[abc:)]

Hi,

So, in general at school and college I've been fairly hard working, enough to always get good grades, but I just did my first year at uni and except for a couple of pieces of work which I did really well in I've done pretty average overall, and in a couple of exams in particular, really badly, so that I'm having to write resubmissions of work over summer.

I know some of the causes of this - my attendance was pretty low due to a few personal things I was going through and also likely a lack of self-motivation and discipline on my part, also getting used to the style of work, the level of independent study etc.

I know I am a clever person, surely I can do better than I have done this year.

Do many people struggle the first year? And is it possible to fail a couple of modules, but in subsequent years manage to improve? I know it will require harder work and more effort, but I mean in terms of getting used to the type of work you are doing, do a lot of people struggle with this at first but then manage to get better? Or if you struggle at first is this just a sign of things to come......


I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on this who has been through the first year - what were your experiences?

[umop apisdn]

Erm... the first year is the easiest. There's a big leap to second year, and again to third year. I wouldn't say it's unlikely that you could improve, but I know a lot of people whose grades went down steadily over the 3 years.

Don't know why this is getting negged. It's the truth.

[Jackkkkk]

What degree and where ?


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Joker370]

Yes it is fairly common, because about 90% of the student population goes to as few lectures as possible and does as little work as they can get away with with the barest minimum of effort in first year. Use this as a wake up call, be glad it doesn't count towards your final degree mark, and make sure you stay disciplined next year, as it starts getting serious.

[millieross]

I didn't do very well either at the end of my first year but I hope that I will do better in the future because I will be able to choose my modules as of next year so I'll be doing things I enjoy (Politics and philosophy) and can drop the ones I find very hard (economics). If this is the same for you then it bodes well

[Slumpy]

Most people on my degree did basically the same all three years. Though I suspect it depends very much on the degree.

[Joinedup]

Yeah, intelligent students often get better over the 3 years... this is because they get better at giving the lecturers what they want in assessments with practice and attention to feedback. It's important to get your motivation and organisation up though.

[Joinedup]

(Original post by Slumpy)
Most people on my degree did basically the same all three years. Though I suspect it depends very much on the degree.

was that oxbridge tho? Cos that's an exception to my theory.

[Slumpy]

(Original post by Joinedup)
was that oxbridge tho? Cos that's an exception to my theory.

Cambridge maths. But I don't think our system is so different in all honesty that it'd make much difference.

[aliphatic]

It's definitely possible if you make the effort. In my first year, I wasn't doing so well with history, getting marks of around 55% or so. It made me seriously question where it would be safe to carry it on, as my marks for my other two subjects (politics and sociology) were consistently over 70%.

I stuck with it however, and my final year average was 68%. I never really resolved the whole not turning up to lectures all the time problem I had in first year, but that was more down to me not finding them an effective use of my time as opposed to being genuinely lazy. My special subject tutor called the progression 'exit velocity', and said that the University more than expected people's marks to get better as they went on. And mine did, each year!

[Joinedup]

(Original post by Slumpy)
Cambridge maths. But I don't think our system is so different in all honesty that it'd make much difference.

might need to insert a fiddle factor for the type of degree as well... But in essay land, a lot of places a student doesn't get much feedback during the year apart from the actual assessments, maybe once or twice a module. possibly it's easier to realise that you're falling short and need to do something in maths because you realise when you're getting stuck, you don't automatically see where your essays are falling short till someone shows you.
(this from the perspective of someone who stopped at A level maths)

[SamGee]

Hi, people will say 'Oh the first years the easiest, you've got a big step up from here' ... That really isnt entirely true at all! I failed my first year by a few percent on two modules out of five and i was heartbroken, but i worked incredibly hard over the summer and i passed my year after a lot of extra work which admittedly i should've put in whilst at uni, but me being me got swept up by fresher fever for the year! In my second year i've done really well and improved massively! All my module grades are up and i'm set to go into my final year with confidence! It just takes that little extra push in the end. But i found that the things i did pick up and learn in my first year really helped me excell in my second!

Best of luck, get your head down work hard (But still have fun! As all work and no play will stress you out majorly and you'll start to dislike what you're doing!) and i'm sure you're going to do fine !

[Tigzie]

I went to all of my lectures first year but didn't do very well, and my grades improved across the next 2 years and I ended up with a 2.1. Don't get downhearted

[SnoochToTheBooch]

(Original post by abc:))
Hi,

So, in general at school and college I've been fairly hard working, enough to always get good grades, but I just did my first year at uni and except for a couple of pieces of work which I did really well in I've done pretty average overall, and in a couple of exams in particular, really badly, so that I'm having to write resubmissions of work over summer.

I know some of the causes of this - my attendance was pretty low due to a few personal things I was going through and also likely a lack of self-motivation and discipline on my part, also getting used to the style of work, the level of independent study etc.

I know I am a clever person, surely I can do better than I have done this year.

Do many people struggle the first year? And is it possible to fail a couple of modules, but in subsequent years manage to improve? I know it will require harder work and more effort, but I mean in terms of getting used to the type of work you are doing, do a lot of people struggle with this at first but then manage to get better? Or if you struggle at first is this just a sign of things to come......


I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on this who has been through the first year - what were your experiences?

yep, it can definitely be turned around. I mean, in my first and second years I think I scored something like 55 and 62 % overall (and that was after summertime re-sits) but still managed to nick a first in the end.
It was a four year course though, that probably would not have happened if I had been on a 3 year course.

[alaska.]

I think I know what you are talking about.

I just attended University in Germany for the first year, and I was doing very well at school (2nd best Abitur in whole school), always highly motivated and always eager to do the extra bit of work. Then I came to Uni, failed quite a few exams, went through a very hard period of being frustrated with myself and was not motivated at all. It is not strange that it happens to you, I see that that is a problem that occurs with many of my friends. Don't let it get you down but take it as an incentive to work harder next year! I figured that my university was not fitting (I really prefer the British style of unis that's why I am going to transfer to Scotland this year) but I know that I can achieve good grades if I really want to. As long as you have the will to do so, it will improve. Whenever you think you did enough, there is a tiny bit you could do more and believe me - you'll get the price for it afterwards.

Just keep working now and see that you get back on "the old track". You've got a whole summer to organise yourself and think about what you can improve

[TheSownRose]

I did.

[georgia]

I definitely improved. First year I got a 2.2 average, third year I got a 2.1 average (including a bunch of modules at a 1st but a ****ty 30 CAT politics one dragged me down a lot) and for fourth year I'm expecting to either get a high 2.1 or 1st average.

I think it takes a while to get used to the style of university education and work out what you need to do to get the good grades. For me it really took concentrating on my essay technique and all of a sudden things just started clicking into place. If you do a humanities degree, I really rate this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Essa.../dp/0415230136 Your library should have a copy if you want to check it out before buying!

[Architecture-er]

As a general rule, I'd say people generally improve when they pull their act together and start working for their grade, rather than simply sitting around and getting better with age, like a well-corked wine..

I had a similar problem, because unless you've got an older sibling or know someone in an older year of your course, you have no idea how much work 'is enough'.. But you should have a better idea of what's expected now?

[georgia]

(Original post by Architecture-er)
As a general rule, I'd say people generally improve when they pull their act together and start working for their grade, rather than simply sitting around and getting better with age, like a well-corked wine..

This, tbf. The workload increases, and then the amount of extra work you put in for each essay or project increases too. So by the end of your degree you are likely essentially living in the library but you have a fighting chance of getting 1sts on essays.

[Aramiss18]

I got a 2.2 in first year and have improved year on year. You'll adapt and improve as long as you put the effort in. Good luck!