I need some advice from current and former uni students (maths/Humanities)
Hi,
My name is David, I started a maths and philosophy undergrad course in September 2023 at King's College London and I have interrupted (postponed) my studies until September 2024 and I would like some advice on how to be well prepared for coming back to my studies.
Time management: How do you manage to do all the things that you need to do without sacrificing things like sleep?
I would love to hear what has worked for other people as I am really disorganised.
Revising and studying: For people that have managed to get into the habit of studying and passing exams, what advice would you give on how to study?
For Maths I found it really different from highschool, during lectures I wasn't sure what I should be copying down and trying to memorise and what bits were the lecturer giving us cool information about the content. I ended up copying only theorems and worked examples and trying my best to pay attention to what they were saying. However in general I'm not sure what good lecture notes look like?
Likewise, the tutorial sheets often felt completely unrelated to what we had gone over in lectures.
I never had time to pick up a textbook from the library to try and work through and now I think this could've been useful to have alongside the module notes and the lecture. I would love to hear what worked for people.
For the humanities side of my course (philosophy in this case), again I felt really lost as to what I should be paying attention to during lectures. We were given a primary reading for the week and then we'd discuss it, however to this day I still have no idea what I should be doing outside of the lectures and seminars to be able to produce a good essay on the topic... Again I would love some advice.
Kind Regards.
My name is David, I started a maths and philosophy undergrad course in September 2023 at King's College London and I have interrupted (postponed) my studies until September 2024 and I would like some advice on how to be well prepared for coming back to my studies.
Time management: How do you manage to do all the things that you need to do without sacrificing things like sleep?
I would love to hear what has worked for other people as I am really disorganised.
Revising and studying: For people that have managed to get into the habit of studying and passing exams, what advice would you give on how to study?
For Maths I found it really different from highschool, during lectures I wasn't sure what I should be copying down and trying to memorise and what bits were the lecturer giving us cool information about the content. I ended up copying only theorems and worked examples and trying my best to pay attention to what they were saying. However in general I'm not sure what good lecture notes look like?
Likewise, the tutorial sheets often felt completely unrelated to what we had gone over in lectures.
I never had time to pick up a textbook from the library to try and work through and now I think this could've been useful to have alongside the module notes and the lecture. I would love to hear what worked for people.
For the humanities side of my course (philosophy in this case), again I felt really lost as to what I should be paying attention to during lectures. We were given a primary reading for the week and then we'd discuss it, however to this day I still have no idea what I should be doing outside of the lectures and seminars to be able to produce a good essay on the topic... Again I would love some advice.
Kind Regards.
I can't help with the maths, but I know for a fact that Kings have some excellent study skills people accessible via the King's Academy through the library. This should be your first port of call upon your return.
Philosophy is really about arguments and nuance. So you need to be paying attention to the structure of arguments, and the nuance of their premises. You then need to be thinking about if these premises, arguments, justifications actually work, or if there are more convincing alternatives. The simple thing you need to be doing outside of taught sessions is reading. Books, chapters, journal articles were and are my favourite high-return readings.
Philosophy is really about arguments and nuance. So you need to be paying attention to the structure of arguments, and the nuance of their premises. You then need to be thinking about if these premises, arguments, justifications actually work, or if there are more convincing alternatives. The simple thing you need to be doing outside of taught sessions is reading. Books, chapters, journal articles were and are my favourite high-return readings.
Hi David!
I studied humanities at Manchester and it sounds like my primary readings and discussions were very similar to yours. For that- I would say ask your professors if there's any additional reading or essays that they would recommend you read to get a better understanding of the primary text (this might be other works from the same time period or genre)
I think for your other key points (lecture notes and good study habits) my biggest advice is something that you're already doing- asking for help! Ask people on your course (professors, classmates, maybe in a course group chat) how they take notes. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable and admit you're not sure what they're supposed to look like, but can they show you an example of theirs to see if there's anything you could learn from them.
I always study better with other people - they can hold you accountable, set a proper meeting time and all in all make it less lonely! If you're someone that gets distracted easily this might look like meeting at the library and maybe going to one of the 'quiet zones' to make sure you're making good use of your time. I also found it hard to do a long stint in the library without starting my day off outside- especially as it gets warmer out- it's nice to go for a run before uni or to walk there if you can. Ultimately, I think it's a case of knowing yourself and applying those habits to your day. Have faith- I'm sure you'll be great!
I studied humanities at Manchester and it sounds like my primary readings and discussions were very similar to yours. For that- I would say ask your professors if there's any additional reading or essays that they would recommend you read to get a better understanding of the primary text (this might be other works from the same time period or genre)
I think for your other key points (lecture notes and good study habits) my biggest advice is something that you're already doing- asking for help! Ask people on your course (professors, classmates, maybe in a course group chat) how they take notes. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable and admit you're not sure what they're supposed to look like, but can they show you an example of theirs to see if there's anything you could learn from them.
I always study better with other people - they can hold you accountable, set a proper meeting time and all in all make it less lonely! If you're someone that gets distracted easily this might look like meeting at the library and maybe going to one of the 'quiet zones' to make sure you're making good use of your time. I also found it hard to do a long stint in the library without starting my day off outside- especially as it gets warmer out- it's nice to go for a run before uni or to walk there if you can. Ultimately, I think it's a case of knowing yourself and applying those habits to your day. Have faith- I'm sure you'll be great!
In terms of writing good eassays,t he basis in philosophy is always the same: have an argument. get out of this A-Level compare and contrast model because it won't get you past a midrange 2i.
