Cobus Potgieter, a 23-year-old self-taught drummer, based in East London, is the most subscribed South African on YouTube.
Potgieter has a following of 100 000 and has already uploaded over 80 videos. He told News24 that he already has some recognition and enjoys the feedback from viewers. “Some local dudes know about it, but I’m also getting about 20 to 30 e-mails a day and it feels great to get some feedback that people like what I’m doing, you know.”
“They tell me what they think about the videos, and what …

Varsity tuition is on the rise every year, and with so many bogus “fly by night” colleges operating fraudulently around the country how do you tell a good school from a bad?
Love Life Youth took to the streets of central Johannesburg to investigate so-called “fly by night” colleges. They found dozens of private colleges that were busy recruiting students into their institutions through flyers and posters advertising courses in everything from Journalism and Information Technology to Tourism and Policing.
According to CEO Dr Mafu Rakometsi, Umalusi’s (the Quality Assurance Body for …

The sky is the limit for Reinhardt van Zyl a third-year Jewellery Design and Manufacture student at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts.
The student from TUT has been named winner of the Pearl Essence competition, the world’s first-ever global pearl design competition.
van Zyl was the only competitor from Africa – defeating 644 designers selected from 10 countries. His design – a dazzling bangle – entitled Curvature – secured him the honours at a glittering event hosted at the Almas Tower in Dubai this month. He has also won a …

In a previous article titled Bombing out in varsity, we discussed how losing it or getting worse than expected results, can be stressful, especially if you’ve previously averaged higher marks, or are depending on high results to get into a particular course or profession.
Below are suggestions to managing the situation before it gets the worst of you:
Talk to your lecturer/tutor – Explain that you are having difficulty completing/handing in the work. If they are not given a reason to explain a poor performance on an exam or assessment, they …

Fay Humphries looks at how part-time work can improve your chances of building your career
I recently got a call from someone called Nelly. She’s in a really tight situation.
She’s 23 and sat her matric exams in 2007. She got an ‘F’ for just about everything, except for English. She got an ‘E’ for that. She lives just outside Ermelo with her mother, who is in her sixties. They’re both currently unemployed. In fact, Nelly has never been able to find a job.
She called because she’s looking for funding to go …

Student Village went onto campuses around the country to find out how much cash students have, where they get it and what they do with it
By: Anele Mdzikwa and Fay Humphries
If you’re studying full-time, get less than R1 500 in spending money a month, don’t have a credit card or a savings account, and are more upbeat about 2010 then you were about last year, then…guess what?
You’re a typical South African student.
We know this because some of our colleagues here at Student Village spent time on campus recently asking students …

Varsity is a time when people actively seek out new friendships. Unless you live in a box, making friends should not be a problem.  It may require some effort and willingness to extend yourself at times. Especially when it’s your first time away from home. Follow these few steps to help you become more social and gain pals.
Hold back on the shyness. If you are shy, think of yourself as a successfully shy person. Relax, and go ahead and make the first move, you’d be surprised at who’s interested!
Go out. …

Orientation week can be overwhelming and confusing for fresher students, but it can also be exciting and extremely valuable.
O-week is designed to help familiarise and prepare students for the year ahead. As a newbie on campus, you might have no idea what to expect.  Orientation helps you avoid common campus pitfalls and make the most of your varsity experience.
Various student groups, clubs, residences and faculty staff are available on site to help the transition run smoothly. They usually host a number events and activities which are a great opportunity for …

After 2 months of sleeping in till late, getting geared up for the first day of varsity can be such a drab. Whether you’re a nervous first year student or a confident senior, coping with new changes can be an obstacle.
Registration day mania gives you a reality check. From the queuing process to ordering textbooks and figuring out your new timetable. There’s no use fighting it, it’s all about prioritizing. With so many tasks to get by on the day, the key is to get by the most important ones …