How are honours calculated and applying before thesis submit?

Excuse me for this arguably clueless question, but I am just a continental European who will have to transfer academic scores to the UK system...would very much like to take a Masters in the UK.

So how are the required honors calculated? Are they:

- an average of several semesters´exam results?
- only the final exam result?
- ...and how does the grade given for a final thesis weigh in?

What I am trying to comprehend is whether I should strive to score the highest possible grades in all my courses, major and minor, throughout the undergrad program, or if I can think strategically and put more effort into the last year exams, a specialization and my thesis.

Which basically leads straight to the next question: if final exams and thesis evaluation is over at the end of june, will that leave enough time to apply for graduate studies to start in fall? At least the better universities probably require earlier applications, so what do people do? Apply in the middle of the final undergrad year, based on their exam grades so far and without knowing how their final and thesis will turn out? Or do they have to wait a year?

Thank you very much for explaining this to me, it is very much appreciated.

Excuse me for this arguably clueless question, but I am just a continental European who will have to transfer academic scores to the UK system...would very much like to take a Masters in the UK.

So how are the required honors calculated? Are they:

- an average of several semesters´exam results?
- only the final exam result?
- ...and how does the grade given for a final thesis weigh in?

What I am trying to comprehend is whether I should strive to score the highest possible grades in all my courses, major and minor, throughout the undergrad program, or if I can think strategically and put more effort into the last year exams, a specialization and my thesis.

Which basically leads straight to the next question: if final exams and thesis evaluation is over at the end of june, will that leave enough time to apply for graduate studies to start in fall? At least the better universities probably require earlier applications, so what do people do? Apply in the middle of the final undergrad year, based on their exam grades so far and without knowing how their final and thesis will turn out? Or do they have to wait a year?

Thank you very much for explaining this to me, it is very much appreciated.

Thank you so much, I think I understand how it works now:

Study for the best final grade possible, but solely according to my undergrad universitys regulations > apply for graduate during third year with what I have to offer at that point > hopefully get accepted somewhere, based on an estimation of my expected final > fulfill that estimate and get the place OR lower grade and you lose the offer.

Correct?

(Does this mean there's people out there who had top offers at their hand but the wrong day/topic/teacher cut them just short of the required honours??? Outch...).

Excuse me for this arguably clueless question, but I am just a continental European who will have to transfer academic scores to the UK system...would very much like to take a Masters in the UK.

So how are the required honors calculated? Are they:

- an average of several semesters´exam results?
- only the final exam result?
- ...and how does the grade given for a final thesis weigh in?

What I am trying to comprehend is whether I should strive to score the highest possible grades in all my courses, major and minor, throughout the undergrad program, or if I can think strategically and put more effort into the last year exams, a specialization and my thesis.

Which basically leads straight to the next question: if final exams and thesis evaluation is over at the end of june, will that leave enough time to apply for graduate studies to start in fall? At least the better universities probably require earlier applications, so what do people do? Apply in the middle of the final undergrad year, based on their exam grades so far and without knowing how their final and thesis will turn out? Or do they have to wait a year?

Thank you very much for explaining this to me, it is very much appreciated.

Thank you so much, I think I understand how it works now:

Study for the best final grade possible, but solely according to my undergrad universitys regulations > apply for graduate during third year with what I have to offer at that point > hopefully get accepted somewhere, based on an estimation of my expected final > fulfill that estimate and get the place OR lower grade and you lose the offer.

Correct?

(Does this mean there's people out there who had top offers at their hand but the wrong day/topic/teacher cut them just short of the required honours??? Outch...).

There seems to be some confusion here. In order to apply for a UK honours degree, you need to meet the prequrisites, then you apply to the university which you think you have a chance of a getting a place with and b getting on at, then you apply, see if you get a place. Then assuming you do, you start studying there full time, typically three lectures a week with much more extra study expected in your own time, with tests either coursework or exam based, at the end of each semester, in the units you are taking, sometime with interim work expected throughout the course of the study. And it is only on the successful completion of this work for two years, where you have to pass (40% or above) all of the work in these first two years, before you come to your third year units, which take the burden of the marks. They did for my degree anyway. Degrees are very different from any thing that you have done earlier, in that you are expected to be a self motivated learner, seek out and read the reading materials, with little or no prompts from the academics!

No confusion except yours. This is the Postgrad forum and the OP was asking about the process for applying for a Masters degree.

It doesn't make any difference whether she is applying for a grad or post grad degree. The criteria (that you need to pass ALL prequisites on the program), apply to both under and post graduate degrees in the uk. Perhaps you got this from my post?