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Article: How to get a first...and still have a social life

"I was always told it took a very special person to get a first. You had to go to the library on the first day of uni and not leave till graduation," says stevo23e.

Sound familiar? Well forget it. The truth is you don’t need to lock yourself away and deny yourself a social life to get a first. To make the grade, you simply need to work in the right way.

Yes, it's absolutely possible to nab a first without becoming a hermit. Here's how other TSR members did it...
(edited 8 years ago)

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What did you get puddles? :beard:
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
What did you get puddles? :beard:


What did you get? :sly:
Original post by Masih ad-Dajjal
What did you get? :sly:


2:1 Slap bang in the middle between 2:2 and 1st :yes:


Ig ot a first in my final year project though which was like :eek3:

I probably could have got a first if I asked for help more and actually had people to work with. It was very lonely doing my degree. Makes everything a lot harder :frown:
(edited 8 years ago)
Great article! They said to us that none of our first year marks counted towards the final degree... I took that as permission to take the first years as my 'gap year' after working so hard on academic stuff in school. Was very fun and accidentally spilled over into the 2nd year too. 3rd year was with Erasmus, in Sweden, where the course structure was so good for learning. That's were I found some balance between student stuff and top marks again. Final year had to get above a 1st for everything to make up for the lousy 2nd year marks - not so fun! Got the 1st and 'Head of School' Prize, sponsored MSc lined up as well as a clear realisation I actually didn't want to do any job in my degree field. Yeay! If I'd have thought more about what I wanted to do with my life, wouldn't' have been at uni then at all. Don't regret it, met amazing people but, also, people are everywhere :smile:
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
What did you get puddles? :beard:


I got a first... if I can do it, anyone can :lol:
I denied myself a social life and didn't even get a first :'(
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
I denied myself a social life and didn't even get a first :'(


and in a previous post, you identified the line of causation between the two variables.

Its very difficult to get a first without a social life.
You should add learn how to use Google and look at how many marks there are for each question. That's where !y tutor group are falling down at the moment :'(
work smart, play smart
I know someone who went out twice a week (including during their exams) and still got a first. My housemate last year was the captain of 2 sports teams, as well as going away every weekend to see his family/friends and spending a lot of evenings with us. Didn't stop him getting a high first either.

I did the bare minimum and still got a 2.1, if i'd put in more effort i'd have got a first. If you think that you can't have a social life and get a first you couldn't be more wrong.
(edited 8 years ago)
Hello, I have just completed a sponsored degree with a company called CGI and still managed to get a first. I would definitely say that having it sponsored means that you have the support from a company as well to keep you on track and I definitely still had a social life. They also had a starting salary of £14k so it meant that I could afford a social life which was definitely a bonus, compared to most people my age. Definitely have a look at their website as it will just give you another option
Original post by sr90
I know someone who went out twice a week (including during their exams) and still got a first. My housemate last year was the captain of 2 sports teams, as well as going away every weekend to see his family/friends and spending a lot of evenings with us. Didn't stop him getting a high first either.

I did the bare minimum and still got a 2.1, if i'd put in more effort i'd have got a first. If you think that you can't have a social life and get a first you couldn't be more wrong.


Christ, I went out 5 times a week and ran two sports teams and a band, and still got a first. Its really not that difficult if you're interested in the subject.
Original post by cole-slaw
Christ, I went out 5 times a week and ran two sports teams and a band, and still got a first. Its really not that difficult if you're interested in the subject.
what did yeh study?
Original post by cole-slaw
Christ, I went out 5 times a week and ran two sports teams and a band, and still got a first. Its really not that difficult if you're interested in the subject.


I don't uindertand it either.

Like if you treat uni as a 9-5 (or some 8 hour "shift", maybe 12-8pm is better if you wanna party all the time) mon-fri thing you will spend more time doing uni work than most people. Still plenty of time for a social life and hobbies.
Original post by trustmeimlying1
what did yeh study?


physics with theoretical physics at a top 10 uni.
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
I don't uindertand it either.

Like if you treat uni as a 9-5 (or some 8 hour "shift", maybe 12-8pm is better if you wanna party all the time) mon-fri thing you will spend more time doing uni work than most people. Still plenty of time for a social life and hobbies.



I went to every lecture and workshop and did maybe ~15 hours a week outside of that, including through all the holidays. I did 6 hour days in the run up to the exams. That's all it took.

The key is to work efficiently. Work as hard as you can for 2 hours and then go to the pub or something as a reward. So many people think they're working but actually they're just staring at a textbook without taking anything in. They're wasting their own time.
I got 69.2%, deemed a first. Seems I managed to literally put in the exact right amount of laziness :biggrin:
Original post by cole-slaw
I went to every lecture and workshop and did maybe ~15 hours a week outside of that, including through all the holidays. I did 6 hour days in the run up to the exams. That's all it took.

The key is to work efficiently. Work as hard as you can for 2 hours and then go to the pub or something as a reward. So many people think they're working but actually they're just staring at a textbook without taking anything in. They're wasting their own time.


Ye I agree but we live in a society that guilt trips you into thinking you need to be doing at least 8 hours a day.

I was probably the same as you. I would try studying for 8 hours but I just ended up mindless wandering on the internet and making myself feel bad. Would have been much better just working hard for c couple of hours like you say. Break. Other couple of of hours then just do something enjoyable.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
Ye I agree but we live in a society that guilt trips you into thinking you need to be doing at least 8 hours a day.

I was probably the same as you. I would try studying for 8 hours but I just ended up mindless wandering on the internet and making myself feel bad. Would have been much better just working hard for c couple of hours like you say. Break. Other couple of of hours then just do something enjoyable.


yeah, my mate at uni who did the same course got up at 7am every day in the month before exams, spent all day in the library, and then got home at midnight, completely knackered.

I got up at 10, did about 6 hours of work spaced throughout the day, and then went to the pub around 8pm for beer and a game of pool.

I got a 1st. he got a 2:2.

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