I'm becoming obsessed with getting a 1st

13

Comments

  • Agent FAgent F Posts: 40,288
    Forum Member
    I think if it's something you want for yourself than that is commendable, it's a personal achievement that you should be proud of. Whilst I know it's important to get a job afterwards I think your degree will only form part of the assessment so don't let that be the be all and end all. But well done for doing so well! :)
  • Butcher BillButcher Bill Posts: 2,408
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    a 2:1 or even a Desmond are seen by some employers as better than a 1st.

    A 1st might indicate a completely academic personality and nothing more.
  • gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,507
    Forum Member
    A 1st might indicate a completely academic personality and nothing more.
    That is the kind of shallow analysis which can stop people getting one for themselves. ;)
  • 1fab1fab Posts: 20,052
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    a 2:1 or even a Desmond are seen by some employers as better than a 1st.

    A 1st might indicate a completely academic personality and nothing more.

    That doesn't make sense. Some people need to put in more effort to get a 2.1 than others do to get a First. Nothing else can be inferred from a First other than the fact that the person is good at their subject.
  • DaisyBumblerootDaisyBumbleroot Posts: 24,763
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    That is way harsh :eek: Believe it or not but there are people out there who are academically gifted and manage to get top marks while still having a well rounded life. I have one friend who is a doctor. She was always an A student but studying wasn't her whole life. She went to lectures, kept on top of her work and revised for exams. I must go tell her that this makes her a single minded sociopath :D

    Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound rude. I know there will be people who soak up information like a sponge and have a life, I was referring to what I'd heard employers say, what their prejudice of someone with a first is.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,129
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    a 2:1 or even a Desmond are seen by some employers as better than a 1st.

    A 1st might indicate a completely academic personality and nothing more.

    Strangely enough that maybe correct as my lecturer mate knows someone who got a 1st with no common sense at all and has been let go of in a couple of jobs
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,203
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    laura:) wrote: »
    1.1 (1st class)= 70%+
    2.1 (upper 2nd class)= 60-69%
    2.2 (lower 2nd class)= 50-59%
    3.1 (third class)= 40-49%
    Unclassified= 30-39%

    This is at my uni anyway :)

    I know at some Uni's that you have to get certain thresholds of modules in those brackets as well. For example, to get a 2:1(Hons) might require half your module to be 70% +
  • user1234567user1234567 Posts: 12,378
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound rude. I know there will be people who soak up information like a sponge and have a life, I was referring to what I'd heard employers say, what their prejudice of someone with a first is.
    Then those employers really need to cop on to themselves. Someone who got a 2.1 could have studied a lot more than someone who got a first. It's all relative and it seems to me that it's people with a chip on their shoulder about their own academic abilities who like to generalise that anyone who gets top marks must be a social outcast (not saying that is your attitude but it's something I've come across a lot).
  • 1fab1fab Posts: 20,052
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    alfster wrote: »
    Strangely enough that maybe correct as my lecturer mate knows someone who got a 1st with no common sense at all and has been let go of in a couple of jobs

    ... and then you can get someone with no degree at all and no common sense. What conclusion do you draw from that?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,129
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    1fab wrote: »
    ... and then you can get someone with no degree at all and no common sense. What conclusion do you draw from that?

    Oh exactly there's the whole mix of people in this world.

    Having been to Uni and around people who have got high degrees there is a certain disconnect in a certain type of academic achievement and a lack of common sense.

    Some of the best minds in the world were socially strange, autistically leaning etc.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 219
    Forum Member
    I'm a uni lecturer so have an idea of the issues here. First of all, don't let anyone tell you that a getting a First will somehow send out a negative message to a prospective employer; it will set your application apart from the rest and get you on to the crucial interview shortlist where you can then let them see the personality youve got too (honed by the brute determination and commitment it takes to get a First). Second, forget the A levels; once you have a degree result of any standard A levels are of very little relevance. I've gone through hundreds of job apps in my time and barely even look at A level grades. What I would say is just push on with what you're doing and try not to be so distracted by this that you psych yourself out and it affects your work negatively. You're already got some Firsts on certain modules so evidently can do it: just dig in and keep working. Remember too that even the odd 2.1 Mark may not necessarily mean the end of your hopes for a First; usually a majority of marks in the First range are enough (but that would depend on exactly how your uni calculates degree results; they can vary from uni to uni). Good luck!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 219
    Forum Member
    Then those employers really need to cop on to themselves. Someone who got a 2.1 could have studied a lot more than someone who got a first. It's all relative and it seems to me that it's people with a chip on their shoulder about their own academic abilities who like to generalise that anyone who gets top marks must be a social outcast (not saying that is your attitude but it's something I've come across a lot).

