To wonder how the HELL some people get into university?

[SayYuleNowSayWhipTheReindeer]

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.

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

I don't know Milly - there should be, shouldn't there?

It'd be really helpful.

I tend to just cobble together bits of the Bible and Greek mythology (which are the bits that come up most often). Wikipedia isn't bad for this sort of thing IMO, you just have to say to people, look, check wiki and then check something else to see if wiki is right!

TBH with the internet there, it's not very impressive when people don't bother to google references tehy don't get.

Isn't rabies a really old thing now? I've only vaguely heard it referred to in old programmes, and I'm 23.

The way a degree is set up you get out of it what you put in. Which I thought was the point.

'No love, we did nothing of any value, but I'll type you up the fucking minutes so you can read them at you leisure when your hangover's better when your prior commitment is dealt with.'

Oh dear, that's a little bit wonderful. Do you ever feel tempted to reply like that?

I think you still have to get your dogs a rabies jab if you want to take them out of the country and back in without quarantine.

And we still use the phrase 'frothing at the mouth like a rabid beast' a lot in our house to describe anger!

I am v. proud of one of mine atm, though, because he'd been getting low 2.1/2.2 marks, and he's dyslexic, and he got a first (just) for one of his essays with me, and I was so pleased for him. It's really nice.

Oh, and actually, I know an undergraduate who caught rabies in the process of carrying out their studies. But apparently if they treat it within 24 hours you make a full recovery.

My DH was involved in some graduate recruitment recently. FWIW:

The company had a zero tolerance approach to poor spelling, punctuation, grammar etc in resumes and covering letters. They could do this because they 60 applications for every job.

The company tested literacy and numeracy. They don't trust our exam system.

A standard interview question was "tell me what was good about your degree course". They were saddened by how unexcited the majority were about their subject. They are looking for enthusiasts.

The interviewers were astonished by how many of the graduates seemed to think that talking about their drinking and partying would somehow improve their chances of selection. The interviewers are not prudes - they were just amazed at the idea that talking about getting routinely bladdered was helpful.

must of bin

It's an age thing as well, I think.

I work alongside several non graduates who never make the type of mistakes the OP mentions; they can write long reports and make detailed assessments that are readable and correct.

It might be that they were excellently taught until secondary level- I think its more likely to be that they've picked up the skills over the years. We're an office of 40+ year olds.

I'm just finding it depressing, especially when I see remarks like "any old person can get a degree" when I've given up a lot to do this degree, and it's a strain not just on me but on my DH and DD, and it feels like perhaps it's a complete waste of time. :(

LRD once when I was feeling very irritable I did respond to 'could you let me know if there was anything important' by saying 'I am not sure what you mean by 'anything important' as I do not plan my seminars to have a certain proportion of unimportant material.'

To be honest, I wished I hadn't, because she was quite surly for the rest of the term. It does annoy me though, the assumption that it's my job to brief them if they don't turn up.

I use Wiki too, I just don't admit it.

SayYule, it's not true anyone can get a degree! And you are getting firsts you said, and that's certainly not something anyone can do. Please don't feel down about it. There is a huge difference between someone like you, who is putting the effort it and getting the results to demonstrate that, and people who just mooch around expecting they'll scrape through with a third.

Honestly, it will show up in job interviews, that difference, I'm sure.

And also what annoys me is the assumption by the lecturers that all students are just there for drinking and partying. I was yawning the other day in a seminar and the tutor made a disparaging remark along the lines of, "Late party, was it?" so I replied, "No, I've been up all night with my sick 1-year-old" which stopped him in his tracks.

What LRD said - sayyule, don't feel disenheartened. You are doing something now which you were unable to do when you were young because of having to care for your mother. You are doing a valuable degree and I am sure it will be worth it, and worth the sacrifice in time and money you are making.

Thanks LRD, I hope so! I just wouldn't want to go through 3 years of intensive hard work to get a degree that prospective employers will take one look at and shrug.

Bloody hell Elaine - I would never have tried getting materials for sessions I hadn't attended from a lecturer. I would have been mortified. Would have photocopied another students notes or read up in my own time! (I wasn't a saint at Uni and did miss my Friday morning 9am lectures more than once after 'Ladies Night' at the Student's Union .....however that was MY problem and I had to try and find out about the material using my own initiative.) Is it the fees that give people a greater sense of entitlement, do you think?

Oh, I love wiki. It's a good resource and occasionally you can tell the person who wrote the article really knows their stuff and cares about it - especially the genealogy ones I think.

I made one of mine cry by telling her that her attitude was a problem and it wasn't on to sit looking boring through the whole seminar. I felt really guilty about that. But she did work a lot harder afterwards!

Don't be depressed OP.

You'll get more out of the course than the kids you were talking about.

I would imagine you were looking forward to the intellectual stimulation, which much be disappointing- you'll still have to come here for that!

The others on you course will mature- don't forget at the age of 18 they're very young and some of the inane stuff will be posturing.

Crikey, that was really rude of your lecturer sayyule! I hope he apologized properly.

notyummy, it may well be (or it may be that this is a different 'kind' of university - but yes, entitlement is rife, among many.

To be fair, I think some of them think it is the right thing to do to show willing, and at least they are mailing to say they have missed the seminar (rather than no contact at all), but it can get irritating.

SayYuleNowSayWhipTheReindeer Thu 01-Dec-11 19:53:09
I have a t-shirt that says "An apostrophe is the difference between a publisher that knows its shit and a publisher that knows it's shit."

YABU. I'm a writer...published and broadcast and my spelling is atrocious. I regularly spell definitely wrong...it's not a reflection of my talent. If it weren't for spell check I would be buggered.

yule it isn't true that anyone can do one, don't be down-hearted.

lrd I've often wanted to say that about attitude, and I don't think they realise how rude they are being sometimes - but if it made her work harder, and think about the vibes she was giving off, it has to be a good thing?

I sent one out yesterday under the guise of being kindly ('if you're really not well, it's probably better to get off, but I've noticed you have your head inside your jumper and don't really seem to be 100% this morning'). What I was subtley trying to convey was that behaviour like that can't happen in a seminar, and you either sit up and get on, or get out. She didn't seem to know whether to be pleased or affronted, but slumped out happy enough after asking 'will I get the notes in an email'?

Oops ... just noticed I wrote that my student was looking 'boring' ... I actually meant to type 'bored'. I'm not such a dragon I criticize students for looking boring!

I was rather taken aback by some (not all) of my students when doing some lecturing last year. I do think that if you are studying feature writing, you should be able to write coherently. And that it shouldn't take you 20 minutes to read an 800 word piece either.

Some were excellent, but some shouldn't have been there.

hatesponge yes, I passed the enhance exam for Cambridge so my offer was EE. This was back in 1985 (well, I took the entrance exam in 84, did my A levels in 85). Despite the lowness of the standard offer I and everyone else I knew there got 4 or 3 A's, and many people also had things like S levels (I didn't - state comp, had never even heard of S levels until I rocked up at the beginning of term and suddenly found I was an educational underachiever!)