Is it wrong of me to 'coast' along my first year of uni

BFCTom said:
I'm on my second year at the mo and on the welcome back lecture thing, the course leader actually admitted we can more or less just coast through our second year and put the hard work in next year.

Something to do with how the marks are worked out or something.

I'm doing alright, not really working my arse off but probably getting about 50-60% on most of my work/essays.

Next semester though we are doing the more practical stuff rather than the theory and that's what I'll excel at :)
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Well the teacher shouldn't really be saying that because his just implying that everybody should just do enough to pass.

What ever mark you get in your second year will be added to your third year. So if you do really well in your second year your actually going to make life easier in the third year and increase your chances of getting a better mark.
 
You should be able to walk through 1st year easily. In my experience 1st year should be like this...

No effort at all = at least a pass
Minimal effort = a good pass
Paying attention and casual attendance = high marks
Total dedication = still high marks (minimal improvement for the effort ;) )

Obviously the more effort you put in in 1st year, the better it sets you up for 2nd year. But if you weren't finding 1st year easy then I'd be very worried!

I worked quite hard at uni (not so much so in 1st year though) and came out with a good degree, but some of my friends did nothing in 1st year. Barely attended lectures, completed the bare minimum of course work, etc, etc and they still passed easily. A few friends did try the same thing in 2nd year and ended up dropping out ;)
 
Sometimes you can get lucky by not attending lectures and still passing with a good mark but it is not recommended.

If you really want to do well at uni you will simply have to put the effort in.
 
First year (and subsequent years) are a balance between work and fun, with the first year balance swaying moreso towards fun. :)

Depends on the course but in general don't push yourself too hard academically in your first year - focus on developing some independence and being as social as possible.
 
I only really started working hard in 3rd year. 1st and 2nd year were easy :)
Coast, but at least study enough and turn up enough to pass the exams and do the course work that counts towards your final marks. Theres a thin line between coasting and failing.
 
I coasted first time round=FAILED
I tried and had no social life second time round=FAILED

I then Dropped out. But I'm proud of this none the less as I at least tried to no avail!
 
Most lecturers say they find that people don't do better than their first year. Even though they don't put much effort in the first year the second year is much harder and that makes up for it.

In the first year, depending on the course, you'll think "Oh I've done all of this at college" but it's mainly to get everyone to the same position.

As someone else said, the first year is what employers go off for applications for placement positions or internships.

BTW, second year is worth 30% and third year is worth 70%. It is at least in my case. 1st = 70% or 68.9% if you have 9 1st modules, 2:1 is 60% or 58.9% if you have 9 2:1 modules, 2:2 is 50% or 48.9% if you have 9 2:2 modules and 3rd is 40%.
 
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Jigga said:
anyone know how much you need to get to do a Masters in Computing?
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In my experience (not in computing), masters are different from undergrad - experience counts a lot and the tutors will hand-pick students. I'd say find the person responsible for the masters programme you are looking at and either e-mail, phone or make an appointment with them. Make sure you've looked into it as much as possible before contacting them though
 
I dossed in the 1st and 2nd year and got a damn good placement, just getting a 2:2 in my degree.

PS. What's all this about 3rd year weighting, is the 3rd(final year) weighted at 75% now?
 
EOTT said:
Kemik do you not do 8 modules per year?
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Yeap. So basically, if u work hard in the second year and get 8 modules with the grade u want, you only technically need 1 module in the 3rd year with the grade you want to bring the mark required down to X8.9%

It may not sound like much but I'm sure it's been the difference between a 1st and a 2:1 for many people.
 
My first year was worth 15%, didn't kill myself and got straight A's, really helped when I struggled in the 3rd year.

HEADRAT
 
Kemik said:
Yeap. So basically, if u work hard in the second year and get 8 modules with the grade u want, you only technically need 1 module in the 3rd year with the grade you want to bring the mark required down to X8.9%

It may not sound like much but I'm sure it's been the difference between a 1st and a 2:1 for many people.
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Which University are you studying at? I heard they take your top 7 grades from your 2nd year and all of your grades from your 3rd year and they would get the average from those grades.
 
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