Am I not bright? 3rd in my degree.

[OnTrain]

A thread kind of about a thread. More about a post in a thread! Someone slagging off Carol Vordeman because she only got a third in her degree. Saying she wasn’t bright.

I got a third, tbh I’m just glad I passed but I also thought I was bright! Do I need a reality check? Am I a thicko?!

DH got a 3rd from ICL (Imperial College) but got it from marks in his first 2 years - he didn't like it there much so didn't turn up for the 3rd year. Still walked into a £20K job (a lot of money in the 80s) with a prestigious engineering firm and has done pretty well ever since.

A third doesn't mean someone is in any way unintelligent, but might mean they're not very committed to their subject. I've never met anyone who really struggled intellectually with the work needed for a degree, but they just haven't put in the hours, for whatever reason.

I got a third, in a difficult subject at a ‚‘top ten‘ university (ie not as good as Oxbridge, but next best for the specific subject)

I then tolerated 20 years of ‚‘hur hur drinking mans degree‘ comments form my family.

Found out in my mid forties that I have a SpLD that I was masking (even from myself it would appear)

Had a go at another degree in a related subject with some specialist support, and got a first. So, meh. Not every third is laziness or stupidity. Sometimes just that a degree isn’t the best way to test someone.

You’ve added it up?! 2:11 is FOUR.

Or I’ve added it up!

But 2+1+1 =4

I bet Cambridge had virtually no pastoral care at that stage. It wasn’t like it is now!

It did, though. I don't know very much about Sidney Sussex, but I know people who were teaching in 1981 and it is rude to them to presume there was no pastoral care.

Are you SURE you’re training to be a teacher...?!

Or I’ve added it up!

Which would make 4...

Mine definitely is a third though!!

It says ‚‘third class‘ on the certificate

@OnTrain I mean I didn’t think you were a thicko earlier but given recent revelations I reserve the right to change my mind

A Third isn't a fail under any circumstances. In order to get any class of degree you have to produce work that fits certain degree classification criteria. Clearly a First demonstrates a higher level of critical thinking, understanding writing etc but a Third is nothing to be ashamed of.

I work in HE, have been involved in degree classification/grade inflation work and talk to a lot of students. In plenty of cases a Third is a real achievement, in some cases it can reflect a lack of effort or other issues.

Don't think you're thick OP, you aren't.

I am capable not —despite how this thread is coming across!— I teach secondary, there is no coursework in my subject but 9 mark questions which require structure. This I can do, and teach.

It’s just when I have to learn something new, be critical and put it on paper I do have to put alot of effort in in order to produce an average paper.

My next paper is due in Feb, I’ll update my grade

A Third in a Humanities degree isn’t great to be honest, and having worked in postgraduate admissions, you wouldn’t have been admitted to our teaching masters - minimum H2:1. Most other programmes required a H2:1 as minimum entry, with only a few (humanities strangely enough!) accepting a H2:2. Also, if you’d qualified abroad as a teacher and moved here, no secondary school would hire you.
Some people are just better academically while others are more practical. Some are blessed with both. My sister didn’t make the points to get into university, but is a senior manager with an excellent salary (more than mine!). I did Business and got a First while holding down a full time job (no family support). I recently returned to do my Masters, and am finding it easier than my undergrad as there are more resources.

This is why teachers get a bad press. Fuck me, how thick do you have to be to not even know what degree you received?? And you’re allowed to teach!!

Good effort zwisch

I don’t know what I’ve done fanella
Or why I’ve thought that!

So do I hiroo 😂

It’s still really annoyed me that a third is classed as not bright though

Perhaps you need to work specifically on your essay writing technique. I got a 2:2 and know that my strengths don't lie in essay writing. I understand concepts perfectly well but writing in an academic style doesn't come naturally. I went on to do a masters in a more vocational subject and use my strengths in my career. If you're going to be teaching secondary aged children a humanities subject, I would have thought that essay writing would be something that you need to be good at. Can you seek out some support for that?

Is it that the OP got confused with the "third tier" of degree?

So First class = first
2:1 = second
2:2 = third?

Only logical explanation I can think of. Although 2009 isn't that long ago. I graduated in 1995 and can still remember clearly what class of degree I got. And it's written there, in black and white on the certificate "second class, upper division".

I think it entirely depends on the university. I don't like the notion that 1sts from all unis are seen as comparable and equal, all 2:1s from all unis are seen as equal etc. as it's definitely not like A-levels and GCSEs where each grade was equal across schools/colleges.

E.g. England's top 3 unis = you'd need usually at least AAA at A-level to get in, whereas the lowest unis can accept down to CCC or below. Yet, a lot of those who got C's in their A-levels and GCSEs get a 1st at the lower uni whilst a lot of A/A* people going to top 3 unis e.g. carol voderman get 2:2s, 3rds etc. because the course, grading etc. is a lot harder in top unis.

& yes I know a C grade person can genuinely improve academically at uni and so, get a 1st but such people would be exceptions and it's happened to too many people to claim it's just them working harder/becoming "brighter" all of a sudden.

Maybe it is different countries classifications? I always saw is as
1.1 - a first (over 85%)
2.1 - a second (between 65 - 85%
2.2 - a third (between 55 - 65%)
Pass - (40 - 55%)
I am obviously wrong.

notthequeen my dh earns £70k and doesn’t have a degree. His job involves vocational quals and he gets over 95% each time (and gets annoyed with himself if anything less than 98%! But he dropped out of uni in his 1st year as hated it

bandito this is not why teachers get bad press

I've just read your update, 54% is definitely a 2:2

As they say “comparison is the theif of joy”! Who’s cares that you got a third, you’re proud of it and you’ve said you’ve worked hard. If anyone asked you what u got you can always lie they will never know!

I got a first, but so did my two friends. I worked a lot harder than them, went to every lecture and helped them a lot in their assignments. I don’t believe they deserved their firsts and on paper I am no better than them. Not to say that I want to be better, but if they actually deserved it then I wouldn’t care. So life is unfair I guess. People can get firsts with minimum effort and those gets thirds with a lot of effort!

I know of only 2 people who got thirds, and one who got an 'ordinary' degree (Scots for non-honours, so lower than a third, if it was someone who was originally supposed to be on an honours degree).

This was a top class university so most people would have had AAA to get in. One of the 3rds was a guy who became a semi-functioning alcoholic, having previously won a national prize, so not stupid. One of them was a guy who couldn't be arsed to turn up for anything after 2nd year and I think the person with the 'ordinary' handed in a 2 page dissertation, plus hadn't bothered to turn up after the cull at the end of the 2nd year. In Scottish universities if you're not likely to make even a 2:2, I think they reserve the right to kick you out before the junior and senior honours years

Maybe it wasn't the right degree course for you? Also there are different types of intelligence, and learning style, so maybe what you studied, or the way it was taught just weren't right for you. It doesn't mean you are stupid, necessarily.