Bad marks in second year...how to improve? :/

I've also changed my career aspirations during my time here as well, deciding that lab work isn't what I want to do. I think I want to be a physiotherapist instead

If you want to be a physiotherapist, is continuing with this degree the best idea?

That's a good point, actually! I did think about it...but I can't really afford to drop out now. It's actually getting quite interesting, and I'm determined to see it to the end to get something out of it, classification notwithstanding!

I went in thinking I'd definitely like to be a scientist, but I thought I would find it a lot more interesting than I actually do. I guess I'm not actually completely sure what I want to do after this degree any more, so I feel staying and finishing will put me in a better position than stopping and having nowhere to go.

Hopefully, when I finish this degree, I can do postgraduate study into an area that really interests me, so I feel it's important that I get all of this exam business sorted out now.

Thank you for replying; I didn't think anyone was going to!

The reason I say it is the minute you get that degree, you stop being able to get funding for another one - it's to do with ELQ rules, or 'equal or lower qualification'; basically means they won't fund you to do another qualification at the same level you already have. As a final kick in the teeth, you may be subjected to international fees. The minute you start third year, even if you leave after the first day your third year, you stop being able to get funding for all but the last year of a different course ... but you will still 'only' be charged the reduced fees. As it is, you'd have to fund first year yourself.

Therefore, if you are considering going down a completely different path that requires a specific degree, it might be worth your while figuring out what you want to do.

so I feel staying and finishing will put me in a better position than stopping and having nowhere to go.

The reason I say it is the minute you get that degree, you stop being able to get funding for another one - it's to do with ELQ rules, or 'equal or lower qualification'; basically means they won't fund you to do another qualification at the same level you already have. As a final kick in the teeth, you may be subjected to international fees. The minute you start third year, even if you leave after the first day your third year, you stop being able to get funding for all but the last year of a different course ... but you will still 'only' be charged the reduced fees. As it is, you'd have to fund first year yourself.

Therefore, if you are considering going down a completely different path that requires a specific degree, it might be worth your while figuring out what you want to do.

Once you've had any form of higher education, even if you fail or withdraw, even if you didn't claim for any student finance the first time round, EVEN (bizarrely) if it wasn't even in the UK, it then becomes much more difficult to qualify for further student finance in future, particularly a tuition fee loan. It's not as simple as just the "same or lower level qualification" test. Dropping out of a course because you're worried you might get a 2:2 is probably not a good idea, irrespective of your future plans. Two years in, and unless you hate it (it doesn't sound like it) then stick it out.

You will be! Don't drop out, speak to your tutor but I'm sure they wouldn't advise you to drop out either. Sometimes people change their mind about what they want to do, it isn't the end of the world. As you suggest, your best bet is to try and achieve as good a classification as possible while considering your options for what to do afterwards. Physiotherapy, incidentally, like other NHS funded courses (Nursing, midwifery, etc.) does qualify for some funding even if you've already been in higher education.

I think physiotherapy is an NHS funded course at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, though I could be wrong about that :/

The problem is...if I stopped or transferred, I believe I would have to pay the new £9000 fees, which would be a bit unfortunate. You mentioned reduced fees though, would you be able to provide a source where I could check that? I'd definitely like to look further into it. Thanks for your comments, I appreciate it.

You guys sound pretty experienced; do you have any advice regarding exams? I recently got a few books on exam technique that are really useful, are there any bits of advice you could give me to supplement them? Or is the best thing to do just to do a lot of work so I can remember as much relevant information as possible when the time comes? That seems to be the best way to get better marks, but I'd love to hear other people's opinions.

Point 1: Don't quit.

Point 2: A 2.2 is not the end of the world. I have a friend who managed to get onto a MA course with a 2.2 and is doing well. 2.2 will block you from graduate scheme but they are so difficult to get onto (I only know one person out of 50 people on my BA course and all the people on my MSc have not got onto one with one guy getting a reserve place). Employers honestly don't care about a 2.2 as chances are you will be applying for basic retail jobs by the time you finish the degree and employers are looking for experience over grades (remember youth unemployment is at 20% and mostly likely going to increase).

Point 3: Go through all your feedback and work out which areas you have problems. For example is it the form of assignments that you are taking? I personally did a lot worse in exams (only just about getting past the pass mark) while I got high 2.1s and firsts in the long essays.

Point 4: How is your classification calculated? For example my department used three methods and choose the best per student. Only my final year counted in the end.

Point 5: Sorting out whatever is holding you back can cause a massive jump in grades. I went from the second year 53% average to an average of 68% in the final year. This was mostly due to solving some of my writing issues and the fact that the assignments became long independent essays and reports rather than short essays mixed with exams.

I didn't remember it was an NHS course. I'm not sure if they fund a second degree either, though. Some of them are exempt from ELQ, though.

9k is the reduced fee. People who fall on the wrong side of the ELQ fees sometimes find themselves paying international rates, which could be a lot more than 9k.


Go through past exam papers. A lot of lecturers reuse the same questions and themes, and even if they don't you'll get used to the style.

Doing better is often about working BETTER not working HARDER. I don't understand why people emphasise how "hard" they work, when often they're using inefficient learning strategies.

Have a look at a few "how to study" books, and contact any study support advice centres at your uni. You might find that changing the way you study without doing any more hours might actually considerably improve your learning and results.

I do an Arts degree so not gonna lie, I don't know how to write a science essay. However, this book has massively helped me out this year and I've managed to bring my essays up from 62s to 74s just by focusing on structure/syntax/style and making sure I go as in depth as possible.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Essays-Students-English-Humanities/dp/0415230136