    Yes; agree 100%. Jealousy and ignorance is an awful thing
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 219
    Forum Member
    Oh, and I think you said you spent a year in industry? That is HUGE and assuming you have decent references from that period that will assure any employer that you can cut it in the real world without tagging on a load of other extra curricular stuff on your cv like setting up yurts in outer Mongolia or teaching street dance to pensioners.
  • Mystical123Mystical123 Posts: 15,811
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Also, wrt to the Honours thing, I thought an honours was given when you did a dissertation? So if your degree doesn't require a dissertation, you don't get an honours with it.

    Not true. My BA doesn't give me the option to do a dissertation, it's entirely exam-based, yet it's still honours for 40%, with the standard percentage boundaries.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 9,177
    Forum Member
    a 2:1 or even a Desmond are seen by some employers as better than a 1st.

    A 1st might indicate a completely academic personality and nothing more.

    I find that hard to believe tbh. I'm averaging a first and I still manage to have a life, I go out quite a lot, I have lots of friends, I've got lots of work experience and have won awards from it, so I'm not a purely academic person at all. I just find it fairly easy to get marks above 60%, so I'm pushing myself to get marks 70%+, but it is difficult. Especially when my uni says things like "We only award marks of 70%+ to work that could be published".
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 9,177
    Forum Member
    aplomb wrote: »
    Oh, and I think you said you spent a year in industry? That is HUGE and assuming you have decent references from that period that will assure any employer that you can cut it in the real world without tagging on a load of other extra curricular stuff on your cv like setting up yurts in outer Mongolia or teaching street dance to pensioners.

    Yeah I worked for a year as trainee biomedical scientist, I got my certificate of competence and won an award for the most developed placement student. My managers have told me they'll give me a fantastic reference as well :) I haven't done a lot of extra curricular stuff that's not directly related to my course though, I've been volunteering in a hospital and have worked in a pharmacy, but that's about it. The problem is I don't live at university, I commute and it takes 90 minutes there and 90 minutes back. I worked part time all through college and the first two years of uni as well, so I didn't have much time to join clubs and such, so I worry I don't appear a well rounded individual.

    I can hardly put down hobbies: getting drunk, going clubbing, going on holidays, going to festivals and watching movies :p
  • Mumof3Mumof3 Posts: 4,529
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    laura:) wrote: »
    I just find it fairly easy to get marks above 60%, so I'm pushing myself to get marks 70%+, but it is difficult. Especially when my uni says things like "We only award marks of 70%+ to work that could be published".[/QUOTE]

    My tip to achieve work of that standard is to apply an existing methodology for a study in a non-related subject, and transfer it to your specialism for re-testing. This route provides a cast-iron methodology, and immediately makes a contribution to knowledge. A valuable and legitimate short-cut, but it requires some time researching a suitable hypothesis for re-testing. Extra brownie points if you can contact the authors of the original study, to request consent/notify them of your intention to apply their methodology to your own study. Usually, they're very happy to see their ideas transferred to new topics, and readily offer their consent. In short, raise your game above the expectations of your teaching staff.

    For me, this clinched a Distinction for the Long Study, whilst still falling a tantalising 0.1% short of an overall 80% score.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 219
    Forum Member
    laura:) wrote: »
    Yeah I worked for a year as trainee biomedical scientist, I got my certificate of competence and won an award for the most developed placement student. My managers have told me they'll give me a fantastic reference as well :) I haven't done a lot of extra curricular stuff that's not directly related to my course though, I've been volunteering in a hospital and have worked in a pharmacy, but that's about it. The problem is I don't live at university, I commute and it takes 90 minutes there and 90 minutes back. I worked part time all through college and the first two years of uni as well, so I didn't have much time to join clubs and such, so I worry I don't appear a well rounded individual.

    I can hardly put down hobbies: getting drunk, going clubbing, going on holidays, going to festivals and watching movies :p

    Honestly- do not worry about this other stuff. It's over-emphasised by people who don't have an ounce of your clear ability. Forget it; you have loads on your cv. By 'well-rounded' they generally just mean 'personable individual who can hold a regular conversation and isn't a total arse'. Seriously. they will want you for your ability to do a good job; not be a member of the uni's Knitting Society. Stop fretting over this; i can't stress enough how irrelevant it is.The main thing is the final grade, and that will suffer if you let yourself by distracted by this other fluff.
  • Keren-HappuchKeren-Happuch Posts: 2,171
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Also, wrt to the Honours thing, I thought an honours was given when you did a dissertation? So if your degree doesn't require a dissertation, you don't get an honours with it.

