Warwick Maths student. What should I do to get a high mark in my 2nd year?

So I'm going into my second year at Warwick. First year marks were a low first class, but I want to get marks high enough to go to part iii at cambridge, or any top masters program. My problem is that I'm not entirely sure of what more I can do. My lecture attendance has been low as I can't really learn from it, either I learn too quickly and the lecture feels slow or I fall behind. I mostly taught myself using notes, but I'm going to go to lectures as much as I can this year, but I'm not sure what I can do to learn better. Plus, I don't know what I can do in terms of practice and feedback, how to get better at writing proofs,etc. . I'm willing to put in the work, but I don't know what my weaknesses are due to a lack of feedback

Work hard.

Talk to your tutor lol

Reply 3

hypercolius

11

Original post by bravesty5040

So I'm going into my second year at Warwick. First year marks were a low first class, but I want to get marks high enough to go to part iii at cambridge, or any top masters program. My problem is that I'm not entirely sure of what more I can do. My lecture attendance has been low as I can't really learn from it, either I learn too quickly and the lecture feels slow or I fall behind. I mostly taught myself using notes, but I'm going to go to lectures as much as I can this year, but I'm not sure what I can do to learn better. Plus, I don't know what I can do in terms of practice and feedback, how to get better at writing proofs,etc. . I'm willing to put in the work, but I don't know what my weaknesses are due to a lack of feedback

Will be starting 3rd year in physics in September at the same university this year.
My result in the first year was 76%. I am a bit ashamed to admit that was largely because I got extremely angry at a certain professor in my department (who was going around upsetting everyone in the laboratory) and wanted to prove him wrong.
In the first year, although at times my revision reached a maximum of 8 hours per day, it was very disorganised and haphazard because it was literally rage-driven. And also the memory of what happened prior to going to Warwick was strong in my head.
I learnt from all of that, and in the second year:
1) I started my revision earlier (Late March 2024)
2) I made a very rigid revision timetable and followed it very carefully. 6 hours of revision per day
3) I attended all lectures and, outside of lectures, always found time to focus on the subjects I found difficult. This was how I mitigated unusually bad teaching in one module this year. A consequence of this is I practically never socialised with anyone and joined no societies, but it was worth it in the end
4) What modules you take may make it easier or harder. At the end of the year, when I was done revising for the final exam, my brain felt like it had been put in a blender. This was largely because of the module 'Computational physics', which was very badly taught and in my attempts to remedy that I wasted so much time and energy there were moments when I just didn't have the strength for anything else.
5) Choose the modules you want, which you will enjoy most of all
6) Pay attention to the reading list! In my year, I was shocked to discover that I was the only one who even looked at the reading list prior to the start of the course. I bought everything on it, and it ultimately paid off
7) How do you revise? After my 2024 experience, I will be revising for my next exams by first trying the last past paper to get a feel for the assessment style. Then re-do all the notes and every example in them. Then, re-do every single assessment I was ever set. If I have time, use the textbooks as well. Finally, do the past papers. I also try not to revise at all a day before the exam
8) Try to get adequate sleep and don't follow Crammer's law! Many students didn't revise and were cramming the night before an exam. Don't underestimate how important sleep is to you. My own sleep this year was ruined by a noisy flat and I am amazed my grades were so high after that. Ideally you should be getting 8 hours of sleep before the exam, and one sleepless night before it won't make much of a difference as well
9) Make sure you understand what is being assessed. This year many students, including me, were caught out by the unusual assessment style of two modules which required essentially memorisation. I was somehow able to shove everything into my mind for both of these lectures in a week, but I did not enjoy the experience and was burnt out for a month afterwards. Simply looking at the final past paper (as above) can mitigate this.
10) Understand your strengths and abilities. What are you good at? I had a severe trust problem with myself during the exams and that did not end well.
11) Find someone who motivates you. Someone special. For me, it is currently a PhD student I met in Eastern Europe who has consistently encouraged me, all the time.

I didn't follow all the above points this year (that is what I would have done if I had to do it again), but this was the result after following a rigid revision timetable and also leaving a few days off for myself to rest (such as travelling up to Yorkshire to see a very rare orchid):

82% overall
No exam result was below 80%
The lowest mark was 76% for laboratories
The highest result was 92%. This result came after a sleepless night and a panic attack during the exam

Warwick Maths student. What should I do to get a high mark in my 2nd year?

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