Three years later, I have finally made it to the end of my science undergraduate degree. It’s been an adventure to say the least, and certainly a big step up from high school.
One year of my undergraduate degree was pretty much exclusively online, the next year was hybrid and by third year, almost everything was back on campus. Adapting to on-campus assessments and exams after two years of open book ones wasn’t easy!
Here are some of the most important things I learnt throughout my degree.
#1. It’s important to maximise your assignment marks
Assignments can make up a decent portion of your overall mark for a subject. Unlike in school, most of these will be take home ones, which can be done in your own time, or short quizzes which can be done open book. Yes, you will have a few supervised tests here and there, but not as much as you would have had during school.
If you have an exam for a subject, it is important that you maximise your assignment marks so you can get the best overall score. Your assignments are more predictable – you can spend as much time as you like on them, use lots of different resources, and get advice from your peers. If you put time into them, it’s not difficult to get good marks. However, you can never be fully prepared for an exam – you never know what curveballs your lecturers will throw at you!
If you have multiple assignments due in a week, and are crushed for time, here are my tips:
- Prioritise the assignment that is worth the most.
- Prioritise the subject that you’re doing a) the best in or b) the worst in. If you’re doing well in a subject, of course, you should try and maintain that, as it is better for your GPA or WAM. If haven’t been doing well in a subject, you need to ensure that you maximise your marks on every assignment to give you the best chance of passing the subject.
- It’s better to half finish a low-weighted assignment than not attempt it at all. Receiving 1/5 marks compared to receiving 2/5 marks can make the difference between a distinction and high distinction overall.
#2. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help
During the first year of my undergraduate degree, I didn’t email a single one of my lecturers or tutors. Truth is, I was too afraid to. If I got stuck on an assignment or content question, I would just spend lots of time working out the problem myself. Although doing this helps you learn, it takes a lot of unnecessary time, and can cause you to misunderstand concepts.
By second year, I reached the point that I just couldn’t work things out on my own. So, I took the jump and emailed a lecturer. I got a very detailed response back, and quickly too! From then on, if I got stuck, I’d just ask. Usually, your teachers will be very happy to help you!
And this doesn’t stop at your lecturers and tutors. If you have anyone that you know that can be of help, whether it be a parent or friend, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
#3. Don’t underestimate the content that is going to be on the exam
In the first two years of my degree, remembering content wasn’t important. That’s the beauty of open book exams! I covered a lot of content in all my subjects (especially in chemistry and biology), but thankfully, I didn’t have to commit anything to memory. Knowing how to apply the content was more important, as I was able to refer to my notes if anything I was unsure of came up.
Unlike in school, there is no clear syllabus used in university subjects. Lecturers tend to talk about a lot of things and go off on many tangents in their lectures. It is hard to know what is important and what’s not.
By the time I had to sit on-campus exams, I didn’t know what to expect. Numerous times during my revision I had thought ‘this content wasn’t important, it won’t be on the exam,’ or ‘the lecturer barely spoke about this, so it won’t come up.’
I was wrong to think this, as MOST of the questions on my exams involved content that we either glossed over or weren’t even on the lecture slides.
Through this, I really learnt the important of going over everything, even if the content seems insignificant. You don’t want to leave questions blank just because you didn’t commit the content to your memory.
#4. You don’t need to feel guilty when you’re not studying
In third year especially, I felt a lot of ‘study guilt,’ as I like to call it. This was mostly due to the stress of needing to prepare for on campus exams for the first time.
I felt bad for the moments that I wasn’t spending at my desk, and even after rest breaks, I never fully felt refreshed.
It took time, but I realised that this was not a healthy attitude to have!
There’s been plenty of studies done to show that you will perform better on your academics if you have a better life-study balance. Taking a ten minute walk will benefit you more than absentmindedly taking notes for ten minutes. Overstudying can also be harmful to both your physical and mental health.
Here are some tips to help you find that balance:
- Schedule time for rest breaks. Only you know the amount of study you can manage before a break, and how long of a break you need to feel refreshed. For me, during SWOTVac, I preferred studying for about 2-3 hours and then taking a long (usually 1-2 hour break). However, I know that a lot of people prefer to do shorter study sessions with shorter breaks in between them.
- Schedule time during the week to do your hobbies, whether it be reading for 10 minutes in the morning or practising an instrument 20 minutes before bed. Keep this up routinely during the semester.
- Make time for socialising. Yes, watching Netflix for an hour is a great way to spend a study break, however, if you’re constantly doing things alone, you might feel drained. Even if it’s just talking to your family, try and spend some time with others.
#5. Spending time alone is ok
The social life at university can get hyped up a lot. For good reason though, there’s so many events, clubs to join and parties to go to.
University life can feel very isolating if you don’t have people to spend the time with. It can be very difficult to make friends, especially when you only see people for 1-2 hours a week. Travelling to events may also be challenging if you live further away.
Please don’t feel bad about yourself if you feel like you’re spending too much time alone. Focus on yourself and your own growth, and everything will fall into place. It just takes time.
I hope you learnt something from this article! University is a journey – one where you will face many challenges, obstacles, and joyous moments. You’ll be learning constantly, not just academic things, but also more about yourself. Make sure you take time to reflect and savour every moment - best of luck!
