Is my degree unusually difficult or am I bust?

Chemistry student at UCL here, wanting to rant/vent. Coming up on 3 years of studying here and for the life of me can't figure out why I chose this degree...I got 4xA* in A-level and wish i chose something softer!

I wasn't the most switched on in first year, spent most of time doing spring weeks/clubbing/whatever and found that cramming doesn't work at university. Ended up doing pretty poorly in some easy courses that are easy 70-80 percent modules and finished first year with a rough 61-62% mark. Not a bad result for a slacker, and I was quite happy that I got 77% in the organic chemistry module (my only first so far) which a significant amount of people failed. 1/9th of the BSc is based on first year.

Onto second year: I was generally much more switched on here and this is where the real ranting begins...regular modules are 15 credits and you usually do 8 in a year. In 2nd year, the 3 core Chemistry modules are 30 credits each (effectively 2 modules/terms of content with labratory work) and each one is compulsory. This leaves you with only 2 15 credit optional modules to soften the year up. Ended up having to leave university during second year and only ended up completing just over half of the year's work. I did my 2 optionals and got around 68% in them and I did my organic chemistry module in its entirety (labs and final exam) scoring around 61-62% in it.

Having to do final, closed book exams on 3 x 30 credit modules is ridiculously rough, and insane amount of content which are ridiculously hard topics. I'm doing the other 2 30 credit exams this year before i can progress into 3rd year and I'm still finding them hard as hell, the lab components on each make up 20% and 30% for inorganic and physical; I scored 75% and 55% in those parts. I "get" inorganic, even the more abstract topics such as group theory and I feel like I can get a high 2:1 or first in that exam/module, but even having an extra year in physical I just feel like doing well is impossible. Some of the topics for the exam are okay, but I feel I could do the quantum mechanics and macro thermodynamics components for years and still do poorly.

So overall, every module except the 30 credit physical chem will end up at a 2:1 or First but physical chemistry component is 30 credits in a year that counts for 1/3 of the entire degree. I looked at some of the FOI data on scores achieved for these modules and for the last few years the mean/median grade hovers around 45-53% and a low 2:1 is a 75th percentile grade...isn't this rough as hell compared to most degree courses where a 2:1 isn't this much of a struggle?

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Reply 1

Clearing and Applications Advisor

I think you’re underestimating how much work is involved to get a 2:1 in any degree. It isn’t easy anywhere in any subject.

Reply 2

JamieJacks

Original post by PQ

I think you’re underestimating how much work is involved to get a 2:1 in any degree. It isn’t easy anywhere in any subject.

not really, I think its a product of effort/hard work in all degrees. I think my degree its a step above that potentially, a 63% is 75th percentile mark in my degree whereas it'd be closer to 40-30th in other subjects.

If it was a function of effort I wouldn't see it as an issue, my problem is that my course seems to have an extremely low distribution of people getting 2:1+ in core modules

bump

How hard is the course at UCL?

Reply 5

JamieJacks

Original post by Sakai04

How hard is the course at UCL?

See for yourself, these are the core modules you take in second and third year at UCL. These are the grade distributions of the core Chemistry modules across Year 2 & 3 (mandatory for all chemists to take). "advanced topics are taken in 3rd year). The second-year modules are 30 credits each (at UCL a module is normally 15 and you take 8 to complete 120 credits a year). Second year is worth 1/3 of the degree grade and final year is worth 5/9. The advanced topics are taken in 3rd year and are 15 credits each. If you do the maths, these modules make up 45.83% of your entire BSc grade.

If you do some googling, a 2:1 degree has become standardised, and getting anything below a 2:1 makes your prospects of getting a decent job very low. Achieving a 2:1 is the standard in other courses.
I remember when I joined in first year, I got an email warning me that I would no longer be getting 80-90s and that most exams at UCL Chemistry are made so people fall in the 60-70 range...what a load of lies!

Before 2020, UCL Chemistry had issues with grade inflation, and many people were scoring in the 70-80s range.

