University of Warwick

Coventry

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Can someone tell me what CATS are please? Just read my course content in great detail and found that year 1 is worth 5% towards the final degree grade :rolleyes:

.. Also, it mentions a CATS overload? Is that good/bad/important? :s-smilie:

CATS are the points assigned to modules that make up your degree.

I don't know what course you're going to study, but the standard course load is 120 CATS each year...if you're doing Mathsy stuff you can over-CAT but someone else will know more about this than I do.

eg. In my first year I studied four modules of 30 CATS each. In my third, next year, I will do two modules of 30 CATS, and four half modules of 15 CATS each. Both years that makes for totals of 120 CATS. In my fourth I'm likely to go back to four modules of 30 CATS again.

(edited 12 years ago)

University of Warwick

Coventry

Reply 1541

Greg1989

Original post by Kidms001

Can someone tell me what CATS are please? Just read my course content in great detail and found that year 1 is worth 5% towards the final degree grade :rolleyes:

.. Also, it mentions a CATS overload? Is that good/bad/important? :s-smilie:

not sure of your course either but i know the business school also use over cat sometimes or sometimes call it loading, in their case it means instead of taking 60 cats term 1 and 60 cats term 2 you can sometimes do more in one term than the other (but still 120 overall)

Reply 1542

TheTallOne

Original post by Kidms001

Can someone tell me what CATS are please? Just read my course content in great detail and found that year 1 is worth 5% towards the final degree grade :rolleyes:

.. Also, it mentions a CATS overload? Is that good/bad/important? :s-smilie:

Immerse yourself in freely available material :h:

Looking at your sig it says Chemical Biology, so here goes:

Course regulations: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/academicoffice/quality/courseregs/courseregs1011/undergrad/ch/fc11/
Module flowcharts: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/chemistry/chemintra/ugstudy/courseinfo/
What are CATS: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/chemistry/chemintra/ugstudy/courseinfo/cats/

Explore ChemIntra (the areas you can access) and you can get a great deal of info.

Finally, if you 'overload' on CATS, your department applies the Seymour formula, which is explained on page 27 on the first year introduction booklet (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/chemistry/chemintra/ugstudy/yr1/ go to the downloads bit at the bottom). The actual use of the formula is given here, although the Maths department does a nice confusing explanation of it halfway down that page.

In practice, think of it as this:
Suppose you get 70% raw for the first year when doing 136 CATS. The normal load is 126.
The Seymour formula does this:

\frac{70 \times 136}{(126+136)/2}=\frac{70 \times 136}{131}=72.67

Essentially, the number of CATS you achieved during the year is divided by the average of the normal load and the number of CATS you actually took. In this case, normal is 126. Your overload is 136. So average is 131 (and we divide by 131). The '70 x 136' is the number of CATS attained (out by a factor of 100).

Basically, there are different ways to think about the Seymour formula:
1) It reduces the average required to get a first (for example in the example above you only need to get 67.42% raw to get 70% overall.
OR
2) When deciding whether to 'overload' or not, you consider the following:
Suppose the normal load is 126 CATS and you have a 10 CAT module you are deciding whether to drop or not.
Hypothetically, say you think you will get 70% in the 126 CATS (you attain 0.7*126=88.2 CATS)
Now consider the 10 CAT module:
1) If you score less than 35% (half of 70), suppose 25%, then your Seymour LOWERS your carry forward grade to (88.2+0.25*10)/131=69.23%
2) If you score exactly 35%, then your Seymour has no effect: (88.2+0.35*10)/131=70%
3) If you score more than 35%, say 50%, then your Seymour has a positive impact: (88.2+0.5*10)/131=71.14%

So the bottom line is, you should drop a module if you are going to get less than half the average of the other modules, although this doesn't take into account the extra time you spend having to learn more material and the impact that would have on the rest of your modules.

In more extreme cases (when the overload is 24-30 CATS) you can see boosts of 8% or more. For example on the Maths degree, normal load in each year is 120. If you take 150 CATS, then you only require 90% to get 100% overall. Alternatively, you only need 63% to get 70%.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1543

Nirgilis

Original post by TheTallOne

. . .

