Foundation prospective student at Uni Manchester, I am excited but

Helloooooo guys

, I am an international student and I studied my first year at one of the greatest university in the U.S. I am also planning to start from the foundation year

. HOWEVER, I am kind of worried about the UK educational system. I got some questions and I hope that you guys can help me clear things up

I got accepted at The University of Manchester.

1) How many classes I am going to take in my Engineering Foundation Year? and what will they cover? Because I checked their website but they did not specify.

2) What is the minimum grade that I have to meet to pass, and what is the A grade in percentage? I am used to study 4-5 hours a day is it enough to get an A?

3) I heard about things called Resit, so does that mean if I did not pass in let say chemistry I would repeat the whole term? or just the subject?

4) The final question which is the most important one. How to know how the grades for the homework, attendance, projects, quiz and final exam? Because I heard that some of the UK universities have just 30% percent for the course work and 70% for the final exam!

I literally appreciate your assistance in advance

Reply 1

gagaslilmonsteruk

Resits in the UK mean resitting your exams or resubmitting coursework in August.

University of Manchester

Manchester

Reply 2

PhysicistAtheist

Original post by Oxje

Helloooooo guys

, I am an international student and I studied my first year at one of the greatest university in the U.S. I am also planning to start from the foundation year

. HOWEVER, I am kind of worried about the UK educational system. I got some questions and I hope that you guys can help me clear things up

You will receive all of your answers during the first week at Manxhester. It is not possible to list all the module entries etc because the foundation year is for many types of engineering not just one...there are some other posts about this course so I will post the links for you

Reply 3

iateallthepies

Hi there,

I should be able to help as I've just completed the foundation year. I'm going onto physics but generally the classes are the same.

In the first term you will take classes on core maths (OB1), propositional logic maths (ON1), and also two physics courses: Matter and Energy; World of the Electron. You also have to complete academic skills and ICT assessments but these are pretty easy and nothing to worry about.

The second term consists of 3 maths modules and 2 physics modules, and also a project. You don't need to worry about these for now.

I think for engineering the pass rate is 65%, although it depends what engineering course you choose to progress on to as some are only 60%. For Physics it is 75% so progressing on to Engineering is certainly achievable!!

4-5 hours a day will be more than enough. There is no guide for what equates to an A grade, but our lecturers say that achieving 75% average by the end of the year is equivalent to three A*s, so I would say 60% ish is around an A grade.

Resits are generally not encouraged and are capped at 50%. I doubt you will need them as very few do, but if you do resit the exams are in August and your end of year results will be delayed because of it. Definitely try to avoid them!

Finally, for most courses they are weighted 80% for the exam and 20% coursework. This does vary a bit, it could be 75, 25 etc. But 80/20 is what you should expect.

Reply 4

PhysicistAtheist

Original post by iateallthepies

I have a few questions for you if you don't mind answering...what grades do you know of that people got to get into the course (including yourself) and do you have to stick to the pathway you choose at the beginning of the year? I have an offer of BBC but I'm gonna get BBE minimum :frown:

do you know of anyone getting in with grades like this? I heard a lot of people entered through clearing last year which gives me hope...I applied for 'Engineering with an integrated foundation year' but I'm thinking physics would be a better choice for me....also, did you enjoy the foundation year? I really hope Dr.Nedwell gives me a chance
Enjoy the physics course :smile:

Reply 5

HandmadeTurnip

If you're doing Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineering, the course structure for last year was as follows:

Super Unit 1 (60%)
- 0B1/0C1 (functions, logarithms, trigonometry, differentiation, integration, series)
- 0N1 (logic, polynomials)
- 0B2/0C2 (complex numbers, matrices, geometry, polar coordinates, further differentiation, further integration)

Super Unit 2 (50%)
- Physics 1: Matter and Energy
- Physics 2: World of the Electron
- Physics 3: Waves

Super Unit 3 (60%)
- 0F2 (vectors, probability)
- 0J2 (mechanics)
- 0D2 (numerical methods)

Super Unit 4 (50%)
- ICT
- Academic Skills
- Project

The percentages are the average pass mark required for that particular unit. The exam to coursework ratio is usually 80/20 except for the modules in Super Unit 4 which are all coursework-only.

Also, bear in mind all this information is based on last year so it won't necessarily be the same this year.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

HandmadeTurnip

Original post by iateallthepies

4-5 hours a day will be more than enough. There is no guide for what equates to an A grade, but our lecturers say that achieving 75% average by the end of the year is equivalent to three A*s, so I would say 60% ish is around an A grade.

Do they really consider 75% average equivalent to three A*s? I finished with 76% and definitely don't feel that my performance was worth that much.

Reply 7

hugollll04

I know this is a really old post but wanted to know is there a pass mark for specific modules? E.g I know you need 60% for super unit 1 but is there requirements for ob1 specifically to pass. I couldn’t find info on this anywhere but I know it is 50% for academic skills and ict individually. Thanks!