Just how hard is university?
Hi, I understand that this question is dependant on your goals, your degree etc, but I wanted to know if anybody can tell me from personal experience how hard university is.
I ask this, because right now, I spend a lot of time studying just to keep achieving As in my AS course (further maths, three sciences); but also because I hear that university is supposed to be the best time of your life.
I guess I'm asking more of a comparative question; how does it compare to A levels? Is it unlikely to go to university expecting a first? How does university compare to working life, after university, in terms of workload? I can't help but notice that adults with their degrees do not seem to work as many hours as students do.
I understand that this all depends on the degree; I want to study chemical engineering if that helps.
I ask this, because right now, I spend a lot of time studying just to keep achieving As in my AS course (further maths, three sciences); but also because I hear that university is supposed to be the best time of your life.
I guess I'm asking more of a comparative question; how does it compare to A levels? Is it unlikely to go to university expecting a first? How does university compare to working life, after university, in terms of workload? I can't help but notice that adults with their degrees do not seem to work as many hours as students do.
I understand that this all depends on the degree; I want to study chemical engineering if that helps.
(edited 11 years ago)
To achieve the following...
3rd - Turn up
2:2 - Turn up and write stuff down
2:1 - Work really hard
1st - Work really hard and be naturally amazing at the subject
Notice that even if you're naturally amazing at the subject, you won't get anything if you don't work hard
Compared to A levels:
A*/A grade - Do all the work
B - Turn up and do most of the work
C - Turn up and do the work that one time
<D - Either don't turn up or don't do any work
3rd - Turn up
2:2 - Turn up and write stuff down
2:1 - Work really hard
1st - Work really hard and be naturally amazing at the subject
Notice that even if you're naturally amazing at the subject, you won't get anything if you don't work hard
Compared to A levels:
A*/A grade - Do all the work
B - Turn up and do most of the work
C - Turn up and do the work that one time
<D - Either don't turn up or don't do any work
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Archi96
Hi, I understand that this question is dependant on your goals, your degree etc, but I wanted to know if anybody can tell me from personal experience how hard university is.
I ask this, because right now, I spend a lot of time studying just to keep achieving As in my AS course (further maths, three sciences); but also because I hear that university is supposed to be the best time of your life.
I guess I'm asking more of a comparative question; how does it compare to A levels? Is it unlikely to go to university expecting a first? How does university compare to working life, after university, in terms of workload? I can't help but notice that adults with their degrees do not seem to work as many hours as students do.
I understand that this all depends on the degree; I want to study chemical engineering if that helps.
I ask this, because right now, I spend a lot of time studying just to keep achieving As in my AS course (further maths, three sciences); but also because I hear that university is supposed to be the best time of your life.
I guess I'm asking more of a comparative question; how does it compare to A levels? Is it unlikely to go to university expecting a first? How does university compare to working life, after university, in terms of workload? I can't help but notice that adults with their degrees do not seem to work as many hours as students do.
I understand that this all depends on the degree; I want to study chemical engineering if that helps.
I'm a mature student and didn't do A'levels so can't really compare but I can tell you what it is like from my point of view.
The hardness seems to come in waves. There are times when I just turn up to lectures and spend lots of time procrastinating, when I worked full time I never had a random afternoon off to do what I wanted. Then there are times when I have assignments due, exams to revise for and labs to prepare for, I might spend all day in lectures and then most the night studying. When it's like that I think that a full time job would be easier.
The other thing I've noticed is that there isn't quite the pressure for high performance right from the beginning whereas in your A'levels you are aiming for perfection in every piece of work.
You can't go expecting a first. Before I started I believed that anyone could get a first if they just worked hard enough, now I realise that the subject areas are just so huge it is almost impossible to know all of it and I think that is why the pass rate is only 40%.
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