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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder how the HELL some people get into university?

600 replies

SayYuleNowSayWhipTheReindeer · 01/12/2011 18:50

I'm currently doing a degree as a mature student alongside work, and am just amazed at the stupidity lack of knowledge some of my fellow students have. For instance, nearly all of them - on a fecking ENGLISH LANGUAGE degree course - mix up "your" and you're", "there" and "their", and use the spelling "definately".

I overheard a conversation today that involved several students talking about how they didn't know their times tables above 5 or 6. Shock

AIBU to seriously wonder if it's even worth doing a degree if this is the standard they're allowing in at the moment?

OP posts:
CurlyhairedAssassin · 01/12/2011 18:53

What kind of uni is it? Is it an ex-poly? Redbrick? The ex-poly in our city seems to just want to pull in the students for the funding they attract.

VFVF · 01/12/2011 18:54

You mean like this one? Wink

TattyDevine · 01/12/2011 18:55

Depends on the uni. But starting and finishing are two different things.

Original poster
SayYuleNowSayWhipTheReindeer · 01/12/2011 18:57

at VF. Yes! That's the sort of level we're looking at.

The other day I was trying to explain myxomatosis (as you do) and said, "you know, kind of like rabies for rabbits."

The reply was, "What's rabies?"

I don't think it's an ex-poly but it's not exactly Oxbridge....

OP posts:
Backtobedlam · 01/12/2011 19:02

Actually I think the reasons you have given are unreasonable. A degree is proof that you can study a subject up to a certain level, so why would an English language student need to know their tables? As for spelling, I always make mistakes when writing/typing things quickly, but the beauty of new technology means on essays, PowerPoint slides, whatever really, you can spell check. So these students you are putting down may actually write some fantastic essays.

However, in general I do think you have a point that some courses are far too easy to get onto. They have tried to make university accessible to all when in reality there may be other more suitable options for some people.

OldGreyWassailTest · 01/12/2011 19:02

You know it's the pits when they say 'would of' and 'could of' !!

tigerlillyd02 · 01/12/2011 19:02

I know of some rather stupid less intelligent people who have a degree and I have wondered how they managed to do so well.

Mostly though I find so many lack common sense above and beyond anything else - even some with extremely good jobs!

That is why I don't think too much of degrees nowadays - anyone can get one really. The only thing they show to me is who has the drive and will power to complete it.

Original poster
SayYuleNowSayWhipTheReindeer · 01/12/2011 19:04

OldGrey - yes they do that too!

BacktoBedlam - I see what you're saying. But I would expect a degree level student to have at least a GCSE level grasp of maths - which is above the 5 times table. And these errors they're making aren't typos - if it was once or twice, then fair enough. But it's All. The. Fucking. Time.

OP posts:
jeee · 01/12/2011 19:06

At an ex-poly I knew, clearance was described as clearing the streets. And that was fifteen years ago.

Adversecamber · 01/12/2011 19:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tigerlillyd02 · 01/12/2011 19:11

Annoying sayings to me are:

I could care less
same difference
Would of - grrrrrr
Could of - double grrrrr

I would of gotton in a right state or mess (same difference) but I could care less.

:)

WinterIsComing · 01/12/2011 19:13

ExH has just finished a university course in watching CSI forensic science despite the fact that he has no GCSEs or A' Levels let alone any in science and owns a book left to him by his grandfather which he has never read.

No job yet, surprise surprise. It could be because he has the patchiest CV in the world and has never held one down for more than a few weeks even though he is over forty. Oh, and a criminal record. Yes I can see that a degree (paid for by the taxpayer too) would really help him while DH and I have been raising his child for eleven years. Scotland Yard are bound to snap him up.

Bourbonchops · 01/12/2011 19:14

My spelling and grammar are certainly not perfect but the spelling and all round stupidity of some of my younger, university-attending Facebook friends is shocking!

