Starting uni is a big step. Where you live matters.
At Jane, students find more than a room. They find meals shared with friends, support when they need it, and a community where they are known by name.
So what does that actually look like day to day? The best people to ask are the students who live it. Here’s a walk through a typical day at Jane, told through the moments, and the residents, that make it feel like home.
Morning: a gentle start
The day begins in the Dining Hall, where breakfast is served and ready. You might grab a coffee, catch up with friends, or make yourself a packed lunch before heading to uni for the day.
The morning might also include a quick pat for Steve the cat, a much-loved regular around Jane, on the way past, before finding a quiet spot in the library, gardens or common rooms for study and assignments.
For Clancy, who moved from her family’s broadacre cropping farm in the Riverina region of New South Wales to study a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, having everyday life taken care of made settling in much easier.
“Just being able to move here and rely on people to look after me and feed me has really helped. I love that it is catered. Having that support around has helped me relax into uni and explore what I’m really interested in, while feeling safe and not having to stress too much about my living situation.” — Clancy, Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Afternoon: classes, connection and a community of study buddies
The University of Tasmania is just minutes away, and the UniHopper runs regularly on weekdays to UTAS campuses, so getting to class is simple. Afternoons might be filled with lectures, labs, tutorials or study, before heading back to Jane for dinner with friends in the Dining Hall.
For Ella Rann, who is studying a rare pairing of a Bachelor of Science majoring in Ecology alongside a Bachelor of Marine and Antarctic Science, one of the biggest advantages of college life is being surrounded by people who simply get it.
“A lot of people here are doing similar degrees, so we help each other with assignments or carpool to classes. If you don’t understand something, you can just go and knock on someone’s door.” — Ella, Bachelor of Science / Marine & Antarctic Science
That mix of people is part of the magic. Ella says meeting students from outside her own degree has been a highlight of her time at Jane.
“My favourite thing about Jane is meeting people outside my degree. Whenever we go places there is a big group of us, and there’s always someone looking out for you, which is really good.”
The academic support is hands-on, too. Each week, students can take part in academic support sessions at Jane, with practical help to sharpen revision, build study skills and prepare for exams.
Poppy Bagshaw chose Jane while studying her Bachelor of Primary Education online and credits Jane’s Dean of Academics with helping her find her rhythm. His advice when she arrived was simple: don’t study in your room.
It worked. Poppy now studies in the library and around the college, keeping her room as a place to rest. For her, Jane has been proof that even an online student doesn’t have to study alone.
“If you’re online, I recommend somewhere else to live other than home so that you can get a community.” — Poppy, Bachelor of Primary Education
Evening: where friendships are made
Evenings at Jane can be as relaxed or as lively as you want them to be. Some nights are simple: dinner with friends, table tennis in the common room, a board game night, a walk through the gardens or a quiet catch-up with family back home.
Other nights are big Jane nights. The Student Club fills the calendar with events that bring the whole community together, from themed parties like the Jane Boiler Room to Jane Fest, intercollege sport, car rally, Nerf war and the much-loved Jane Ball. These are the moments students talk about long after the night is over, when college feels less like accommodation and more like your people, your place and your home away from home.
And with Hobart’s live music, events, cafés and cultural life close by, there’s always more to explore when you feel like heading out.
For many residents, the strongest connections are formed around the dinner table and in those everyday moments. Poppy, who has been to dozens of Jane events, puts it simply:
“I love going to Jane events. I love even going to lunch, just going and chatting to someone in the Dining Hall, or even just knowing I could knock on someone’s door. For me, that is my dream.”
More than accommodation: a home away from home
Starting university is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming, especially if you’re moving to Hobart from elsewhere in Tasmania, interstate or overseas. At Jane, students are welcomed into a supportive community from day one. For those arriving without a familiar face, that welcome can change everything.
Ella arrived knowing just one person. It didn’t stay that way for long.
“I’ve made so many beautiful friends here. It’s been really lovely.”
Supported every step of the way
Feeling supported makes all the difference. At Jane, students have daily meals, academic support, wellbeing programs and a strong community around them, giving them the freedom to live independently while knowing help is close by.
Life at Jane also opens doors to experiences students may not have imagined. For law student Sophie Lamb, living at Jane has helped her connect what she learns at university with the profession she hopes to enter.
“There are so many opportunities, especially as a law student. We have special guest lecturers, practising barristers and even had the Chief Justice for dinner! At university, you learn the content. Being at Jane has helped me understand what a career in law is really like.” — Sophie, UTAS Law
For students weighing up where to spend these years, the residents who’ve done it have a clear message.
“I’m so glad I came here. It’s enabled me to follow my dreams.” — Clancy
And as Poppy puts it when asked whether she’d do it all again: “I wouldn’t trade the experience that I had this year for living at home.”
That sense of belonging is what students remember most. A stay here really does stay with you forever.