Imperial Strikes Back: 2nd Year Physics GYG

Congratulations on attaining a 2.1 for the year. You must be really pleased with doing extremely well in two modules in particular.

Thanks! well I'm mainly pleased because those modules specifically brought me over the 60% threshold. I'd happily swap some % between those and my core modules

No worries! York cancelled our outstanding first year assessments (including exams) when we went into Lockdown 1 in March 2020 so I don't have an official grade for first year - either way it doesn't count towards my degree. I also just scrapped a 2.1 for second year myself - I got mid to high 60's in three of them, but I had a blip with one module which dragged my year average down a bit.

Anyway, I'm still happy to have finished second year with a 2.1 regardless whether I've just scrapped it or not - it's been a really tough academic year with constant changes to teaching arrangements. My goal is still aiming to graduate with a first, but with the reweighting of grades (1:3 I believe it is for my cohort), I need at least 73% in my final year to achieve that goal. Not an impossible goal, but it will be a stretch for sure! I'm pretty much guaranteed to graduate with a 2.1 provided I don't have any significant horror moments (I highly doubt that) - I'll need at least 62% in my final year.

Btw, are you doing anything nice for the Summer? I've got an on-demand internship with Bright Network and a part-time job which is keeping me a little busy.

congrats! some excellent module results there

Ahh that's a shame about that module. But at least you'll know what sort of stuff to avoid for third year, so you could yet get that first. First year will only count for me if my average across subsequent years is lower - hopefully it doesn't!

The history group at Imperial is doing some research into Imperial's history during the coronavirus pandemic, we'll be interviewing students about it. But first we need to come up with questions to ask, and I'm not so good at that. They've not given much detail or guidance either.

well done!! i relate to having a massive variance in my module grades hahah, but breaking into the 2:1 boundary is a fab achievement! good luck for 3rd year

Hello, everyone!

I have been reading this thread for a while, but have always been too nervous to post!

Congratulations on getting a 2.1 in your second year - that is an AMAZING achievement! I am waiting on my results for my degree (Social Work!) - I am hoping to graduate with a high 2.2; and then I am able to register as a social worker on the Social Work England register! I am thinking of starting a blog to track my Masters Journey... but I just had to post to congratulate you!

Your summer sounds very busy but also relaxing, so I hope that you have the best time! I noticed internships are mentioned here somewhere, too - so congratulations for obtaining one! I am also working in one at the moment; it's a leading children's charity specialising in creative writing and inspiring children through reading and creative play / stories! - but I don't want to take over your thread by waffling!

Congratulations again, and I hope you have an amazing summer!

Freddie_Mercury_Fan.

One thing I had wanted to mention on here but never got around to was talking about exam scaling. This department doesn't grade according to a bell curve or anything, but they do fiddle with the scores if too many people fail, if both too many people get 1sts and the mean is way off from 60-65%.

This year, every 2nd year exam was scaled up. I don't think that's ever happened before, though there are fewer exams with the new spec. Quantum physics, Differential Eqns & EM and Environmental Physics were only slightly scaled. Thermal Physics & Structure of Matter was much more so; the number of people scoring in the 70s more than trebled from 19 to 60-something. However looking at the histograms (which I probably can't share here) I don't think my individual result was scaled up; they didn't touch the scores that were below 40 ._.

The scaling on Sun, Stars & Planets was ridiculous, much more than I expected it to be. From my results, I'm guessing my raw mark was in the low 80s or high 70s, but this was very unusual; the majority of people got in the region of 40-70 unscaled.

Hey!

Do they scale up in the Physics Department?

Evidently yes for undergraduate courses, not sure for postgraduate exams.

Inflation of grades could be an issue on many occasions.

I do understand the good will of some lecturers to help their students by giving tips for the exam and a lot of practise before it takes place and possibly some little help in terms of grades if the exam is too challenging. But overall inflation isn't the greatest thing.