TalkinPeace2 · 01/12/2011 19:18

I used to rent a house to students from Solent "university"
they were so effing thick it was unreal
one girl just stood and dribbled when we went to get the rent each month
they wanted a coffee table so sawed the legs of the wooden dining table we had put in the house
and they did not like the decor so glued newspaper to the walls
"yacht management and design" and
"art appreciation" (I know what I like, now can I have my degree?)
the next lot were "business studies"
brighter but just as daft - and the DAMAGE to the house GRIEF

hiddenhome · 01/12/2011 19:19

I think degrees have turned into a sort of money generating exercise for universities and they'll take anyone these days Hmm

Has anybody seen that movie 'Idiocracy'? This is what's happening to the world Confused

soandsosmummy · 01/12/2011 19:24

Sawed the legs off the dining table? Well I suppose they could be said to be displaying initiative but you must have been fuming. Shock.

I agree OP standards do appear to be dropping which is rather sad really.

FabbyChic · 01/12/2011 19:27

What is it with people thinking Oxbridge is for brainy students, I know someone who went there ten years ago she got B and C's in her A levels, nothing major and got in easily.

Hatwoman · 01/12/2011 19:30

I used to completely rewrite approve reports written by graduates. the standard was sometimes appalling. grammar I could forgive - it was the inability to structure information and analysis into something that made sense that drove me up the wall. in the days of spell check spelling mistakes are unforgivable

KatAndKit · 01/12/2011 19:32

These days it is almost impossible to get into any decent university with B and C in your A-levels. I guess things have changed a lot in the last ten years. Oxbridge would want A* now for certain. I think the person you know is probably an exception to the rule. At least Oxbridge do interview candidates and not just base offers on what they see on paper. Perhaps for that person there was some specific reason why they were accepted with low grades?
I started university in 1996 and even then you pretty much needed all As to get into Oxbridge, although Oxford did still have the entrance exam option back then too.
It pretty much is just for brainy students!

DazzleII · 01/12/2011 19:36

What I object to is the rigidity of thinking, which now seems to be a requirement of some 'universities'. No grey areas permitted; everything is black and white; no room for independent thought.

hatesponge · 01/12/2011 19:37

I realise I'm starting to sound like my parents, but educational standards are definitely slipping...I work in a professional environment, supervising a number of junior staff in their late 20s. All are graduates, some have done additional post graduate qualifications, and have worked in offices for 4+ years.

Not one can write a letter that does not require significant amendment by me - not just spelling, but their grammar is terrible. I don't amend for the sake of it, and I try to get them to develop their own style of writing, but they have no idea how to structure what they are saying, or to express themselves clearly.

I am 10 years older than them, yet there seems to be a huge gaping chasm between us; I have previously had teams of people closer to my own age who seemed much more capable of basic literacy, even without a university degree!

GrimmaTheNome · 01/12/2011 19:39

What do you expect if ~50% of young people are supposed to go to 'university' now.

Given that there will be a proportion of bright people who choose not to go (young people in a family with a skilled trade, for instance, may be wise not to), then some of the university intake will inevitably be of below average intelligence.

so why would an English language student need to know their tables?
Because its a basic life skill. If you don't know them, unless you have genuine dyscalcula, you are either thick or lazy. Neither the thick nor the lazy should be doing degrees.

hatesponge · 01/12/2011 19:39

I got into Cambridge with AAB; one of my year got BBB, however she was very much the exception, also this was back in 1990.

I do know some people who got into Oxford with very low grades however that was back in the days when, iirc, there was a fairly stringent entrance exam and if you could manage to pass that, you basically got an unconditional offer ie you had a place whatever grades you got. Not sure that's still the case though.

LoveInAColdClimate · 01/12/2011 19:39

I got a one line, work email from someone with a law degree the other day which contained four spelling mistakes (not typos) and three grammatical errors.

DazzleII · 01/12/2011 19:40

Also university did used to be about teaching people to think.

LMAO.

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