Being a student in an Australian university involves more pressure, and makes more demands on that student and his or her support networks than ever before. The variety in the configurations of pressures, demands and responsibilities faced by students means that it is impossible to characterise a "standard" student. Qualitative research undertaken to explore the situations of sixty undergraduate students in eleven focus groups at Monash University, has revealed that while the pressures are increasing, students generally approach their studies equipped with a good awareness of the difficulties they are likely to face. This awareness--along with a better capacity to manage pressure--increases as students' study programs advance. There is an increasing demand for students to engage in paid work to meet the costs of study; to participate in family life and maintain social support networks, and to care for their own health and well-being. These pressures can often present challenges for the University administration, and at times conflict with requirements on teaching staff. The changing and varied social and education realities of students need to be better incorporated into institutional arrangements.