First collections at oxford uni and have no clue what to do - desperate need of help!
I just completed my first term at oxford uni to do experimental psychology, and have less than 3 weeks before next term starts. I have collections, but have no clue what they are, what's examined on them, how to study for them, what to do, what the format will be etc. None of my tutors/college parents/friends have been able to provide any kind of useful information and have just kept saying to check the past exam questions, but these papers have no mark scheme, or any useful information at all. I barely undeerstand my degree as it is as the content is too hard and I am actually freaking out now, I know people say collections don't count or whatever, but I am actually so worried and stressed and have NO CLUE WHAT TO DO. please can you help me with any advice on how to approach this and particularly for experimental psychology? Please help!!!!!!!!!!
Reply 1
Don’t stress, these are meant to be formative assessment.
Oxford exams don’t have mark schemes in the way that A Levels do. The idea is that you answer the questions the best way you can, not that you have to tick a certain set of boxes.
The point of doing these collections is so that your tutors can give you feedback and guidance on how to improve your exam technique before you take real exams.
Consolidate what you have done this term and perhaps look through a past paper and make plans for how you your answer some of the questions on it.
Oxford exams don’t have mark schemes in the way that A Levels do. The idea is that you answer the questions the best way you can, not that you have to tick a certain set of boxes.
The point of doing these collections is so that your tutors can give you feedback and guidance on how to improve your exam technique before you take real exams.
Consolidate what you have done this term and perhaps look through a past paper and make plans for how you your answer some of the questions on it.
Reply 2
Original post
by xyz1234567Don’t stress, these are meant to be formative assessment.
Oxford exams don’t have mark schemes in the way that A Levels do. The idea is that you answer the questions the best way you can, not that you have to tick a certain set of boxes.
The point of doing these collections is so that your tutors can give you feedback and guidance on how to improve your exam technique before you take real exams.
Consolidate what you have done this term and perhaps look through a past paper and make plans for how you your answer some of the questions on it.
Oxford exams don’t have mark schemes in the way that A Levels do. The idea is that you answer the questions the best way you can, not that you have to tick a certain set of boxes.
The point of doing these collections is so that your tutors can give you feedback and guidance on how to improve your exam technique before you take real exams.
Consolidate what you have done this term and perhaps look through a past paper and make plans for how you your answer some of the questions on it.
thank you for your reply, but the amount of content for my degree is so much I have no idea what to do. Additionally we would be given a choice of a few essay titles to choose between each week, which means that I have lots of content missing from my notes, because of the way the course is structured. I am freaking out and have no idea what to do.
Reply 3
Collections usually involve one three hour paper on the subject you worked on in the previous term. There is no pass/fail. You take the exam in your college (in Hall or another location). You don't have to wear sub-fusc. The tutors set the collections partly to monitor how you are doing, but also to help you hone your exam technique.
Please talk to your tutors about the difficulties which you are experiencing. They are there to give advice and guidance.
The step from sixth form to Oxford undergraduate is a big step.
Please talk to your tutors about the difficulties which you are experiencing. They are there to give advice and guidance.
The step from sixth form to Oxford undergraduate is a big step.
Reply 4
Original post
by Anonymousthank you for your reply, but the amount of content for my degree is so much I have no idea what to do. Additionally we would be given a choice of a few essay titles to choose between each week, which means that I have lots of content missing from my notes, because of the way the course is structured. I am freaking out and have no idea what to do.
Choosing between titles each week doesn’t mean you haven’t covered the full course because there isn’t a “course syllabus” like there is for A levels. In the exam you will also have to choose between titles and so can play to your strengths. For the time being just revise the topics you did tutorial work on. When it comes to real exams you can read about other topics that may come up that you didn’t happen to write essays on, but don’t worry about that for your first collections.
If you look over the work you did this term and go over your notes and essays that is all the tutors will expect.
Reply 5
Original post
by xyz1234567Choosing between titles each week doesn’t mean you haven’t covered the full course because there isn’t a “course syllabus” like there is for A levels. In the exam you will also have to choose between titles and so can play to your strengths. For the time being just revise the topics you did tutorial work on. When it comes to real exams you can read about other topics that may come up that you didn’t happen to write essays on, but don’t worry about that for your first collections.
If you look over the work you did this term and go over your notes and essays that is all the tutors will expect.
If you look over the work you did this term and go over your notes and essays that is all the tutors will expect.
I agree.
OP, At Oxford you are not expected to learn everything that could be taught to an undergraduate reading your subject. You are studying an academic discipline, not taking a course in X or Y.
It might be worth talking to your tutors, to the Senior Tutor of your college, to a finalist, or to a postgraduate student at your college who was an undergraduate at Oxford, in order to get a hang of the Oxford approach to learning. To be blunt, Oxford is not sixth form with bells on.
If your problems persist, you could consider moving to another university. But don't rush to such a decision.
