How much work do you actually have to do at uni

I'm doing A levels rn, and obviously, expect that uni will be a lot harder and more work than sixth form but likeI can't imagine being able to do this amount of work on steroids (i mean that figuratively not literally) do well have a social life and go clubbing etc like whats the work to clubbing/going out ratio lol

Reply 1

claireestelle

Original post by student6669

it depends on what you're studying but you should have a bit less if not a lot less contact hours than when you're studying a levels and the exams and assignments work differently.

Reply 2

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Hey @student6669

It all depends on the kind of course you choose. Some are more practical than others, some have more contact hours, some have more study hours, so whatever you choose may reflect this. Not only that, but the university itself will likely play a factor.

From personal experience, I wouldn't regard there to be a significant increase in workload or difficulty, and I come from a BTEC / College background. Year 1 of university usually lays the brickwork for everyone to understand, and sets the tone. Your first year don't change your final grade either, you just have to pass to get into the second year. These grades will however be used to secure you a 1 year job placement if you choose to do that.

Like school, they'll lay the foundations and require you to attend lectures & seminars to keep up with your studies. Some people have said they actually found university is to be more relaxed and easier than A levels but again, this will be course dependent.

Most students acclimatise during their first year, finding a balance between studying and partying. I'm sure you will too.

Try not to stress out about it too much :smile:

Josh

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 3

wonderland.16

As everyone else says, it varies depending on the course. I'm on primary ed QTS, so teacher training, and last year for example we were in four days a week 9-5 most days. That happened for about 3 and a half months, then we had placement for 8 weeks, with a 5 week easter break. So whilst I have a lot of contact hours initially, it is due to placement. With my course, there was quite a step between a levels and uni. Again, due to the course-- I hadn't covered anything like education learning theories etc before. Also, I found that uni is much more your own responsibility/it isn't mandatory so if you want to do well you have to do the work independantly. There's a lot more independance. You'll find that typically, proper uni (assignment deadlines approaching, presentations etc) don't tend to kick in properly for about the first month anyway, so you have time to settle. In a way, uni is more relaxed to a extent, as it is an optional thing that you pay for-- so if you don't turn up, it won't really affect many people other than yourself. It is largely down to the individual though. Hope this helps a little?