The basics look like this:
Here's the position of some person/thinker
Here's what I think of this position and why
Here's the position I've arrived at - endorse, reject, or compromise on the initial position/my position
Really you want an argument that picks a hole in the thing you've been set, or which builds on it/improves it in a novel way. The key is to interpret other people as charitably as possible - assume whatever you can from the argument with which you are dealing, and knock down only the bits that do not survive this charitable interpretation (you'd be surprised how much you do have to rule out).
In terms of layout, intros and conclusions should be the last things you write. For anintro, spell out what you're going to do and how - give specifics, but not in detail. Conclusions should retrace each step in your argument and summarise the whole paper.
I have some essay guidance here.
The basics look like this:
Here's the position of some person/thinker
Here's what I think of this position and why
Here's the position I've arrived at - endorse, reject, or compromise on the initial position/my position
Really you want an argument that picks a hole in the thing you've been set, or which builds on it/improves it in a novel way. The key is to interpret other people as charitably as possible - assume whatever you can from the argument with which you are dealing, and knock down only the bits that do not survive this charitable interpretation (you'd be surprised how much you do have to rule out).
In terms of layout, intros and conclusions should be the last things you write. For anintro, spell out what you're going to do and how - give specifics, but not in detail. Conclusions should retrace each step in your argument and summarise the whole paper.
I have some essay guidance here.
Original post by David Buendia
Hi,
My name is David, I started a maths and philosophy undergrad course in September 2023 at King's College London and I have interrupted (postponed) my studies until September 2024 and I would like some advice on how to be well prepared for coming back to my studies.
Time management: How do you manage to do all the things that you need to do without sacrificing things like sleep?
I would love to hear what has worked for other people as I am really disorganised.
Revising and studying: For people that have managed to get into the habit of studying and passing exams, what advice would you give on how to study?
For Maths I found it really different from highschool, during lectures I wasn't sure what I should be copying down and trying to memorise and what bits were the lecturer giving us cool information about the content. I ended up copying only theorems and worked examples and trying my best to pay attention to what they were saying. However in general I'm not sure what good lecture notes look like?
Likewise, the tutorial sheets often felt completely unrelated to what we had gone over in lectures.
I never had time to pick up a textbook from the library to try and work through and now I think this could've been useful to have alongside the module notes and the lecture. I would love to hear what worked for people.
For the humanities side of my course (philosophy in this case), again I felt really lost as to what I should be paying attention to during lectures. We were given a primary reading for the week and then we'd discuss it, however to this day I still have no idea what I should be doing outside of the lectures and seminars to be able to produce a good essay on the topic... Again I would love some advice.
Kind Regards.
My name is David, I started a maths and philosophy undergrad course in September 2023 at King's College London and I have interrupted (postponed) my studies until September 2024 and I would like some advice on how to be well prepared for coming back to my studies.
Time management: How do you manage to do all the things that you need to do without sacrificing things like sleep?
I would love to hear what has worked for other people as I am really disorganised.
Revising and studying: For people that have managed to get into the habit of studying and passing exams, what advice would you give on how to study?
For Maths I found it really different from highschool, during lectures I wasn't sure what I should be copying down and trying to memorise and what bits were the lecturer giving us cool information about the content. I ended up copying only theorems and worked examples and trying my best to pay attention to what they were saying. However in general I'm not sure what good lecture notes look like?
Likewise, the tutorial sheets often felt completely unrelated to what we had gone over in lectures.
I never had time to pick up a textbook from the library to try and work through and now I think this could've been useful to have alongside the module notes and the lecture. I would love to hear what worked for people.
For the humanities side of my course (philosophy in this case), again I felt really lost as to what I should be paying attention to during lectures. We were given a primary reading for the week and then we'd discuss it, however to this day I still have no idea what I should be doing outside of the lectures and seminars to be able to produce a good essay on the topic... Again I would love some advice.
Kind Regards.
Hi there,
It's great that your trying to prepare in advance. The first to come to mind is that university life will be much different to schooling. You will be almost completely independent in managing your time, your studies etc. There's no teacher checking in on your homework to make sure you're up to date - you have to do this yourself.
My biggest advise is to not be afraid to ask! Lecturers and peers are always willing to help you but they wont know if you are struggling - you have to ask them yourself.
Time management - this one can be tricky, depending on your course you might have significant lecture time or may only a few hours a week. In general it is recommended that for every hour in lecture you spend an hour reviewing the material. This can be done at your own time - if you are not a morning person and dont have lectures at 9am then it is perfectly fine to study in the evening instead - again you are independent now. It is also recommended to treat your studies as a full time job (since it essentially is). Treat it as though you would spend 9-5 at work and dedicate that time. However, there are always periods of more or less work - you may need to adapt to what you can fit and what you can't. Don't feel pressured into biting off more than you can chew.
In terms of studying - I used to cram for my exams in school and do just fine, however this is too much for university. I recommend staying regular in your practise and studying - you may need to review again in exam season but trying to cram right at the end isn't the same as in A-levels. Its less about spewing information and how you use that information so regular practise will not only get you better grades, but also massively reduce your stress come exams.
You can tailor your work life to how it work for you from your learning methods to the times you work etc. You are also in charge of when you actually go to university - if you need a day off for sickness or mental health then take it! Don't push yourself to burn out as it will be much easier to catch up one day than to catch up weeks from being unmotivated.
Good luck with your studies!
Sophie
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