Some undergraduates will do no work for Collections. Some will do lots of work. Do not stress about Collections. They are an aid, not a challenge.
For now, relaaaaaaaaaax. Hilary Term is still over three weeks away. If in doubt, read scholarly books in your field. But mostly relax.
Reply 6
Original post
by AnonymousI just completed my first term at oxford uni to do experimental psychology, and have less than 3 weeks before next term starts. I have collections, but have no clue what they are, what's examined on them, how to study for them, what to do, what the format will be etc. None of my tutors/college parents/friends have been able to provide any kind of useful information and have just kept saying to check the past exam questions, but these papers have no mark scheme, or any useful information at all. I barely undeerstand my degree as it is as the content is too hard and I am actually freaking out now, I know people say collections don't count or whatever, but I am actually so worried and stressed and have NO CLUE WHAT TO DO. please can you help me with any advice on how to approach this and particularly for experimental psychology? Please help!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't do EP, but typically my tutors used past year papers for Collections. Is that the case for your college and subject - what did your college parents/ seniors say?
Assuming your college tutors are likely to set a past year paper for collections, you need to look at those papers and the corresponding examiners' reports. There aren't any "model answers" but the examiners' reports should give you some idea of what a good answer may look like (and also what mistakes students made).
Not sure how relevant this is for EP, but for my subject (Law), we study about 8 topics per paper in tutorials, however students are not required to answer every single question in the actual examination (probably something like answer 4 questions out of 10 or 12). This means that in practice, people tend to pick ~6 topics to study per subject - it is almost unheard of to study all 8 topics because it's too much content (bearing in mind that you will be taking multiple papers). Which topics (and how many) to pick is a question of personal interest and checking past papers to make sure that you will be able to answer at least the minimum number of questions.
I suggest you do one full mock exam using a past paper under timed conditions and essay plans for the remaining papers. 3 weeks is plenty of time, don't sweat it.
Good luck!
Reply 7
Original post
by AnonymousI just completed my first term at oxford uni to do experimental psychology, and have less than 3 weeks before next term starts. I have collections, but have no clue what they are, what's examined on them, how to study for them, what to do, what the format will be etc. None of my tutors/college parents/friends have been able to provide any kind of useful information and have just kept saying to check the past exam questions, but these papers have no mark scheme, or any useful information at all. I barely undeerstand my degree as it is as the content is too hard and I am actually freaking out now, I know people say collections don't count or whatever, but I am actually so worried and stressed and have NO CLUE WHAT TO DO. please can you help me with any advice on how to approach this and particularly for experimental psychology? Please help!!!!!!!!!!
Reply 8
Original post
by dentistjoeI’m also really freaking out… I struggled really badly in MT doing biomed and I thought I could reset over the vac but I just felt so burnt out and clueless, ended up getting nearly nothing done. I don’t think I’ll even be able to write something on the paper this coming week. You’re definitely not the only one🫂🫂 feel free to dm me
omg I feel exactly the same way, I don't understand my degree at all and haven't studied at all, so I won't even understand the questions on the exam paper 😭
I don't even know what to do to save myself at this point, I feel like it's too late.
Reply 9
If you haven't studied at all it's not surprising that you are not understanding your subject, although I suspect that you have studied, but perhaps not as much as you could have done. If you think back to the time when you were applying for a place at Oxford, the university makes it clear to applicants that they are expected to study quite intensely. It's now up to you to make of your time at university what you wish.
Collections after you first term are not a make or break point. There is nothing to save yourself from at this stage. Nobody gets thrown out after just one term of academic non-achievement. You could perhaps use the Collections as an opportunity to identify problem areas and then discuss with one or more of your tutors how to make progress in the forthcoming term. But you won't get anywhere unless you spend time in the library or otherwise working.
If you are really stuck and can't find a way to become unstuck by studying, you could look into rusticating, or moving to a university with a different learning model, or giving up university altogether. University isn't compulsory. But freaking out over your first Collections isn't worth it. The worst that can happen at this stage is that you get some acerbic Donnish remarks from your tutors. They chose you for a place ahead of other people, and the tutors would prefer you to do well than badly. Work together with them to figure out how you might better understand the work you are being asked to do.
Collections after you first term are not a make or break point. There is nothing to save yourself from at this stage. Nobody gets thrown out after just one term of academic non-achievement. You could perhaps use the Collections as an opportunity to identify problem areas and then discuss with one or more of your tutors how to make progress in the forthcoming term. But you won't get anywhere unless you spend time in the library or otherwise working.
If you are really stuck and can't find a way to become unstuck by studying, you could look into rusticating, or moving to a university with a different learning model, or giving up university altogether. University isn't compulsory. But freaking out over your first Collections isn't worth it. The worst that can happen at this stage is that you get some acerbic Donnish remarks from your tutors. They chose you for a place ahead of other people, and the tutors would prefer you to do well than badly. Work together with them to figure out how you might better understand the work you are being asked to do.
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