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How much work really is a Cambridge degree?

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Reply 60
Avatar for Luxun3
Luxun3
6
Craghyrax
You spent every free moment in the library and only slept 6hours? :s-smilie:


"only" 6 hours.. if I get 6 hours of sleep I am absolutely happy.....sleep is totally overrated:smile:
Ghassan
"only" 6 hours.. if I get 6 hours of sleep I am absolutely happy.....sleep is totally overrated:smile:

Sleep is not in the slightest overrated. But yes - last year I was also delighted at a chance to sleep a whole 6hours! :rolleyes:
Reply 62
Avatar for Luxun3
Luxun3
6
Craghyrax
Sleep is not in the slightest overrated. But yes - last year I was also delighted at a chance to sleep a whole 6hours! :rolleyes:


Well yes... actually before I came to Cambridge I never thought much about getting enough sleep etc, because there was always the next day to make up for it but well...... atm simply getting 8 full hours of sleep can be so wonderful:smile:

So does it get better in 2nd year? ( read: does one get more organised/ relaxed about work in 2nd year?:smile: )
Ghassan

So does it get better in 2nd year? ( read: does one get more organised/ relaxed about work in 2nd year?:smile: )

Yes and no.
It depends on the individual, but people often get a bit more relaxed (probably not much more organised) in second year across the board, unless they were already as relaxed as you could get.
If you're in SPS it objectively gets better because they halve the work in second year, which automatically makes organisation/relaxation easier :king1: (and means that you don't die prematurely from a sleep-deprivation induced stroke :rolleyes:)
Craghyrax
Yes and no.
People often get a bit more relaxed (probably not much more organised) in second year across the board, unless they were already as relaxed as you could get.
If you're in SPS it objectively gets better because they halve the work in second year, which automatically makes organisation/relaxation easier :king1: (and means that you don't die prematurely from a sleep-deprivation induced stroke :rolleyes:)


do you know/have you heard about law?
Reply 65
Avatar for jcb914
jcb914
11
thegluups
do you know/have you heard about law?

Sorry to disappoint you, but it gets even ******* harder in the second year..... :frown:
jcb914
Sorry to disappoint you, but it gets even ******* harder in the second year..... :frown:

:sigh:

i was dreading this answer...
What would you people say is the Work:Play ratio at Cambridge? On average...if such an average exists? I mean do you frequently turn down invitations to go down to the pub or anything because of the amount of work?
Most peoiple i know rarely turn down an opportunity to drink simply becuase they have work... you can always do it when you get back afterall...
Reply 69
Avatar for lavalse
lavalse
10
shadowsintherain
What would you people say is the Work:Play ratio at Cambridge? On average...if such an average exists? I mean do you frequently turn down invitations to go down to the pub or anything because of the amount of work?


lol yes people do this all the time!!! although it depends on the person. i normally accept invitations to do stuff (say 70% of the time) but sometimes i just dont feel up for it. i hardly ever say no to something in order to stay in and work diligently, its usually just because im too tired or not that interested. but i have some friends who will very often not go out in order to do work. one of my friends (a natsci) basically never ever goes out in the evenings because she doesnt like messing up her sleep pattern and then not being able to concentrate and work well during the day...

personally i think that excluding the time i spend asleep my work:tongue:lay ratio would be 1:1. I spend most of my weekends working but i go out and do stuff most week nights.
Reply 70
Avatar for lavalse
lavalse
10
groovy_moose
Most peoiple i know rarely turn down an opportunity to drink simply becuase they have work... you can always do it when you get back afterall...


oh yes this is another common scenario!!!

after our christmas formal half of my friends went back to do an extra 1hr of work before the bop really got started and some then returned to do more work at the end of the bop
Shadow of a Dream
I do seem to work harder than many of my fellow historians (probably 56ish hours a week, incl lectures/supervisions/seminars - but then I think I've always worked harder than I perhaps should have done


What would you say the average Historian does then?
Reply 72
Avatar for Cognito
Cognito
gallopingsnail
What would you say the average Historian does then?


