Feeling confused and doubtful first week of uni
Hello,
it’s my first week of uni studying undergraduate computer science. i’ve never studied computer science or anything related to it. i’ve had a full week of lectures and it sessions and words can’t describe how confused i am. a lot of people on my course have studied/ have knowledge about computer science and find the work being given to us easy but i find it very difficult. i barely understand what the lecturers are saying it sounds like they’re speaking a different language. they’ve shown us our first set of courseworks and i’m scared because i don’t understand anything written down.
has anyone been in a situation like mine or similar and has gotten over it or is it just me?
i’m doubting whether this course is for me and i don’t know what to do
it’s my first week of uni studying undergraduate computer science. i’ve never studied computer science or anything related to it. i’ve had a full week of lectures and it sessions and words can’t describe how confused i am. a lot of people on my course have studied/ have knowledge about computer science and find the work being given to us easy but i find it very difficult. i barely understand what the lecturers are saying it sounds like they’re speaking a different language. they’ve shown us our first set of courseworks and i’m scared because i don’t understand anything written down.
has anyone been in a situation like mine or similar and has gotten over it or is it just me?
i’m doubting whether this course is for me and i don’t know what to do
Hi,
I can really relate to this, when I first started my degree (Animal Behaviour and Conservation), I was not prepared for the amount of things I had no idea about. I remember being so overwhelmed and not thinking I could do it, and needing constant reassurance from my boyfriend because It felt so alien to me. Fast forward to now, i'm just about to go into my third year and I got 60's and 70's for all my assignments last year, I have loved the course and I am on track to get a 2:1 or 1st. Remember, if you knew it all, doing the course would be a bit pointless, so try to think of it as learning new things (which is amazing), rather than stressing about the fact you don't know it all.
Tips:
1 - Ask for help! If you are to embarrassed to ask a question in a lecture, speak to your lecturer privately, if you are struggling, they can help. If you don't ask for help, they will think you are fine.
2-Speak to your peers and ask them how they are getting on - I bet you will find alot of people feel the same way as you.
3- Use your uni's resources! library, online sources, student support, counselling, help with referencing, whatever it is, you should have access to someone who can help you.
4- Read your assignment briefs thoroughly when doing your assignments.
5- Remember to have fun and don't spend all your time worrying, things will fall into place.
6- When you are having a stressful day, remind yourself why you decided to do this course, what do you want to achieve, where are looking for it to take you in the future.
Good luck with everything and please reach out if I can help you any further.
-Victoria
Wrexham Uni Rep
I can really relate to this, when I first started my degree (Animal Behaviour and Conservation), I was not prepared for the amount of things I had no idea about. I remember being so overwhelmed and not thinking I could do it, and needing constant reassurance from my boyfriend because It felt so alien to me. Fast forward to now, i'm just about to go into my third year and I got 60's and 70's for all my assignments last year, I have loved the course and I am on track to get a 2:1 or 1st. Remember, if you knew it all, doing the course would be a bit pointless, so try to think of it as learning new things (which is amazing), rather than stressing about the fact you don't know it all.
Tips:
1 - Ask for help! If you are to embarrassed to ask a question in a lecture, speak to your lecturer privately, if you are struggling, they can help. If you don't ask for help, they will think you are fine.
2-Speak to your peers and ask them how they are getting on - I bet you will find alot of people feel the same way as you.
3- Use your uni's resources! library, online sources, student support, counselling, help with referencing, whatever it is, you should have access to someone who can help you.
4- Read your assignment briefs thoroughly when doing your assignments.
5- Remember to have fun and don't spend all your time worrying, things will fall into place.
6- When you are having a stressful day, remind yourself why you decided to do this course, what do you want to achieve, where are looking for it to take you in the future.
Good luck with everything and please reach out if I can help you any further.
-Victoria
Wrexham Uni Rep
Hi there,
I am a student at Coventry University studying law.
I can completely relate to how you're feeling about your course.
When I began my 1st year on my law course, during the first few weeks every new law term I came across was very alien to me and hard to grasp.
The idea of having to read cases and statutes and analyse these made me want to drop out of University or change courses.
There would also be students, who previously studied law as an a-level so they had that basic knowledge, which I didn't have but wished I did have since I never studied law in my a-level.
So I would be the quiet one during my workshops listening to others, while they answered questions. Back then I would admire their confidence and feel stressed and contemplate how I didn't have the ability to grasp the concept of law. I literally cried for a few days because it was just too much content to grasp and it was a big difference from my A-levels.
However, I don't know what changed me but I put my head now, started from scratch by reading textbooks and luckily for me they recorded and uploaded the lectures, so I would re-watch those lectures and managed to average a 2:1 in my first year.
Honestly, it's daunting and I really wish I had asked more students what year 1 is actually like but I missed the opportunity to attend open days and etc because of covid-19.
But here I am, in my third year on the Law course and happy. I overcame the stress by just keeping on top of everything, I haven't scored the best scores on my assignments but I haven't scored the worst either. But I still survived WITHOUT the help of my lecturers and student success coaches.
However I would highly recommend speaking to your lecturers, personal tutors or even your family and friends, just rant to them and tell them how difficult it is. You also end up realising that by speaking to your course mates, they're also on the same page as you. You're not alone. But YOU GOT THIS!
And we're here for you too, if you'd like to speak to us.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Narusha
Coventry University Student Ambassador
I am a student at Coventry University studying law.
