To think university is fairly easy?

[watthaduck]

This is not a boast in any way, I am not trying to ruffle anybody's feathers but am genuinely curious if I'm missing something.

So I am at a fairly average university in Glasgow, I was a direct entrant into third year after completing my HND at another fairly average college in Glasgow. I am a mature student (28) and am studying social sciences with a main focus on politics, from there I'm hoping to do my masters in social work.

Anyways, leading up to university, I heard so many people, lecturers included telling me what a shock to the system university would be, how I would be studying constantly, how the workload would be so much more full on than college so I was fully prepared and slightly dreading it.

However, since starting beginning of October we have had 6 assessments for the term, 2 assessments per module which have mainly consisted of 1000 word to 2000 word essays, one assessment we had to complete four fairly basic questions and a presentation. Everyone on the course is freaking out, saying how difficult the workload is and how all the assessments are crammed together whilst me and another girl that have been on the same course from the start genuinely scratch our heads wondering if this is a joke.

I've only had one piece of coursework graded and this was the assessment with the four questions which I got 72 percent, not amazing but was happy with that being my first piece of work. Yet today I was speaking to other students who got 43 percent and said how difficult the work is this year.

At college we literally had about 12 pieces of coursework all within 6 weeks of each other including exams and I was very stressed but always passed with an A.

I guess my question is am I doing something wrong? I am putting in the bare minimum amount of effort to be honest as is my friend as struggling with motivation with it all being online. I've never felt less stress through education.

AIBU to think that people were just trying to scare me about uni? And that it's actually not that hard?

Obviously I understand and appreciate that some courses are harder than others and mine just might be a fairly easy one but I'm just waiting for someone to come out and shout JOKE

"I enjoyed doing my degree but I was also a mature student with children and a part time job. I saw it as a bit of a luxury tbh. I don't think they are easy though 72% isn't that high. We had to get nearer 90% to get good grading."

Was that the OU? In the England and Wales system a first is 70% or over and at the OU a first is 85% or over, but the standard is more or less the same.

Maybe start doing a bit more than the bare minimum. I’m afraid I agree with a PP that you need to go for a really good First from an employability point of view, especially if you intend to do an MA.

" Maybe if you're finding your course too easy/ unchallenging you should speak to your tutors or should have pushed yourself to apply for a better than "average" university?"

Nah. I think it's a fairly typical experience of the kind of course she's doing.

@ChocolateHoneycomb oh no, I couldn't. I am very much in awe of those people and am very lucky in my position

A soft subject at a middling University? Of course it's not going to be as challenging as some other courses.

I found university fairly easy BUT I took a psychology degree, having just finished A levels in psychology, sociology and communication studies. The background was already there for me and much of it was simply expanding on things I was already familiar. Had I taken a subject in which I had little prior knowledge, I'm sure it would have been much harder.

The difficult part for me was motivation, applying myself and actually knuckling down and doing the work rather than pissing it up in the union.

@Gwenhwyfar

" Maybe if you're finding your course too easy/ unchallenging you should speak to your tutors or should have pushed yourself to apply for a better than "average" university?"

Nah. I think it's a fairly typical experience of the kind of course she's doing.

Probably. In which case most people should probably try to push themselves a bit more so they don't get Genius Complex like the OP ;)

Makes me laugh when people automatically think “STEM” subjects are going to be innately harder than arts subjects.

I don’t think they are harder, but do think they are more stressful because they demand technical proficiency and peoples lives depend on you becoming proficient. If someone studied Art History and mislabels an archaic Greek artefact as Minoan no one is harmed or dies. But a doctor who studied medicine then misdiagnoses meningitis as the the flu, a person could die. A philosopher who doesn’t understand Plato’s Republic there is no harm done. But a structural engineer who doesnt understand how to earthquake proof a bridge- it collapses and people die.

To be fair, I wouldn't expect social sciences at Glasgow Cale to be the hardest degree going. One of my children did engineering at Glasgow University and that seemed very hard to me. My humanities degree in the 1980s was v easy if you weren't bothered about getting a first - and that was at an ancient.

I’m in my 3rd year of the Social Work undergraduate degree in Glasgow and I’ve really noticed a step up this year. I’m a mature student as well. I coasted quite comfortably 1st and 2nd year, I could have put more effort in for sure and edged into 1st class territory but 1st and 2nd year don’t actually count towards our degree classification. That’s why in 3rd and 4th year the work gets exponentially more difficult and you’re hammered with reading and really upping the quality of your work. They start being less lenient with their marking as well.

I also done the HNC first but chose to go into first year as I was afraid that it would be different from college, which it was. Uni are more strict with referencing and how academic your work sounds. My uni also have their own Harvard referencing system that’s different from the college one 🙈 you can’t cheat with using Cite This For Me.