    That's not true, I have an honours degree and I didn't do a dissertation as it was optional. I'd say about 80% of people on my course didn't do a dissertation (this was in law at a redbrick university by the way). All you have to do to get an honours degree is get 40%.

    I don't agree with all this stuff about employers not liking people with 1sts as they're completely academic. That may have been true 20 years ago but now so many people have 2:1s, getting a 1st can make you stand out from the rest. Although I suppose it depends on what type of career you want - in law, for example, getting a 1st will give you a distinct advantage. I imagine it would be the same for Laura in a science job.

    Anyway, Laura, I understand how you feel as I put a lot of pressure on myself. I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry about it too much. Getting a 1st would be an amazing achievement but a 2:1 is still a good degree, and it sounds like you've got a lot of other things going for you with the prizes you've won and the jobs you've had.
  • 1fab1fab Posts: 20,052
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    My husband got a First and Best Student in the Year award, and he really was totally immersed in his subject. That was an advantage for him in his field (software engineering) and he has risen to the top of his profession. It wasn't that he wanted to attain a particular grade — he just couldn't help it with his total immersion in his subject. When work is also fun, it's natural that you will do well in it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 681
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    You can do it Laura. Lock your doors. Don't do any "partying" at all until your degree is finished!

    If you are stuck.. ask for help!! Concentrate. Take a tape player into lectures so you can record EVERYTHING what the tutor is saying. Or just use your phone to record or whatever. Get loads of books. READ READ READ. Do it baby do it!!

    If you don't get a 1st it's not the end of the world. Just try your bloody best. Whatever you get.. YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 681
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    1fab wrote: »
    My husband got a First and Best Student in the Year award, and he really was totally immersed in his subject. That was an advantage for him in his field (software engineering) and he has risen to the top of his profession. It wasn't that he wanted to attain a particular grade — he just couldn't help it with his total immersion in his subject. When work is also fun, it's natural that you will do well in it.

    I agree with this. Whatever you are doing in life at the moment Laura. You need to breathe, eat and drink BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE!!!! Do all this until your degree ends.

    GOOD LUCK!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,129
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    aplomb wrote: »
    I'm a uni lecturer so have an idea of the issues here. First of all, don't let anyone tell you that a getting a First will somehow send out a negative message to a prospective employer; it will set your application apart from the rest and get you on to the crucial interview shortlist where you can then let them see the personality youve got too (honed by the brute determination and commitment it takes to get a First). Second, forget the A levels; once you have a degree result of any standard A levels are of very little relevance. I've gone through hundreds of job apps in my time and barely even look at A level grades. What I would say is just push on with what you're doing and try not to be so distracted by this that you psych yourself out and it affects your work negatively. You're already got some Firsts on certain modules so evidently can do it: just dig in and keep working. Remember too that even the odd 2.1 Mark may not necessarily mean the end of your hopes for a First; usually a majority of marks in the First range are enough (but that would depend on exactly how your uni calculates degree results; they can vary from uni to uni). Good luck!

    Good post!

    Just had a ranty phone call from my uni lecturer mate who said he had a girl come to him to say he had not marked her report like her friend's (they mark online) he had a look and realised that he had been a bit 'nice' about one bit of information that everyone had put in and he could actually knock a mark off everyones mark...she was being really whiney and saying the drop of one mark was taking her into a 2:1 from a 1st...

    Also, he said that at his uni the way they sort out the final degree mark is to take 2nd year scores as well
    and get rid of the worst 20% (unless a mark is under 30% when its a fail.) So, even if Laura gets some 2:1s and the final mark summing is the same principle it would be OK.

    My mate also had a student as him to cancel a test because this student had an interview the day of the test. Well, no there are 29other people...but he would be able to take a test the week after. The student went to his course leader and moaned that my mate wouldn't cancel the test for him! Even though he had said he could take another to make up for it!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,129
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I agree with this. Whatever you are doing in life at the moment Laura. You need to breathe, eat and drink BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE!!!! Do all this until your degree ends.

    GOOD LUCK!

    You can enjoy yourself as well during that time as well though..don;t lock the door totally...put a time lock on it!...it's about 10weeks(?) til your finals so work hard, get a good exam revision timetable, stick to it but still have some free time to relax...just plan it into your revision timetable.

    You do need a bit of free time...going to see a film was always good for me, it got me away for a few hours, turned my brain off and was a fixed thing that could be planned for.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,129
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    If you are stuck.. ask for help!! Concentrate. Take a tape player into lectures so you can record EVERYTHING what the tutor is saying. Or just use your phone to record or whatever.

    That's not always allowed - I wouldn't do it unless you really know you can.
Sign In or Register to comment.