Ahh you're brilliant, thanks :love:

.. I just can't wait to go :woo:

I take it term time has finished now? Also, does your new year start the same time as ours?

Reply 1544

TheTallOne

Original post by Kidms001

Ahh you're brilliant, thanks :love:

.. I just can't wait to go :woo:

I take it term time has finished now? Also, does your new year start the same time as ours?

Yep, it finished on Saturday.

And yes it does, first day of term is October 3rd, Warwick has no typical 'freshers week' - instead a Freshers Fortnight which coincides with lectures.

Reply 1545

helenamm92

Hi there, not sure if this is in the right place so let me know if it isn't, but I'm (hopefully, grades depending) going to Warwick to study maths & physics (physics at warwick is my insurance) in September :smile:

I'm really interested in doing some language courses when I'm there but I wanted to get an idea of how full the schedule of a first year maths and physics (or physics) student will be. Is taking a language module realistically possible or should I wait until second or third year where I'll have a little more free time?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated :smile:

Reply 1546

TheTallOne

Original post by helenamm92

I don't think this year Maths Phys students were taught through the 'workbook' method for Analysis I, rather you have lectures along with MORSE/Maths Stats students. I created the following timetable for a typical week in term 1. This only includes lectures and seminar classes. Tutorials and supervisions are not included, but perhaps add 3 hours per week to that. Core modules are shown in blue (if it isn't blue and more like purple, I apologise, but I'm colour blind :colonhash:

), option modules are shown in red.
Foundations is a Maths module, different from Physics Foundations.
PF is Physics Foundations (weeks 1-5)
E+M is Electricity and Magnetism (week 6-10)
CMSR is Classical Mechanics and Special Relativity.
In two blocks PF and E+M share the same times, the third lecture is at different times.

I've also included one 'Tutorial' in there as well as it is timetabled, you have a choice of 3.

Intro to Geometry is an optional module in weeks 6-10
The Friday Foundations Tests occur on even weeks (wk 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10).

I count 20 hours of contact if you do Intro to Geometry and also have a Foundations test. Else on a 'good' week you get 16 hours.

In terms of taking a language module - it's 24 or 30 CATS (can't really remember exactly how much). You can't take 'beginners' language modules in year 3, at least that is the case in the Maths department as of next year. I think language modules add about 3 hours to the week (contact time).

You will have more work in later years and the earlier you take language modules, the more you can take in later years (Erasmus if you can do it as well after year 2 might be an option). It also counts less if you take it in year one and screw up.

I'd doubt you will have as much free time in later years. Remember you need to commute in during the mornings and evenings, adding perhaps an hour or even more to your day.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1547

mrigs

Is the library open during the christmas and easter holidays?

Reply 1548

screenager2004

Original post by mrigs

Is the library open during the christmas and easter holidays?

Yes!

Reply 1549

mrigs

Original post by screenager2004

Yes!

Thank you!

Reply 1550

kuks

Original post by Greg.

No it's a lot faster on campus now they upgraded it. Fast enough for online gaming at any time. :smile:

What I did was have the ethernet cable go into my MacBook and then set up internet sharing so the laptop would create a password protected wifi connection. I then connected my PS3 onto this so I could be online on both console and laptop at the same time. This was for Mac but I know you can do a similar thing for Windows. It's not technically allowed, but as long as it's WEP or WPA password protected you're probably ok.

Same

never had any trouble either....
Did you use twofo as well? :ninja:

Reply 1551

Greg.

Original post by kuks

Same

never had any trouble either....
Did you use twofo as well? :ninja:

Might have :ninja:

Gonna miss it being off campus next year! :colondollar:

Reply 1552

kuks

Original post by Greg.

Might have :ninja:

Gonna miss it being off campus next year! :colondollar:

I know! But the first term the Internet was awful...had trouble watching YouTube at peak :colonhash:

Reply 1553

TheTallOne

Original post by kuks

I know! But the first term the Internet was awful...had trouble watching YouTube at peak :colonhash:

We had that all year :colonhash:

I still love using campus internet like in the Grid, downloading at 100Mbps :yy:

Reply 1554

kuks

Original post by TheTallOne

We had that all year :colonhash:

I still love using campus internet like in the Grid, downloading at 100Mbps :yy:

How did you survive? :nooo: