Universities/courses where not everything hinges on ‘finals’ (maths, chemistry, geography)

[Loopytiles]

My DC (16) has some mental health issues.
Amongst their consideration in thinking about university and course options is how much of the marks for courses is exam vs ‘coursework’ overall and in years 2&3 (for a ‘standard’, 3 year course in England).

DC would prefer to avoid a lot ‘hanging’ on finals due to the pressure, need to memorise a lot and perform well on the day etc.

Am sure other DC/parent might share this preference for a range of reasons!

My own course (way back when, humanities, what was then called a ‘red brick’ uni) had ‘modules’ with varied coursework and exam ‘split’, with all modules in years 2 and 3 counting towards the result, with year 3 ones weighted more heavily.

DC isn’t yet sure what to pursue, probably maths, chemistry and geography for A level. predicted good GCSE grades but uncertainty and risk mainly due to the health issues.

The only surefire way is to check each course with the potential universities. Some have that kind of detail on their websites. I think it's pretty standard for marks earned throughout years 2 and 3 to count towards final classification rather than everything relying on the finals.

My DS did a Maths degree where marks from everything they did in years 2 and 3 were counted towards the final degree classification, including group tasks, weekly tasks and end of module tests. Different tasks/tests had different weightings towards the final classification.

He made sure he did well on everything that he knew would be marked during each term/year, so that there was less pressure on the final year end exams (both years 2 and 3). He aimed to get over 75% on each piece of work, which mostly he achieved. By doing that, he worked out he only needed a raw "pass" in the "finals" to get a 2:1 classification, so that took a massive amount of pressure off, with a "pass" being only 40%!

In the end, he did much better than that in the finals and got a First, but as he knew he'd get a 2:1 just by passing each exam, the pressure was off and he wasn't stressed at all!

I was surprised at how many Universities didn't have exams when looking with my DS (although he wasn't looking at the subject at you mentioned).
As @user1497207191 says, best check with the Uni. The details are freely available, but I don't think there's a way to search for courses that are exam free- I could be wrong though.

He will need to check with each uni.

DD is studying biosciences. She prefers and gets irritated by group assessments so chose all 2nd year modules which assess by exam. Even then, it's very different from A level and having to memorise two years worth of work. She was examined at the end of semester one (January).and then started all new modules in semester 2, for which she was examined in May. On top of that, most of her exams are open book. You need to revise and know your stuff but don't have to remember every detail.

DD2 has avoided A levels and gone for BTEC and core maths, as her memory and skills are not build for everything riding on an exam at the end of two years. I have much less worry about her going to University ( if she chooses to go) now I have seen what variety of assessment methods exist. Very different from my day when all modules had one exam at the end of each year.

For DDs uni you can look at the module catalogue and see the method of assessment for every module. For DDs course, only the last 2 years count, dissertation counts as one sixth of total and each of other 10 modules weighted the same. No exams but typically 2 pieces of work assessed per module midterm typically 30% and final 70%. Suits my DD.

Very few will be based on only exams in year 3. Typically these days the overall classification has year 2 will be weighted one third, year 3 weighted two thirds.

Additionally exams for year 2 modules will be held in year 2 so no waiting till the end of year 3. At many universities term 1 exams will be at the end of term 1, so again reducing the amount of exam periods into shorter chunks of time.

Finally if you check modules, you might find that the exam is only worth half the overall mark - sometimes there will be no exam, it'll all be based on coursework.

A lot of weight was given to group work during DDs engineering degree at Imperial. Group work can be just as stressful as exams, though different.

This is great info, thank you!

Reassuring that there are a range of options and that information is available to inform choices.

Also good points about group work - I’m sure very it can be useful experience for future paid work for lots of people, but imagine it’s ‘marmite’ and dependent on one’s peer group! DC is generally a good ‘team player’ according to the school, but hasn’t enjoyed the groupwork for GCSE drama - reportedly too much social drama!

think this will help DC see that not everything is like their awful GCSE experience where everything hinges on the tests.

Hi, OP -

My School publicises the assessment rubric for each course module online. I think this is fairly typical.

Many degree programmes offer the option if Third and/or Fourth Year Projects, some over two semesters. Students who can manage their time well and learn independently can do very well with these, and typically there is just a short oral presentation, no exam, for a relatively small portion of project marks. Fewer exams if you choose this option

Best wishes to your DC

Bear in mind that in some subjects (I’m in humanities), there’s a swing back towards exams, following ChatGpt undergraduate essays being difficult to police using the usual plagiarism detection software. My department had been continuous assessment only since Covid, but are reintroducing exams. Still not ‘finals’, though, exams at the end of both semesters in years 2 and 3 counting equally, plus a dissertation.

A lot of weight was given to group work during DDs engineering degree at Imperial.

It won't be that much weight over the entire 3 or 4 year degree though @Needmoresleep , no more than individual coursework and certainly no more than exams.

But yes coursework, dissertation-only modules and project-only modules are common these days. As @titchy and other posters said, few degrees only examine by exams at the end of year 3 these days. All or at least most universities show on their websites how they assess and when.

I agree with @TygerPassant that there is a swing back to more exams in essay subjects, especially since we're a few years out of Covid lockdowns.