Struggling with Imperial workload!! Need help!?!

How are you meant to manage 30 hours of contact time plus 3 problem sheets which takes 15 hours each and do another 10 hours a week of independent study going over lectures without going insane? A minimum workload of 55 hours per week? Are the course constructors actually trying to torture their students? I hate imperial so much, they literally don’t have any sympathy towards their students mental health. I need help or I’ll have a mental breakdown soon.

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Reply 1

Reality Check

Original post by Anonymous

So back on topic...

A lot of people work a 55-hour week, and don't have about 5 months a year on holiday. It's not exacly the Labours of Hercules.

I'm not being a Boomer about this, but trying to put it into context. It's not an unachievable workload - yes, intense, but do-able. Being organised with your work and setting and keeping deadlines for yourself is vital.

Reply 2

Nununu

Original post by Reality Check

55 studying a week is too much. Especially if you have a part time job as well.

Reply 3

Reality Check

Original post by Nununu

55 studying a week is too much. Especially if you have a part time job as well.

Says someone who has an Avatar from the Teletubbies...

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

LaPregunta

Original post by Nununu

Ok boomer.

55 studying a week is too much. Especially if you have a part time job as well.

Well then do not go to Imperial College London, a University that ranks within the top 10 in the world

Reply 5

LaPregunta

Original post by Nununu

Have you even passed your A levels?

It's people like you who end up jobless after graduation.

No, I have not passed my A-Levels, it is not June or August 2020 yet. I am putting in the work, about 60hours a week, which doesn't sound much like this guy.

And who are the people who are like me that end up jobless after graduation, I'm quite scared I may end up like them?

Reply 6

Anonymous #2

I think try to ask people in your course for help.

Reply 7

kkboyk

Original post by Anonymous

Many students will be experiencing the same thing, so I'd suggest contacting some of your coursemates and tackling problems as a group (it'll honestly save a lot more time). Try and see how they're scheduling their work to get some ideas. You should also try to see your tutors whenever possible to discuss about any problems you've encountered with the assignments. They are there to help you, they won't obviously give you answers but would point you to the right directions.

What subject are you doing? Quite worrying that many on TSR are more bothered in acting quite stuck up than offering genuine useful advice

Spoiler

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 8

squeakysquirrel

Original post by Anonymous

My daughter is doing a Phd at Imperial and I know how hard it is.

You need to speak with your supervisors and see about a compromise. You should not be working a job too - not at Imperial.

It may be that Imperial is not for you and maybe a less rigorous university would be better - you are doing a science so it is less important where you go.

Chin up chicken - you are not the only one struggling and at least you are admitting it - half the battle

Reply 9

squeakysquirrel

Original post by LaPregunta

Someone reported me just now as well, awfully funny - no one can bare the burden of rational thought.

You are being a bit aggressive and insensitive that is why - when you are dealing with somebody struggling with their mental health, you have to be kind and non - judgemental - when you have walked a mile in their shoes then you can preach

Reply 10

cactusjack1

Original post by LaPregunta

What are your predictions big man?

Reply 11

N. Auditoré

Original post by LaPregunta

My initial reply is perhaps most to blame, it provoked such an inimical reaction from everyone but the one to whom this advice was. I will not apologise though.

It still seems to me to be entirely nonsensical to go to one of the top 10 universities in the world, and expect an "easy run".

And if one is not permitted to omit the "g" from words that end with "ing" in an informal conversation such as this, just where am I?

If one is not permitted to end sentences with a preposition in an informal conversation such as this, where am I?

Anyway OP I would suggest speaking to your curriculum managers and telling them your struggles. They may help u get through it and work in tandem with your friends and see how they’re making things function. Even if they’re struggling too it would be reassuring to know you’re not the only one having difficulties. Also speak to your tutor, you may get extended deadlines and confide in friends and family. When I struggle they help me better than anyone or anything really. Remember even at top Unis you’re not paying £9k to only read and suffer, you’re there to get a degree, good social experiences too and learn valuable skills. You paid for this so you have the right to feel dissatisfied with service. Don’t let anyone put you down for that

Reply 12

kkboyk

Original post by LaPregunta

I do not need to complete my A-Levels to give advice. And I am focusin very hard on gettin to university, go through this thread to see my weekly hours.

You do need to complete A-level first, because you're underestimating heavily the sheer difficulty university level as well as the insane amount of workload and are comparing it to you studying "60 hours a week" for A-levels, which is honestly a joke. Doesn't help that you're being quite condenscending. If you're revising this much outside lessons, you're not studying efficiently enough unless you're doing a lot of A-levels or are a private candidate self-teaching themselves. You should probably seek help to reduce the amount of hours of revision you're doing and changing your approach.

Original post by cactusjack1

Original post by nathan_nacu

Original post by Sinful Delight

Can we all try and stick to the original purpose of this thread, and offer genuine advice to OP.

