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What is the first year of uni about?

I have been told the first year is the 'settle in' year where you make new friends, go out and enjoy the night life and it allows you to find your place. Is that true? Also does the work in your first year attribute anything toward your final grade?
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EmmaCx
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Original post by zakmk96
I have been told the first year is the 'settle in' year where you make new friends, go out and enjoy the night life and it allows you to find your place. Is that true? Also does the work in your first year attribute anything toward your final grade?


The work in your first year typically does not attribute anything towards your final grade, however it does 'count'. You still need to achieve 40% in your assessments / exams in order to be able to go onto the second year ((Although this is entirely dependent on the university you're at, but you should be advised on what the protocol is)) . So don't see it as a time to neglect your studies and just go out drinking every night. It's a great way of getting used to the level of work that University requires. You can experiment more with your revision, and how you handle essays / assessments / projects etc, because it doesn't impact your degree as much.

I know my answer is going to sound so dull and boring, but think of how much you're paying for that year. You want to get good value for money! You can still work hard and have a laugh. You may also find if you're just scraping passes, then you might struggle with getting work placements.

If you neglect your first year studies, then you may find that you're having to do a lot more work in 2nd year - because you're effectively having to teach yourself the work you should've studied in first year. It can be a great way of working out how to manage your time as well, which a lot of people can't do. The leap up into University work is big, so don't expect to just be able to party non-stop and coast through. If you don't structure your time in the first year, you may find it impossible to motivate yourself to sort it out later on.

Heck, use first year to see what you can do in terms of juggling nights out & working. Some people can work hungover, other people simply can't. You can still have a laugh, meet so many people and experience so many things whilst still being sensible and working hard. Don't think it's a case of one or the other, you need to work out what mix of both works best for you.
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University of Derby
Derby
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