I spent four years as a BSc Engineering (Chemical) undergraduate student at the University of the Witwatersrand before I went straight for my MSc. In those years I met and interacted with people who got 0% and those who got 100% on the same test despite having attended the same lectures and exposed to the same course material. I have friends who were excluded from the university, not because they were academically incompetent, but because they failed to adapt to the new environment. I realized that it takes more than studying to survive university.

There are certain qualities that you must develop in matric (and quite importantly, in earlier grades) that will allow you to make the most out of your life while doing well and having the best university experience. The very same qualities that can enable you to perform exceptionally well in matric and university can also make you extremely competitive in your career. In actual fact, these are critical life skills that you will learn and use throughout your life span in order for you to prosper and become a well-rounded individual. This booklet talks about some of these qualities.

A reflection space is available at the end of each chapter where you can make your own personal notes of the lessons that you are taking from that chapter. You can constantly refer to these takeaway notes as opposed to reading the book all over again, even though I recommend that you read this book more than three times.

Acknowledgements

I am indebted and grateful to the following people who contributed in developing some of the sections in the book: Vusani Neguyuni, Phamphe Vhutshilo, Tshikhudo Lazarus, Farisani Ramabulana, and Kagisho Nkadimeng.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my family, more especially my brother Zwoluga Mutangwa.