Not a historian, but a lot of my friends are. I would say they do 25-30hr weeks. Most of them got 2:1s and one first last year (the first was one of only three firsts in history part 1).

Thing is, it all depends on what you want from Cambridge. If you want to be an academic (after graduation) and have no other interests, then sure, throw yourself at your course and do 60/70 hour weeks. However you would be in the minority. Most people here work fairly hard, but not ridiculously so. Almost everyone exagerrates how much is actually done. Compared to American Unis our proscribed workload (in the arts) is fairly low.

The reason people seem busy/stressed/hard worked here is that loads of people put big commitments into sports/societies/journalism etc.
I do a load of those sorts of things because I enjoy them and, whilst I like philosophy, I wouldn't want to be spending all day, every day reading and thinking about it! It's really not as bad as people make out, just remember that.
shadowsintherain
I mean do you frequently turn down invitations to go down to the pub or anything because of the amount of work?

Yes, almost all the time. I decide ahead of time which social stuff I'll be involved in, and calculate how much time I have to spare. Then if something spontaneous comes up I'll usually turn it down because it would cut into worktime. This is just the easiest way to stay on top of things for me.
shadowsintherain
I mean do you frequently turn down invitations to go down to the pub or anything because of the amount of work?

Pretty rarely, in my case -- I'd only ever have turned down a social invitation if I had an imminent deadline for which I was behind with the work. But everyone's different, other people were more dedicated than that. It's a cliche, but the workload is exactly what you make of it (especially in arts subjects).

Also, within reason, there isn't always all that much correlation between how hard people work and the results that they get. Work smart, not hard. And always remember, it's only the few hours of exams at the end of the year which actually count so one slightly-dodgy supervision essay won't (directly, at least) make a blind bit of difference to anything! So by all means stress out on the work in exam term, but don't insist on getting all worked up in Michaelmas and Lent.
shadowsintherain
What would you people say is the Work:Play ratio at Cambridge? On average...if such an average exists? I mean do you frequently turn down invitations to go down to the pub or anything because of the amount of work?

I couldn't really calculate a work:tongue:lay ratio per se, but on average work would certainly outweigh play, maybe 70:30? As for turning down invitations, it depends on the person and the situation really. For example, last week there was a pretty spontaneous pizza party in college which I had time to attend, but earlier this week I couldn't spare the time to go to the cinema. That isn't to say that I've had so much work that I haven't been able to do anything else (last night was Formal and then going out), but often you do have to schedule things. Obviously it depends on how much work you want to do as well, some people manage to spend loads of time playing pool in the JP (common room), or go out clubbing at least twice a week.
Alexander
Pretty rarely, in my case -- I'd only ever have turned down a social invitation if I had an imminent deadline for which I was behind with the work.

The bold sums up my first year :rolleyes:
Craghyrax
Which degree was this? Did you do it because you desperately wanted a first, or because you felt there was no other way of preventing yourself from doing badly? :s-smilie:

economics. I always got 2.iis up to finals and I was always very disappointed. Really wanted the 2.i because I felt that reflected by ability... also my grad job was conditional on a 2.i (which btw is a ridiculous condition, degree class has no bearing on ability to do my job).
gooseymcgoose
economics. I always got 2.iis up to finals and I was always very disappointed. Really wanted the 2.i because I felt that reflected by ability... also my grad job was conditional on a 2.i (which btw is a ridiculous condition, degree class has no bearing).

Argh! Know quite a few people (graduates or years above) who had exactly the same! :frown: Exam results aren't everything, but its really hard to think that way when your University is obsessed with it.
Personally I just can't wait to get into a system of education non-reliant on exams!
Craghyrax
Argh! Know quite a few people (graduates or years above) who had exactly the same! :frown: Exam results aren't everything, but its really hard to think that way when your University is obsessed with it.
Personally I just can't wait to get into a system of education non-reliant on exams!

I know what you mean, my DoS has specifically said that he would be pretty pissed off if any of us didn't get a 2.i this year. :s-smilie: :sigh:

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