I can completely relate to how you're feeling about your course.
When I began my 1st year on my law course, during the first few weeks every new law term I came across was very alien to me and hard to grasp.
The idea of having to read cases and statutes and analyse these made me want to drop out of University or change courses.
There would also be students, who previously studied law as an a-level so they had that basic knowledge, which I didn't have but wished I did have since I never studied law in my a-level.
So I would be the quiet one during my workshops listening to others, while they answered questions. Back then I would admire their confidence and feel stressed and contemplate how I didn't have the ability to grasp the concept of law. I literally cried for a few days because it was just too much content to grasp and it was a big difference from my A-levels.
However, I don't know what changed me but I put my head now, started from scratch by reading textbooks and luckily for me they recorded and uploaded the lectures, so I would re-watch those lectures and managed to average a 2:1 in my first year.
Honestly, it's daunting and I really wish I had asked more students what year 1 is actually like but I missed the opportunity to attend open days and etc because of covid-19.
But here I am, in my third year on the Law course and happy. I overcame the stress by just keeping on top of everything, I haven't scored the best scores on my assignments but I haven't scored the worst either. But I still survived WITHOUT the help of my lecturers and student success coaches.
However I would highly recommend speaking to your lecturers, personal tutors or even your family and friends, just rant to them and tell them how difficult it is. You also end up realising that by speaking to your course mates, they're also on the same page as you. You're not alone. But YOU GOT THIS!
And we're here for you too, if you'd like to speak to us.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Narusha
Coventry University Student Ambassador
Original post by _a.s.t
Hello,
it’s my first week of uni studying undergraduate computer science. i’ve never studied computer science or anything related to it. i’ve had a full week of lectures and it sessions and words can’t describe how confused i am. a lot of people on my course have studied/ have knowledge about computer science and find the work being given to us easy but i find it very difficult. i barely understand what the lecturers are saying it sounds like they’re speaking a different language. they’ve shown us our first set of courseworks and i’m scared because i don’t understand anything written down.
has anyone been in a situation like mine or similar and has gotten over it or is it just me?
i’m doubting whether this course is for me and i don’t know what to do
it’s my first week of uni studying undergraduate computer science. i’ve never studied computer science or anything related to it. i’ve had a full week of lectures and it sessions and words can’t describe how confused i am. a lot of people on my course have studied/ have knowledge about computer science and find the work being given to us easy but i find it very difficult. i barely understand what the lecturers are saying it sounds like they’re speaking a different language. they’ve shown us our first set of courseworks and i’m scared because i don’t understand anything written down.
has anyone been in a situation like mine or similar and has gotten over it or is it just me?
i’m doubting whether this course is for me and i don’t know what to do
Hi there, sorry to hear you are finding the course difficult. I also experienced the same issues in my first year of University.
I also never studied my subject prior to University, and seeing others who studied it for A levels was intimidating. However, I did find that I was able to understand more of the content after continuously completing the preparation for classes.
I would recommend having a look at lecture slides before the lecture starts, this could help you understand the structure of the lecture and it gives you more time to focus on areas that you could not understand whilst going through the slides. Keeping on top of your seminar readings and worksheets are also very important. (When it comes to readings, I would recommend noting down the keywords, as they are likely to come up in future lessons.)
Take your studies one step at a time, there are many people who will be the same situation as you. When there is something that you are unsure of, just look it up and keep going. If you are still uncertain, you can always book a meeting with your seminar leader to address any questions you have.
Hope this helps.
Chloe
-University of Kent Student Rep
Original post by _a.s.t
Hello,
it’s my first week of uni studying undergraduate computer science. i’ve never studied computer science or anything related to it. i’ve had a full week of lectures and it sessions and words can’t describe how confused i am. a lot of people on my course have studied/ have knowledge about computer science and find the work being given to us easy but i find it very difficult. i barely understand what the lecturers are saying it sounds like they’re speaking a different language. they’ve shown us our first set of courseworks and i’m scared because i don’t understand anything written down.
has anyone been in a situation like mine or similar and has gotten over it or is it just me?
i’m doubting whether this course is for me and i don’t know what to do
it’s my first week of uni studying undergraduate computer science. i’ve never studied computer science or anything related to it. i’ve had a full week of lectures and it sessions and words can’t describe how confused i am. a lot of people on my course have studied/ have knowledge about computer science and find the work being given to us easy but i find it very difficult. i barely understand what the lecturers are saying it sounds like they’re speaking a different language. they’ve shown us our first set of courseworks and i’m scared because i don’t understand anything written down.
has anyone been in a situation like mine or similar and has gotten over it or is it just me?
i’m doubting whether this course is for me and i don’t know what to do
@_a.s.t
Why did you decide to do computer science?
There is a lot of hype around computer science but it's not for everyone. Coding requires you to think in a certain way. It requires a lot of patience, resourcefulness ( e.g. making use of online forums when you are stuck) and an eye for detail to spot errors.
Any course that you study will have a lot of new terms and expressions to learn, so don't be thrown by that. You will gradually get used to the terminology that relates to your course, but it might be an idea to talk to or to ask your lecturers if they could explain more of the words that you are unfamiliar with. They might be pitching the lectures too high, because they have assumed that people are already familiar with certain terms, so don't be afraid to explain that you haven't studied/ have prior knowledge about computer science.
It might be an idea to see how the first few weeks go, but if you are really struggling you might want to think about whether you do want to do three years of computer science.
All the best,
Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield
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