I'm disenchanted with University

[chio]

However, to go from a 40 hour week to an 8 hour week was a culture shock and I died of boredom and depression. I hate to use the phrase but it seemed that I was surrounded by the spawn of wealthy parents who were there to get drunk and go clubbing.

That sounds like my place - I'm sure there are decent people I'll find (eventually!) but it feels like I'm surrounded by public-school rah's from down south running around trying to convince each other how interesting they are. Only having 11 hours a week of "stuff" to do doesn't help, although I'm hoping that a few assignments chucked my way will ease the boredom!

Fußganger has a good point, too - I'm currently in the process of emailing just about every radio station within an hour of the place to blag a placement!

 

[Azrael23]

Well i`m a fresher at Keele Uni and I can sympathise. My lectures aren`t compulsory and all the notes are put on a learnserver for us all so lectures are basically "go if you feel like going" thing.
However I know what you mean about the lack of stimulation. I`ve already left my psychology course because it was so biased towards a cartesian approach, as for free minded academic stimulation, well I never expected that in the first year anyway!
Basically Uni is such an amazing experience and I need the degree in order to go into my chosen field. Saying that although I need my NS degree, most of what I`m learning i`m going to be attempting to either disprove or heavily modify for the zero point age! Ironic really.

Stick at it. The guy who said its better to regret something you`ve done than something you haven`t was spot on. Don`t let the debt dissuade you.

 

[fractionMan]

I'm still amazed at how little most students are expected to do in their first year. It should count towards your final mark if you ask me.

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

When we finished at the end of April one year I was rather suprised having been told the tuition fees were based on three terms. What really fucks me off is lecturers get more than primary school teachers. I know they train longer and all that but some of them are absolute shite up their own arse wankers who wrote a book no-one has ever read once and can't interact with a human being to save their lives. I would quite like to be one

This is so true

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

I'm still amazed at how little most students are expected to do in their first year. It should count towards your final mark if you ask me.

I agree. Otherwise its a waste of the students time and money. This is what really pisses me off about uni. A year of fucking around and not having to work hard, at who's expense? Not just the student's expense either.

 

[fractionMan]

I agree. Otherwise its a waste of the students time and money. This is what really pisses me off about uni. A year of fucking around and not having to work hard, at who's expense? Not just the student's expense either.

The weird thing is that it differes so drastically between courses. Believe it or not, I had to put in 40+ hour weeks in my first year studying ceramic design, including a fair few saturdays/sundays.

 

[kea]

(from what i've heard) the increase in HE numbers over recent years doesn't help either, you have fuck all chance of building up any kind of relationship with any of the academic staff cos there are about 2,000 students on most courses these days and about 3 members of staff so most of the time it's just you, the library and the reading list ...
when i was at uni <creak, groan> we had plenty of small-group tutorials, i'm amazed at how little of that kind of thing most (arts/humanities) degrees seem to include now.

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

The weird thing is that it differes so drastically between courses. Believe it or not, I had to put in 40+ hour weeks in my first year studying ceramic design, including a fair few saturdays/sundays.

yep, i know some students that had to do shitloads of hours. me i only had to do 15 hours in my first year, the rest was 'self study' time and the occasional weekend/week-long field trip

 

[jæd]

Well i`m a fresher at Keele Uni and I can sympathise. My lectures aren`t compulsory and all the notes are put on a learnserver for us all so lectures are basically "go if you feel like going" thing.

Yep, but beware the lecturers who let slip what is and what isn't in exams umpteen weeks before them. Also watchout for ones who detail a good approach to whatever assignment is current... Those items don't make it into the notes.

(One of my assignments was to build a demo online store... The lecterer let slip he was only interested in Netscape (yep, its that long since I was Uni...) browser compatibility... More fool those had a cross-browser site..)

Turning up to tutorials and lectures also gives a good rapport with the lecturers. Handy for getting a quick assignment extension...

 

[electrogirl]

I'm the original poster and I'm glad it has been bumped, because I honestly feel University is a waste of money for arts/humanities students. It's not that I think that they are inferior subjects, Philosophy, English, Sociology are all interesting and important subjects, but 6 hours a week is bloody ridiculous. I know poeple say it is all about "independent reading", and I agree, of course we have to do our own reading, but what I don't understand is we very rarely get to discuss or apply what we have read, therefore I honestly believe I could do this course on my own without going to a university, just by going to a library- it would be free and just as edicating but unfortunately I wouldn't get a degree.

It's a middle class jolly. It's outrageous that people who have three years of piss ups and lie-ins get a better paid job than those who have been working their arse off.

 

[binka]

i agree with the original poster, most of my lectures/seminars are near pointless. the lectures seem to consist of reading an essay to us, which i could have read quite easily in the library or at home. the seminars are useless for discussion, since most of the people dont do the reading and the tutor has to spend most of it covering what was already covered in the lecture and if we do get to the discussion stage only 1 or 2 people are prepared to say anything.

ive started skipping lectures now and spending that time in the library instead, would do the same with seminars if attendence wasnt compulsory...

its a shame really because im in my third year now and im genuinely interested in all the units im doing, would love a good seminar with proper discussions

 

[electrogirl]

i agree with the original poster, most of my lectures/seminars are near pointless. the lectures seem to consist of reading an essay to us, which i could have read quite easily in the library or at home. the seminars are useless for discussion, since most of the people dont do the reading and the tutor has to spend most of it covering what was already covered in the lecture and if we do get to the discussion stage only 1 or 2 people are prepared to say anything.

ive started skipping lectures now and spending that time in the library instead, would do the same with seminars if attendence wasnt compulsory...

its a shame really because im in my third year now and im genuinely interested in all the units im doing, would love a good seminar with proper discussions

I agree with everything you say.(I am the original poster) I find my course incredibly interesting, I just can't summon up enough enthusiasm to go to boring lectures and seminars where everyone sits around looking unimpressed. It's not even as if I'm less lazy that everyone else, I'm not, I just have lost all passion for it.

