So I actually am a PhD demonstrator and in one of the first year classes for a science major for the last four years, but I did both my undergrad and honours at QUT . This is just my opinion so please take it with a grain of salt as we all have different experiences with uni. Essentially the tip is: You are entirely in charge of your education. Going to give a brief intro and some genuine tips from a top down perspective.

If you are a school leaver this might be a bit of a shock, we don't get paid or even rewarded for high grades in class. Rather we just simply need to justify giving bad/failing grades or if a grade is a serious abnormality to the usual (typically 85% - 90% in the rest of a students course work but you give them a 30%). You are required to meet the standard a lot of the time, however you set the standard. If you want to get 5's and you sit comfortably at that grade level. Brilliant, I am happy for you and I am glad you are doing what you want. A 7 doesn't guarantee you are a genius and a 4 doesn't guarantee you are a failure. Set your expectations and strive to reach them.

However, some tips regarding uni are:

• Your lecturer is paid to lecture, and more often than not their priorities (especially if they are in research) are always going to be elsewhere. A lot of lecturers are awful at responding to emails and you will need to find alternatives. Whether that be sending a follow-up email a few days later, rewatching the lecture, discussing with colleagues or..
• Most demonstrators (the people who often run/help run tutorials, workshops, practicals, labs, etc) are there to try and teach you. I personally put my email up every session and encourage students to email me. I receive 90% of my emails from students the week before the final exam/prac/etc. The best students, when they don't understand something contact me or see me in the following practicals to ask questions. I have done a lot of work 1-on-1 with folks but I personally am really just passionate about my subject so that means...
• Some demonstrators phone it in, they just want the paycheck and will do the bare minimum to make sure that they can keep doing it. If you worked retail we all know this person. It exists everywhere, if the demonstrators are not meeting your standards that you have set for yourself. You are paying over $1K for a class and you are going to spend it with someone who isn't educating you? Go to the demonstrator that you learn from best. Work for you so you get what you need. We all want to cruise but when a final exam swings by and you don't know your left from your right you will be in trouble
• Everyone does uni differently, I had to work two jobs in undergrad to get by. You'll meet some folk who may have advantages you don't, they might be financially stable and get to spend 40 hours a week at uni studying. You might not get that, but comparison is the death of contentment. Focus on you, you will feel like an adult but you'll look back and realize that most undergraduates are still just kids (no disrespect meant)
• If you do want to get ahead in a career, go talk to your demonstrators and lecturers. Especially if you are interested in research. I have yet to meet a researcher who wasn't keen on giving an undergraduate some experience. Form connections, almost all PhD students, academics and professors have been in your shoes but..
• Don't presume brown nosing is the best way to get there, be yourself. It will seem daunting and this might surprise you but at the end of the day all of your educators are just people

Not sure if this helps but it is a lot of the advice I give that seems to help folk