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Seriously stressed about Psychology Degree

Hi,

I'm a first year at the Uni of Beds (no, I did not get awful grades, this was my first choice due to it being pretty close to home meaning less crippling anxiety of commuting or living out for me) and my course is Psychology (BSc).

I wasn't able to do Psychology at A-Level because I wanted to switch courses during enrollment week and there were no available spaces. So, I did Law, English Literature, History and English Language. I've always been interested in Psychology and have always wanted to pursue a career within the field.

However, it's now week 3 at uni and I am freaking the hell out. I'm really worried about exams, about the content, about whether or not I'll even make it through this year, let alone the entire duration of the degree.

I'm not very worried about the maths/science side of it because the lecturers have already clarified that it's really not as daunting as it sounds, and while I know GCSEs are a long way away from studying at degree level, I did get B's in my double science subjects.

I am just really worried about the amount of hours a week I'm to spend studying when I'm struggling with grasping even basic concepts. I'm not sure if it's because I've put in my mind that I can't do it, but it's really dragging me down. I have this awful feeling at the pit of my stomach walking into the lectures knowing that I won't understand anything.

I've been told that being good at English is extremely helpful for this degree and I know I won't struggle with that as I got an A in Language and a B in Literature, I'm just stressed about the exams, how we get graded on multiple choice tests, assessments etc.

I'm feeling really worried and I'm constantly in a state of anxiety, stress and dread and it's only week 3 of uni.

Can someone possible put any of my fears to bed and give me any clarification as to how I can improve on my knowledge and how best to prepare for my exams and assessments and Multiple Choice Tests.

Thank you so much!

Reply 1

Noodlzzz

1) Psychology A-level probably makes studying a psych degree harder from my experience. What you learn and how you learn to write is all wrong
2) A lot of people are in the same place as you, don't worry
3) Don't worry too much about the Maths. I would recommend the book 'statistics for psychology without maths' as a good starter for your stats course. Science you might struggle, however. But you can use your English lit skills of analysis to compensate
4) Try and do as much reading outside of lectures as possible to grasp the basic concepts. Start with textbooks, generally easier to understand and work yourself up to journal articles
5) practice past exam papers for MCQ and do a practice essay or two for other exams and get a lecturer or your tutor to mark it*

Reply 2

Zeeiqbal

Don't worry. Try to enjoy your course as much as you can. I'm studying psychology as one of my modules and finding it really stressful as I don't have a clue about it. The same with another module which is about sociology. It's your first year. The lecturers don't expect you to know everything.

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Reply 3

qqpeow

I have a 2:1 in Psychology and I'm a part-time psychologist. In my first few weeks of Uni I couldn't make head nor tails of journal articles, I didn't know how to use Blackboard at all and I couldn't even find my way around the library.

Uni is a big step up from A-Level. Honestly, putting in the time now will pay dividends in the future. I sat down for hours with one journal article when I first started, highlighted important parts and summarised them on a sheet of paper. It helped me clarify what was going on in them and I ended up doing that method until I graduated. Speak to your tutors if you're really struggling with something - that's what they're there for.

It's really difficult at first because it's all so new, but first year generally doesn't 'count' (or at least counts for very little) so long as you pass because it gives you time to become accustomed to the new style of learning and the key concepts in psychology. Honestly, you will be fine. You're by no means the only student who feels like they can't do it right now but it'll become like riding a bike soon.