For every feedback sheet I have had, I've asked for more hours of lectures. I honestly believe if we had lectures every day, even for a few hours, then it would be so much more useful. At the moment I have 2 hours on a Monday and a Friday. Because if this lectures are a blip in the day rather than part of it, and people just sit around counting down the minutes until they can leave. It's simply not enough to warrant a £3000 education..and subsequently a higher status of qualification than other people.

 

[PacificOcean]

I am going to Birbeck part time for a BSc and I am finding the exact same thing. The lectures are just powerpoint slides with no teaching and the seminars pointless as no one discusses anything. I have a mid term coming up and have not a clue about the subject as I have not been taught anything. All I know about this subject is what I have been told to read in the textbook.

They have heavily hinted at what chapter we need to learn for the mid term, but what is the point of that? I came to expand my mind. Not just read the odd chapter here and there to pass an exam.

 

[electrogirl]

I am going to Birbeck part time for a BSc and I am finding the exact same thing. The lectures are just powerpoint slides with no teaching and the seminars pointless as no one discusses anything. I have a mid term coming up and have not a clue about the subject as I have not been taught anything. All I know about this subject is what I have been told to read in the textbook.

They have heavily hinted at what chapter we need to learn for the mid term, but what is the point of that? I came to expand my mind. Not just read the odd chapter here and there to pass an exam.

Precisely. A Levels were much harder, you had to learn the whole syllabus because you had 3 questions which you HAVE to answer, and neither you or the teacher have any idea what they are going to be. Every exam I've had at Uni, you pick 2 out of six, so you only really have to revise 2 topics (and therefor..in theory only 2 lectures) Sigh..

 

[chio]

I posted this a few weeks back on a separate forum in a thread specifically related to journalism degrees but I think it's relevant here now it's been bumped:

I'm doing a BJ degree at present at a uni in the Midlands.

I really enjoy my work. By my work, I mean the actual practical side of things - gathering the stories, writing the pieces, sorting the bulletins and then finding out Alistair Darling's been run over by a late train five minutes before we go to air - you know the stuff. I'm volunteering at a couple of local community radio stations and I've just about sorted out a placement at a commercial station. Radio's been my passion for as many years as I care to remember - and that practical element of the course is wonderful for me to get the skills to pay the bills in the field I love.

But what I can't stand about the degree course is the formal academic side of things. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm an academic sort of person and I read large amounts related to my subject. But why in the name of all that is virtuous do I need to spend two hours on a Tuesday and Friday morning listening to someone spout drivel from a piece of paper that wouldn't sound out of place in a GCSE media studies textbook?!

I can't help thinking that some kind of longer placement combined with NCTJ law and other essentials would have been better preparation for a career. There is, in my opinion, absolutely nothing that can be learned about real work in journalism from sitting and listening to some numpty blather on about semiotics. Far too much value is placed on a university education in this country to the detriment of other far more important and effectual factors. The vast majority of what I've learned and achieved since I became a student has come off my own back rather than come from my uni.

 

[Callie]

my a levels were far more challenging and enjoyable, but I did them 10 fucking years ago.

you did your a levels when you were 15?

 

[Callie]

For every feedback sheet I have had, I've asked for more hours of lectures. I honestly believe if we had lectures every day, even for a few hours, then it would be so much more useful.

Well Im doing post grad study and one of the modules I did last year consisted of one actual lecture at the beginning which involved a lot of 'hello, im so and so, we will be learning about this...' and the rest was 'self directed learning' Which basically meant we had area to research and we had to ....just go off and do it. No direction was given, no chance to discuss the subjects or ask the lecturers extra bits. It was awful! We all felt let down and disappointed and although yes we should all be doing that anyway it honestly felt like we were just left to own devices to give the module leader a few free afternoons!

The higher up you go in education there more I think you are expected to direct yourself and thats perfectly understandable and makes sense. However I think what I experienced was an unsuitable way to educate students on a subject.

 

[jæd]

I have a mid term coming up and have not a clue about the subject as I have not been taught anything.

Have you tried studying more than just the text book...? Your supposed to be a student -- go study... Doing a degree is not the same as A-levels, and if you can't get past that then you should stop now.

 

[_angel_]

I'm still reeling from the shock that a full time course has only 6 hours tuition time!!

I did history and african studies about erm.... 11 years ago and we definitely had to attend lectures and hand in stuff on time or else... it was a lot more full time than 6 hours and the first year did count (well you had to pass it) and the college I was at was hardly renowned as a prestigious institution (altho the history department were reknowned for being tougher).

 

[chio]

I've been sitting here since nine. I've been given till 12.30 to write... 15 seconds of copy.

Does anyone know any distracting websites?