The Official 'How To Get A First Class Degree' thread

Does anybody have any experience of getting a mark of 75-80+ in a history exam? Entering my final year, with some delayed exams (due to illness) in august. That same illness has meant I've let my grades slip, and although I'll finish second year with a 2:1, I'd like to make it as high as possible to still have a chance of getting a 1st. I go to a fairly good university, where I've never known any Arts student to get above 74 in an exam, but then my friends haven't got their noses to the grindstone either. In the past when I've worked hard I have done well, but 75+ seems an impossible aim. Just would be good to know if anybody has achieved that sort of mark in a humanities exam, ideally history.

Does anybody have any experience of getting a mark of 75-80+ in a history exam? Entering my final year, with some delayed exams (due to illness) in august. That same illness has meant I've let my grades slip, and although I'll finish second year with a 2:1, I'd like to make it as high as possible to still have a chance of getting a 1st. I go to a fairly good university, where I've never known any Arts student to get above 74 in an exam, but then my friends haven't got their noses to the grindstone either. In the past when I've worked hard I have done well, but 75+ seems an impossible aim. Just would be good to know if anybody has achieved that sort of mark in a humanities exam, ideally history.

I got a first in Civil & Structural Engineering. I'll go through your checklist and write what I did and did not do.

1. True, I guess. I never went into an assignment not knowing what to do. Although this sometimes was more of a hindrance than a help - I.e. on many occasions lecturers said "IF I WERE YOU I'D STUDY THIS TOPIC FOR THE EXAM!!!!!!", get in the exam, BOOM, nothing on that topic at all. Cheers, *******.

2. Probably the most important, in my opinion. I found I learned best when I was explaining the topic to others. It's one thing to think you know the subject matter, but if you know it well enough to teach someone and answer questions on it, then you're probably set.

3. Disagree. I went to almost every lecture and took pretty good notes. A lot of course work I did do, but on occasion, didn't. And even when I did do it, if it wasn't assessed then I didn't put much effort in. My methodology for the whole of uni was to do the bare minimum to scrape by (unless assessed) and then, a month prior to the beginning of exams, I'd be in Uni 9am-5pm studying, go to my part time job 6pm-10pm, then back into uni after it from 11pm-2/3am. I would do that for a month solid prior to every set of exams. Note that I grew up playing warcraft so I can easily sit and state at a computer screen for hours and hours on end without losing concentration/getting headaches, etc. Plus, I found the beauty of going into uni LATE in the evening with a friend is that: A. there's a sense of comradery, and B. you tell yourself "you're not going home until you finish that past paper." or "You're not going home until you understand how to do that equation", etc.

4. Disagree. I think I went out drinking as often in fifth year as I did in first year. That is to say that at most I'd only every go out twice a week, but more often than not once a week (mainly due to money). As I say, though, in my intense study month I had no nights out, etc.

5. Agree. The only reason I wanted a first was because I hold myself to a very high standard. If I didn't get a first my mum wouldn't care, my girlfriend wouldn't care but I would care. I didn't want to live the rest of my life annoyed that I didn't put in a little extra effort to get the best grade possible.

6. Agree. I'm by no means a genius, I just knew what was required, what grades I needed in every single exam to achieve it, that my thesis counted for 3 courses (so I put SO much effort into this), etc. Know your strengths and weaknesses, if you hate studying a subject it's probably because you suck at it and therefore you should study it to the point you don't hate studying it.

7. Fact. I had a group project in my final year that went tits up. Some group members were lazy, one girl got her dad to do her work, then when she ****ed it up and we only spotted it the night before submission she was furious at us she had to get her dad out of bed to fix it - if she had done it herself in the first place she wouldn't have had to bother her dad. I had no problem with that girl prior to this incident, but she's one of the few people I left uni actively disliking.

8. Fact. With my thesis in particular. As this huge document was worth the equivalent of 3 classes, and as you have regular meetings with your thesis advisor, I told myself there was absolutely no excuse not to get an amazing grade. Do some serious planning and then stay on top of it.

9. Fact. The worst exam I ever sat I passed by the skin of my teeth. The reason for this was that the questions could come in one of two forms - I banked on it being form 1 and, wouldn't you know it, it was form 2. Luckily I had remembered enough to SCRAPE a pass. After that I told myself never again, and never went into an exam so unprepared again. Luckily for me this was in third year!

10. Time management is important. Finding the balance between starting revising so early you forget stuff by the time the exam rolls around, and starting revising so late you don't have time to cover everything.

11. Spot on. Deadlines are very important for graded work.

I think OP has covered most things. Two further things I would add are:

A. Get on with your lecturers. These are the people who mark your thesis, your course work and who submit appeals for you, should you need them. It does you absolutely no harm to be in their good books. I'm not saying brown nose, but if you see them in the corridor say "hi". If you have a question, stick around after a lecture and ask it, they'll begin to recognise your face, etc.