I will say though, I find the social science and social policy module work quite easy and get good marks but the actual social work theory modules and trying to write as if you’re actually in practice (when you haven’t been yet) Is quite difficult. We’ve just been told we won’t be going on placement either, it’ll be a “simulated” module instead so we still won’t have the opportunity to put what we’ve learned into practice until 4th year.

My whole class have found it really difficult to get to grips with the online learning. We’ve noticed that none of us are learning as well as we normally would as the in person, class discussion and questions, bouncing around ideas element is missing.

I think you’ll find once you get to Masters level and you’re actually studying Social Work that it might not be as breezy.

I did the same as you but was older than you.
I was alright until dissertation and research methods.
I guess it depends on the course, most have a pretty frantic finish for those who feel the need to put more effort in.

I don’t think they are harder, but do think they are more stressful because they demand technical proficiency and peoples lives depend on you becoming proficient.

I think that’s an overstatement and a half. Some STEM students will have lives in their hands, many others won’t.

I think those courses usually have more lecture or tutorial hours and a similar amount of coursework.

DD says that she has far more work in total than her house share friends - languages and humanities. She is also struggling with migraines and CFS, so it is hard for her. That said her friends on her course are aslo struggling to keep up.

But a doctor who studied medicine then misdiagnoses meningitis as the the flu, a person could die.

That’s definitely demanding. But it doesn’t make it intellectually more difficult. That depends on the individual, although I obviously accept medicine is a complex subject.

@EmilySpinach

Maybe start doing a bit more than the bare minimum. I’m afraid I agree with a PP that you need to go for a really good First from an employability point of view, especially if you intend to do an MA.

Maybe that's possible for OP, but in my course and others at my uni it really was a case of you'd be the kind of person who would get a first or you wouldn't. It wasn't dependent on the effort you put in, unless you were on the borderline, if you see what I mean.

I did a master's degree at a red brick uni, after working for nearly 20 years in the field, and it was so piss-easy I resented it. I was actually looking forward to a challenge. The US mid-tier state school bachelor's degree I dropped out of 22 years ago was much more difficult in comparison.

"I think those courses usually have more lecture or tutorial hours and a similar amount of coursework.

DD says that she has far more work in total than her house share friends - languages and humanities. "

Well, yes, that's what I said. If you have more lectures AND the same amount of coursework you will have much more work over all.
Sounds like your DD has a bit too much, but I honestly didn't have enough. It was lonely and boring and not great for me at that age. The 9 to 5 suits me much better.

"Probably. In which case most people should probably try to push themselves a bit more so they don't get Genius Complex like the OP ;)"

Yes, but see also my other posts above. Once you know, you can't get a first (which is going to be the case for most students even if not for the OP) there's also no motivation to make more of an effort.

I don't know how many other ways I could say that I'm sorry that this may come across as a boast. I do not think I'm smarter that any other person not only on my course, but in general.

The whole point of this post is to question whether I am doing something wrong, not other people.

I left school at 15, pregnant, straight into an abusive relationship with an absolutely awful relationship with my parents. I never ever imagined that I could end up in this position in my life where I was achieving what I am.

I was alway told in school that I was smart but just didn't apply myself, I guess I have that same mindset now. I cant just accept that I'm doing well, I am honestly waiting for the catch to become evident.

I'm sorry if I'm offended anyone, not meaning to.

“So I am at a fairly average university in Glasgow, I was a direct entrant into third year after completing my HND”

The answer in that perhaps.

A lot of your college’s ramping up of difficulty may well be in that the support is less - some people find constant assessments (ala college) stressful, some would find the structure “easier” than what uni is like.

I don't know how many other ways I could say that I'm sorry that this may come across as a boast. I do not think I'm smarter that any other person not only on my course, but in general.

Of course you’re smarter than some other people. It’s okay to admit that. Quite likely there are people smarter than you, too.

I have done both an arts degree (psychology) and a BSC (microbiology and biochemistry)...IMO the science degree was harder. But that's just my opinion...

blarbra

Well, exactly. You found one of those courses harder. Others might find the other one harder. There’s no absolute truth about it.

@flaviaritt yes absolutely of course they are, so I'm sorry if I have offended people with this post. If anything I'd say I'm of very average intelligence, I just seem to have upset people and I'm sorry about that.

I studied medicine 45 years ago, and the sheer volume of material to be covered was exhausting!
In the first year alone we had to learn the detailed anatomy of the entire body except the limbs, and had to cover embryology, biochemistry and physiology, again of every bodily system. I had come top of my (selective grammar) school at secondary, but uni was a shock. There was little time for a social life when you were virtually having to understand and memorise over a hundred pages of text a night plus write up your lab practicals and lecture notes and read ahead for the next day’s dissection of a corpse!
I suppose it was good practice for when we qualified and had to work 100 hours a week as junior docs.