Reply 13

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

The only thing I would say is that 15 hours per problem sheet seems excessive - are you having any issues with the course content you need to use for them? I'd suggest speaking with your personal tutor about the expected amount of time to work on each problem sheet, and any other issues that you may have.

Reply 14

LaPregunta

Original post by cactusjack1

But you are not at and have not been to uni, so how can you criticise someone if you don't even know what it's like?

As I have said, it is 'reasonably foreseeable' that if someone goes to a university that ranks within the top 10 of the world, expect to do a lot of work.

Reply 15

squeakysquirrel

Original post by artful_lounger

My daughter did maths at UCL then a masters at Imperial - now doing a Phd there. 15 hours per problem sheet is not unusual. If it was that hard at UCL - Imperial will be worse. They churn out some of the best brains in the world - 90% of them on the autistic spectrum - you hit the ground running

Reply 16

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by squeakysquirrel

My point is after a certain point it is just a waste of time to keep banging your head against the wall, and it might indicate they aren't grasping content from the lectures effectively. Hence, it would be better for them to speak to their personal tutor, who will be able to directly advise how long their should be spending, and discuss any issues they're having with the material.

Reply 17

Anonymous #3

Original post by Anonymous

I really hope you are in your second year as I don't know about other courses, but mine is waaay too hard.
Compared to second year, first year was a breeze...and I found first year a bit hard :frown:

What I learnt was that I really need to start early if I want to get at least a decent grade, and you also need to watch lectures on the day and make notes as you go along to ensure that you understand the concept. I usually don't go to lectures as I can't concentrate that long so I just watch other lectures or make notes during that time and watch the lectures later that day at around 1.5x the speed as it's fast, but not too fast and I can pause whenever I want.

I think Imperial has got a lot of facilities for mental health if you need any help. I believe all departments have a senior tutor that you can talk to and you could probably also talk to the doctors that work there. A lot of students have mental breakdowns there (I've had one or two during exam period), so you aren't alone. It can seem tough, but you need to stop worrying and focus on your work. Once you do, you won't have time to worry and if you finish your work, you won't have anything to worry about (or at least, one less thing to worry about :smile:

).

If you need to talk, just post on here and I'll try my best :smile:

Reply 18

Sataris

Original post by artful_lounger

I would like to see one of these problem sheets that takes 15 hours to do, that's insane

Reply 19

Mr Wednesday

Original post by Anonymous

Congrats on making it to imperial, a few words of encouragement and advice.

Yes, the course will be intense and demanding, that’s by design and one of the things that helps give the end result a lot of value, it is after all a world class institution. It’s important to know that it IS possible to succeed, Imperial has a very high success rate, very few students drop out and the majority get 1st or 2:1s.

55 hours is a non trivial load, but as others have said, many professionals in demanding roles will be regularly working hours like that. For most of the staff teaching on your course, running the labs and getting all their research, paper writing and grant hunting done at the same time, this will be a pretty standard working week. It is for me.

Ok, onto some more specific advice.

A. The course is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t kill yourself early on, pace yourself. It should be possible to manage your workload and fit in a good social life and clubs and societies around your studies so you have head space and can burn off some stress.

B. Prioritise your time.

This should go ....

1. All assessed work including lab reports etc,

2. Attending lectures, labs and tutorials in person, (Panopto is a useful top-up tool for clarifying things, don’t use it routinely instead of lectures however).

3. Problem sheets, this is how you get to grips with the lecture material and it’s your lecturers way of showing you what they think is important and how they like to structure exam questions.

4. Office hours, this is academic gold dust when used correctly. You get to sit down and talk direct to the lecturer and go over problematic bits of the course, if you are not using these you really should. Be prepared however, nothing worse than a student rocking up and saying “I don’t understand the course” with no context or starting point, nothing better than a student saying “problem sheet 3, Q2 is tough, I have tried obvious method X and get half way through, what am I missing”. Great, that student is motivated, tried stuff themselves and you now know exactly where to start helping them.

5. Going back over lectures. A bit of this is fine, but I think you are burning up too much time here.

So what to do. I would suggest setting a time limit on hours spent on problem sheets, say 5 hours max. When you hit that, you are probably past the “obvious” questions and into “stretch goal” and exam style territory. Try those with a small team of fellow students for a few hours, when really stuck, head for office hours or wait for the problem sheet answers and revisit.

Cut back on just going back over lectures in such detail. Save that for the stuff that you know you didn’t get but you think is important. Use the problem sheets as a guide here, revisiting lectures goes hand in hand with doing the problem sheets, the lecturer designed it that way.

And remember, there are all sorts of support mechanisms for you, talking to your personal tutor is the way to start asking for help and advice. A few pointers from them may be what you need, but if it’s more serious, they are also the jumping off point for lots of other services and support.