B. The type of person who will get a first knows what it takes to get a first. Don't get me wrong, before I got mine I definitely googled and checked forums, etc, but when it came down to it, if I was slacking I was the first person to kick my own arse and tell myself I needed to work harder. If someone said "skip studying tonight and come out drinking" I'd say no without a moments hesitation, etc. You, yourself, will know if you're on track for a first and you will also subconsciously know if you're doing enough towards your goal.

Good luck, all! Any questions, just ask.

Wow great thread, good to see solid advice on TSR. My story is unique in that I graduated with a 2.1 but under unusual circumstances.

Prior to my final (third) year I failed second year units to the point that I had to do resits and ended up going into final year with border line third class. I needed a strong first class to graduate with a 2.1. I pulled through and graduated with one of the highest first class marks in final year, so I was a first class student for one year

Here's the biggest single advice I can offer any student aspiring to get a first class:

"Copy success"

In other words if you would adopt the mind-set and lifestyle of a first class student you would get a first class.

You don't have to reinvent the wheel, many other students have gotten first class marks and there are several in your course. Achieving a first class is simply a by product of thinking in a different way and doing different things than other students. I know this because I was mentored by the smartest student in my course final year and have also mentored a couple of students to achieving a 1st class.

There is no magic bullet and they are not necessarily smarter or have higher IQ. In order to acquire this mind-set you need to "surround " yourself with success consistently. This includes reading online advice from first class students but I will highly recommend you connect with them in real life.

Here are 3 actions steps you can take next semester:
1) Jot down a list of names of the smartest students on your course, take note of who you may have most in common with and is easily approachable.
2) Take note of the activities, extra lectures, study groups, locations etc that these students hangout together, apart from the library where else do they hang out.
3) Take action and begin to connect with these students especially the ones you have common grounds with, build actual relationships with them and get involved in similar activities. Whenever you are stuck academically and need help ask them they will help you out.

Theres much more to getting a first class but I would say this is by far the quickest way to acquire the mindset and success of a first class student. Hang around them long enough and you will think and act like them.

This is ridiculous. Make friends with these students because you like them as people, not because they will help you get good grades. I had to cut so many people from my friend group because they were only interested in asking me for help rather than being interested in me. It's one thing to help your friends, it's another thing to stalk people and use them for help/motivation.

Hey,

Thanks for your input. I think you got the wrong end of the stick here, perhaps I didn't explain better.

" I had to cut so many people from my friend group because they were only interested in asking me for help rather than being interested in me."This is very true and I agree completely with what your saying.

The key point here is to be a value giver and not a value taker. Just like anything else in life where you want to surround yourself around people better than you , you have to prove to them that your not just there to leech and take from them.

That's why I suggested finding smart students who you can connect with outside academic capacity. That way the relationship is real and not just for leeching their academic knowledge.

Thanks for helping me to re-elaborate what I was saying.

Anyone here got a first in Biomedical scienc, Biology or biochemistry? And if so how?

This is not really related, but I've been told a degree from a non redbrick university will always be regarded lower than a redbrick university, is this true? Even if it's a first?

I completely understood what you're saying, but it still appears that you are seeking people out for the sole reason of getting better grades and having their habits rub off on you. Why not just find people that you connect with regardless of already knowing how well they do at uni? Your grades have to come from you! Not anyone else.

Anyone here got a first in Biomedical scienc, Biology or biochemistry? And if so how?

Hi,

I just started a similar thread a few weeks ago for Life Sciences, the thread is in it's infancy but over time I hope that it will be as good as this message board.

Thanks.


http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3374807&p=57048999#post57048999

No and yes. A degree from a red-brick university i.e. Oxbridge, UCL, LSE, etc, will automatically be regarded as a superior degree qualification due to the prestige of those unis (their history, teaching standards, standards of students admitted with A*/A grade A-levels). That goes without saying. So a first from those universities will obviously be a cherry on top of an otherwise excellent degree to have.

BUT, if you manage to get a first from a non-redbrick, that will bolster your degree to a higher standard. Honestly there are going to be a lot of 2.1s from universities all over the country, but if an employer comes across a first, from any uni, they'll be impressed because as you can tell from the above posts, it requires a lot of organisation and determination. The 1st on your CV will show that.

Honestly prior to coming to uni I spent an awful lot of time thinking about the prestige of my uni choices and obviously that isn't a bad thing but once you've got in, just think about your extra-curriculars and your exams/essays. You're in too deep into uni to be thinking about how it'll look if you get a degree from a non-redbrick. If you get a first, you'll be at a very good position regardless of where you go (however that does depend on the actual degree subject, because a 1st in media studies isn't going to be viewed as good as a 1st in maths).

Oh I see, I don't know if you ever heard of Trent university in Nottingham, that's the one I'm attending because I know for sure I missed out on my firm choice. Do you thinka degree from there in philosophy and international relations would be credible?