make sense of it all. Learn how Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) reduce the cost...

In this episode of the Choosing Your Uni podcast, we dive headfirst into the world of university rankings. Joining Rob Malicki is Chris Strods, a Senior Insights Specialist from QS – the global organisation behind one of the most trusted university ranking systems. Together, they unpack how rankings work, what they measure, and how you can use them to make smarter choices about where to study. But...

I’m back on campus at the University of Sydney, keen to chat with more students about what it’s like to study there. Walking around Open Day, on a perfect Sydney afternoon, the campus is pumping. And that’s when I meet Courtney Jade. Courtney Jade is not only a current student, and we talk a lot about her experience, but has also taken advantage of one of the most exciting opportunities that uni h...

UTS has some serious advantages when it comes to creating a unique university experience. It's right on the fringe of the CBD with exceptional transport links, boasts some world leading faculties and facilities, and has positioned itself very much as a "real world" university. In this conversation, I'm sitting down with Lewin, a current student in UTS. His story is incredibly relatable - he strugg...

With end-of-high-school exams looming, we're going for a short episode of the Choosing Your Uni podcast. Over the years, I've been fortunately enough to interview hundreds of university students (and I've met thousands of them!) One of my favourite questions to ask is "What advice do you have for students about to do their end of school exams?" So for today's episode, I've curated some of the best...

The Australian Catholic University (ACU) isn't necessarily one of Australia's "famous" universities. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't have some extraordinary areas of strength that will really suit some students! ACU is considered to be one of Australia's few "Multi-State" institutions, with several campuses in Sydney, plus campuses in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Ballarat, Townsville and,...

UNSW is one of Australia's top universities and is considered "world class" in many subject areas. But what does that actually mean? In this episode of the Choosing Your Uni podcast, Rob Malicki gets deep into the details with two awesome current students who have VERY different stories about their journey to studying at UNSW. Kyla (Law/Commerce) knew from early in high school that UNSW was the pl...

Why should you choose to study at the University of Sydney? Sure, it has an excellent reputation and ranks strongly, but what else makes it really stand out... what makes it truly unique? In this exclusive conversation, Rob Malicki from Choosing Your Uni sits down for a deep dive conversation with Shane Griffin, the Associate Vice President of USyd. Together, they dig into some of the hidden gems,...

This episode is the first of our podcasts that dives deep into the universities in Sydney. Our goal with this series is to talk with current students and staff to unearth what makes each of the universities in Sydney special and what sort of students would thrive studying there. Our series begins north of Sydney harbour in Macquarie Park. Picture this: It's a perfect, blue-sky Sydney day and t...

There's a lot of pressure on young people when it comes to end of high school exams and the ATAR. But what if I were to tell you that the ATAR wasn't the only way into uni. Wouldn't you feel under just a little bit less pressure. It turns out that there are many pathways to university: from early entry schemes to mature-age entry (all this usually means is you've had a bit of a break between schoo...

G'day and welcome to the Choosing Your Uni podcast, a new podcast dedicated to exploring and unpacking the sometimes confusing, often complex journey towards university. I'm your host, Rob Malicki, and I've spent the better part of 25 years in and around Australian universities... including the past 7 years creating independent, unbiased content on my Choosing Your Uni YouTube that has...