Reply 6

Sakai04

Oh dear, my first choice at the moment is UCL chemistry 😭

Reply 7

800dbcloud_

Original post by JamieJacks

Chemistry student at UCL here, wanting to rant/vent. Coming up on 3 years of studying here and for the life of me can't figure out why I chose this degree...I got 4xA* in A-level and wish i chose something softer!
I wasn't the most switched on in first year, spent most of time doing spring weeks/clubbing/whatever and found that cramming doesn't work at university. Ended up doing pretty poorly in some easy courses that are easy 70-80 percent modules and finished first year with a rough 61-62% mark. Not a bad result for a slacker, and I was quite happy that I got 77% in the organic chemistry module (my only first so far) which a significant amount of people failed. 1/9th of the BSc is based on first year.
Onto second year: I was generally much more switched on here and this is where the real ranting begins...regular modules are 15 credits and you usually do 8 in a year. In 2nd year, the 3 core Chemistry modules are 30 credits each (effectively 2 modules/terms of content with labratory work) and each one is compulsory. This leaves you with only 2 15 credit optional modules to soften the year up. Ended up having to leave university during second year and only ended up completing just over half of the year's work. I did my 2 optionals and got around 68% in them and I did my organic chemistry module in its entirety (labs and final exam) scoring around 61-62% in it.
Having to do final, closed book exams on 3 x 30 credit modules is ridiculously rough, and insane amount of content which are ridiculously hard topics. I'm doing the other 2 30 credit exams this year before i can progress into 3rd year and I'm still finding them hard as hell, the lab components on each make up 20% and 30% for inorganic and physical; I scored 75% and 55% in those parts. I "get" inorganic, even the more abstract topics such as group theory and I feel like I can get a high 2:1 or first in that exam/module, but even having an extra year in physical I just feel like doing well is impossible. Some of the topics for the exam are okay, but I feel I could do the quantum mechanics and macro thermodynamics components for years and still do poorly.
So overall, every module except the 30 credit physical chem will end up at a 2:1 or First but physical chemistry component is 30 credits in a year that counts for 1/3 of the entire degree. I looked at some of the FOI data on scores achieved for these modules and for the last few years the mean/median grade hovers around 45-53% and a low 2:1 is a 75th percentile grade...isn't this rough as hell compared to most degree courses where a 2:1 isn't this much of a struggle?

aside from how hard your finding the course, how do you feel about Chemistry at UCL? i’m stuck between firming UCL and oxford and desperately trying to find students who i can talk to on either course! Thank you

Reply 8

Sakai04

Original post by 800dbcloud_

It depends how much of a workload you can manage, which college btw?

Reply 9

800dbcloud_

Original post by Sakai04

It depends how much of a workload you can manage, which college btw?

somerville! and it’s not so much the workload it’s more the actual life style including social life and the demographic of people that go etc

Reply 10

Sakai04

Original post by 800dbcloud_

somerville! and it’s not so much the workload it’s more the actual life style including social life and the demographic of people that go etc

If you don't mind the workload Oxford is definitely it, UCL is jokingly called university of Chinese London for a reason

Reply 11

Sakai04

Original post by 800dbcloud_

somerville! and it’s not so much the workload it’s more the actual life style including social life and the demographic of people that go etc

I'll pm you offer holder gcs

Reply 12

800dbcloud_

Original post by Sakai04

I'll pm you offer holder gcs

thank you! only just made an account on here so won’t let me reply to the pm lol, don’t have discord is it worth getting?

Reply 13

Sakai04

Original post by 800dbcloud_

thank you! only just made an account on here so won’t let me reply to the pm lol, don’t have discord is it worth getting?

definitely, there's current students on the offer holder gc there, so you can ask them about the course and stuff

Reply 14

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Sakai04

definitely, there's current students on the offer holder gc there, so you can ask them about the course and stuff

Be wary of anything advertising fatsoma freshers events on offsite chats. There's a lot of reps who pretend to be students (and some genuine students working as reps) who aren't interested in helping freshers at all just in ripping them off for their commission.

Reply 15

Sakai04

Original post by PQ

Yeah, I know the one I gave them is genuine, you need verification of your offer to get in, so don't worry.

Reply 16

JamieJacks

Managed to find the degree distributions...wtf

39% getting a 2.1 + WTF is this degree lmao

Reply 17

JamieJacks

Original post by 800dbcloud_

Oxford Chemistry has amongst the heaviest workloads of all degrees in the UK btw. My advice? Don't study chemistry, stupidly difficult at Oxbridge/Imperial/UCL.

I've seen some of the Oxford notes/content, stuff is insanely difficult.

Reply 18

Sakai04

Original post by JamieJacks

Oxford Chemistry has amongst the heaviest workloads of all degrees in the UK btw. My advice? Don't study chemistry, stupidly difficult at Oxbridge/Imperial/UCL.
I've seen some of the Oxford notes/content, stuff is insanely difficult.

Too late, I've already applied 💀

Reply 19

EierVonSatan

Original post by JamieJacks

Managed to find the degree distributions...wtf

Interesting stuff, those numbers do seem low so I had a look at the first degree awards for 2021 (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/srs/student-statistics). Turns out that 59% of students get a 1st, which is insanely high. That clearly doesn't correlate with those module scores, so I'm not sure what is going on.

Looking back to when I graduated it was 62% got a 2:1 or a 1st. So it looks as if standards have really dropped.

Edit: Just found 2022 data, yeah looks like they're trying to rectify the grade inflation - 27% got a 1st, 36% got a 2:1.