11th April 2023

Think you need a gap year after Year 12? For QUT double degree student Coby Lee, a ‘gap half-year’ proved long enough to recharge her batteries after the exhaustive Year 12 study and lockdowns she experienced in 2020.

Coby started at QUT in mid-2021, and said mid-year entry enabled her to spend six months working to save the funds she needed to move to Brisbane from Cooroy on the Sunshine Coast.

“I had a very definite goal of how much I wanted to save for that transition to Brisbane and university, and starting mid-year enabled me to do that,” she said.

“I worked four jobs – at a café in the morning, for a beekeeper in the afternoons and as a bartender at a restaurant at night … plus I was an NDIS support worker.

“The money I saved meant I could really concentrate on my studies for that first year of uni once I got here.

“I definitely needed a break from study after Year 12 and to figure out who was I was.  But I didn’t want to wait a whole year … I was sharing a bedroom with my four-year-old brother, who I love, but I was ready to move out of home!”

QUT has more than 90 courses that offer mid-year entry, including diplomas, degrees, double degrees, graduate certificates and postgraduate degrees.

Coby started a double degree in business and creative industries in mid-2021, and then switched to a Bachelor of Business (Management) and Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology) in mid-2022.

“I didn’t do science in senior at high school and originally I didn’t think I could do a science-based degree at university,” she said.

“But I liked the challenge of doing psychology – I wanted to understand why people do things the way they do, which also relates to entrepreneurship and that question of ‘Is entrepreneurship something you are born with or can learn?’.”

Coby was one of QUT’s first Budding Entrepreneur Scholarship recipients and earlier this year got the opportunity to travel to the United States and spend three weeks taking part in the MIT Fuse entrepreneurial program with fellow QUT students.

She is also a regular at The Foundry – QUT’s dedicated spaces for entrepreneurial students at Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point campuses – and also one of the founders of a new student club, the QUT Society of Entrepreneurs.

Coby Lee at The Foundry at Kelvin Grove campus.


Coby’s other creative passions include motivation writing, speaking and podcasts.

She self-published her own book toward the end of Year 12, Thrive: A Young Entrepreneurs Guide To Starting a Business, which was based on her own experiences of founding and running a successful succulents business during high school.

She is also currently working on a podcast series about student entrepreneurship that she hopes to debut on Spotify later this year.

“I’m looking at the business and psychology sides of student entrepreneurship,” she said.

“When you think about it, all uni students are really entrepreneurs, because we study and work crazy hours and hold down multiple jobs – and still find time for our families and a social life.

“We pay the same costs of living as everyone else, but we are usually much lower paid while we’re students. I’m keen to use my podcast to explore how we do all this without burning out, and how we can build healthier habits.”

Coby said she did have some social hesitations about starting mid-year, but had made friends quickly.

“My advice to other people thinking of starting mid-year is to make sure you put yourselves out there – join student clubs, go to the social events,” she said.

“I was really dedicated to making friends and making sure there was at least one person I got to know in every class … that’s a big help socially as well as practically if you ever miss a class!”

Coby’s own study journey is set to continue for some time.

“After I do my double degree, I want to do my MBA and PhD – that’s my goal,” she said.

“I’m not sure yet what I ultimately want to do, but I know I want to work for myself and be super busy and travel.”

People interested in applying for mid-year entry to QUT can visit the mid-year entry information page for information on a range of courses, including the university’s new Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship and Innovation). 

QTAC applications for mid-year entry to QUT undergraduate courses close on May 25 (for the first round).  Mid-year applications for the majority of postgraduate courses close on June 30.

 

QUT degrees starting in July include:

QUT diplomas starting in July include:

QUT postgraduate degrees starting in July include:

QUT graduate diplomas and certificates starting in July include:

QUT Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
- After hours, 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au

 

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