University of Edinburgh

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Reply 220

nearlyheadlessian

Absurd

Do most people know what they want to do their dissertation on in second year? :dong:

No.

University of Edinburgh

Reply 221

artorscience?

Absurd

Do most people know what they want to do their dissertation on in second year?

God no! Most departments have you making your initial decisions about your dissertation ideas in March of your 3rd year. And that's not deciding your question, it's a topic or area that you're going to look into. (For us it's March for area/topic, after the exams session for a question and plan for reading over summer, then turn up after the summer with a lot of reading done and on the road to writing and the year to make it appear).

I have no idea about your situation. But we've not been officially given the March deadline yet so I can still pretend that it doesn't need thinking about.

Reply 222

Absurd

artorscience?

Oh, good! Lots of my friends already know what they want to write about which is slightly worrying as I've no idea. Do you know what you'd like to do yet? And what happens if you do combined honours, do they make you write two dissertations?

Reply 223

artorscience?

Absurd

With joint honours you write 1 dissertation in 1 of your subjects and if you like it can be a crossover topic and you can get advise and supervision from both sides but it's only officially in one half. Mine is in Archaeology, I didn't really have a choice about that because of the way that the Celtic dissertation is structured (half in 3rd year, half in 4th which I still don't understand). So all I know at the moment is that I want it to be on something with a crossover, I want to write about Celtic literature as much as the Archaeology department will allow and thus it will be about Britain: Wales, Ireland or lowland Scotland and the period will be Iron Age to Medieval... so it's not very specific, but I don't know how much more I need to have thought out before my first meeting and proposal.

Reply 224

Static.

Well, the first semester isn't even over yet and I already want to change my degree. Was anyone else like this in first year? D:

Reply 225

artorscience?

Static.

Well, the first semester isn't even over yet and I already want to change my degree. Was anyone else like this in first year? D:

Yes. I knew I wasn't right for Anthropology, and was really hoping that Archaeology picked up at that point...

I didn't make enough changes because I'm still here many years later wishing I had got rid of Archaeology completely, sucks that I get my better marks in it and that I have had no better ideas.

Reply 226

oxymoronic

Absurd

I didn't know what I was writing my dissertation on until about a week before it was submitted. I had a sort of research question, obviously, but the actual final argument question wasn't sorted out until my final week.... so forward planning in 2nd year is a little off the mark!

Most people don't really even know what their final degree choices are going to be by this point in 2nd year - I hadn't made any decisions yet, so even if people do reckon they know what they want to do it will probs change a lot by the time they get to final year. As you know, I'm 4th year and the vast majority of my friends haven't decided what their dissertation topic is going to be about yet beyond say "Environmental Politics" as the majority of deadlines aren't until March time so people don't really get into it until after christmas exams.... unless you happen to do anthropology (I know you don't, but still) when its started in 3rd year and submitted in the middle of November.

Exams

Jillee

Exams

I have my first exam in three hours. :frown:

Reply 229

Jillee

Rainfaery

I have my first exam in three hours. :frown:

My first one is tomorrow at half past 2. No idea where St. Leonards Land Gym 4 is... anyone? :o:

Reply 230

Rainfaery

Jillee

My first one is tomorrow at half past 2. No idea where St. Leonards Land Gym 4 is... anyone? :o:

It's down near Holyrood, I think. Thank goodness all my exams are in DHT.

Reply 231

oxymoronic

Jillee

My first one is tomorrow at half past 2. No idea where St. Leonards Land Gym 4 is... anyone?

RF is right - its down by Moray House, you go past Darroch and keep heading down towards Holyrood and its on the right.

Mine aren't till next week, I can't be bothered with work anymore... 4th year is such a pain.

Reply 232

Feef

No Christmas exams here \o/ Sorry. I'm actually not half as smug as you'd expect, pretty much all of my friends still have exams and essays due in, so I've not managed to have a proper end of semester celebration yet...Amazing how I can find dozens of interesting things to do as displacement activities, yet when there's nothing I should be doing, I'm at a loss.

...I'm sure your hearts bleed for me, anyway. Good luck all :smile:

Reply 233

Jillee

oxymoronic

Thanks! Shall make sure I'm nice and early tomorrow incase I get lost (highly probable). Cannot wait until 3rd year so I can get rid of these outside subjects :o:

edit... Gah. That was utterly horrific. Preparing myself to resit :s-smilie:

Reply 234

C.Lauren

Jillee

Thanks! Shall make sure I'm nice and early tomorrow incase I get lost (highly probable). Cannot wait until 3rd year so I can get rid of these outside subjects :o:

edit... Gah. That was utterly horrific. Preparing myself to resit :s-smilie:

I understand what you mean! I am in my first year of law and just can't handle any more studying for this international law exam in a few hours. I made the mistake of taking that course instead of Civil or Criminology like all of the other normal first years, so I have 3 exams before break while everyone else has two.

Does anyone know if Law school exams re-sits are capped at 40 or 50%? I found this paper by the HSS college saying that they were proposing to not cap re-sit scores, but it doesn't mention law or whether or not this policy actually went through. Hoping someone can tell me! Thanks!

"College guidance on resit arrangements – revised proposals"

Reply 235

oxymoronic

C.Lauren

The school of law is in HSS so I'd assume that if it is a college wide policy then whatever the HSS thing says will stand for law. It should be given as information in your course guide as well.

There is no way you're gonna have to resit in first year unless you literally do no work for a semester and the fact you're stressing out over it implies that this isn't true, you'll be fine! Stop worrying about it :smile: