This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Are u good enough?

DonnaB041986

androidkiller

I'm actually looking forward to having a challenge (AS levels were so boring) and NOT having to be top in the class anymore. No more feeling of people breathing down your neck, waiting for you to slip up so tha they can crow.

im worried about completely the opposite - i think one of the reasons why i do so well in maths and phys is because im always trying to get one up on the lads in my class, and my teachers push me with the work has hard as i will let them so that i get high grades. im worried that without my teachers 'proping' me up, and the feeling that i have to beat the lads i wont do as well and will loose motivation.

Donna
-x-

Reply 21

hornblower

6

DonnaB041986

im worried about completely the opposite - i think one of the reasons why i do so well in maths and phys is because im always trying to get one up on the lads in my class, and my teachers push me with the work has hard as i will let them so that i get high grades. im worried that without my teachers 'proping' me up, and the feeling that i have to beat the lads i wont do as well and will loose motivation.

Complacency can be a bad thing - it's been accepted that I'm the best in my school, and am now implementing a 'no homework' policy for myself. I am going to get the grades, but I think the 'push' and 'fear' are necessary to do even better.

J.

Reply 22

S@sha

7

if you want competition, see what you can get in the exams once you're there. Hardy was really upset when he came 4th in the first year exams in Cambridge and rectified the position in later years. In university the competition can be fierce if you want it to be.

Reply 23

MadNatSci

12

As long as you don't work yourself to death to try to stay at the top... Here, you have to just accept that there will always be people better than you.

Unless you're Hardy, obviously :smile:

Reply 24

hildabeast

7

I'm havig my name and details removed from the pass list because I hate the competitiveness so much. It can get to the stage where people don't get lecture notes for others who were ill because of their competitive attitude.

Reply 25

MadNatSci

12

Really???!!! I've never known that happen, that's awful!

Reply 26

Helenia

20

hildabeast

I'm havig my name and details removed from the pass list because I hate the competitiveness so much. It can get to the stage where people don't get lecture notes for others who were ill because of their competitive attitude.

That's shocking! Why would anyone be that sad? There is so much more to life here than being that competitive. All my friends got me lecture notes when I was ill - I think I've got two of everything! And I got daily e-mails updating me on what was happening in dissection etc (including twin reports :wink:

)

Reply 27

Laylah

I'm going to Ox in October to do Chinese and I worry about not being good enough - particularly because I'm on a gap year in China at the moment and my Chinese is still completely pathetic!

OTOH, I applied to Ox because I wanted to be challenged, and I chose my course not because it was the easy option but because I love it. So, I figure that even though there will be times when I ask myself "What was I thinking????", there will be many many more times when I think how lucky I am to be studying a subject I love with others who love it!

Also, I think it's a good thing to have your ego punched down a bit by not being the best. I think a lot of us on this board are so used to being at the top that the thought of being lower down scares us (this is not meant as criticism - it's just an observation). So I'm going to think of it like this - there ARE completely brilliant people in the world, and I'm not one of them. However, my college accepted me, so they must think I'm worth SOMETHING anyway!

Reply 28

davey_boy

9

Laylah

Also, I think it's a good thing to have your ego punched down a bit by not being the best. I think a lot of us on this board are so used to being at the top that the thought of being lower down scares us (this is not meant as criticism - it's just an observation). So I'm going to think of it like this - there ARE completely brilliant people in the world, and I'm not one of them. However, my college accepted me, so they must think I'm worth SOMETHING anyway!

You're right. When you're here, please try and put everything in perspective. I remember them saying in our matriculation ceremony at the beginning of the year something along the lines of 'to be accepted into Oxford, intellectually, you have to be in the top 1% of the population. You are the creme de la creme.' When things are getting you down and you're in the bottom third of whatever it is you're doing remember that at least 99% of people couldn't do as well as you. So many people get so worked up because they try hard and don't come top or 2nd, its a shock to most people at Oxford, but those that learn to cope with it better have a much better time here and, usually, people who are enjoying themselves do better.

Reply 29

Hoofbeat

OP

14

davey_boy

You're right. When you're here, please try and put everything in perspective. I remember them saying in our matriculation ceremony at the beginning of the year something along the lines of 'to be accepted into Oxford, intellectually, you have to be in the top 1% of the population. You are the creme de la creme.' When things are getting you down and you're in the bottom third of whatever it is you're doing remember that at least 99% of people couldn't do as well as you. So many people get so worked up because they try hard and don't come top or 2nd, its a shock to most people at Oxford, but those that learn to cope with it better have a much better time here and, usually, people who are enjoying themselves do better.

WOW! Thank you, your post really enlightened me. At school there are 3 of us doing Physics and to be fair the offer 2 struggle and so the lessons are akward. I get my hw bac with 1/2 corrections and they get like C's. I think it'll be nice to be pushed and I still worry that I'll be the worst at Oxford, but whenever I feel like that I'll remember I am in the top 1% of the country! :biggrin:

Are u good enough?

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you