Freshers 2017: Five misconceptions about your first year at University

With the start of a new University year fast approaching, we look at five typical misconceptions people have about their first year.

First year doesn't count

Many people believe that their first year of University 'doesn't count'. While it's true that for some courses the results of your first year exams does not contribute to your overall degree grade, it's not always the case at all.

But even if your first year does not count, it doesn't mean you don't have to try and not worry about it. The first modules you take will set the groundwork for much of of the deeper learning later on. You'll find those that do well in their first year will often come out with better grades overall at the end of the course.

It's all online

Who needs to get up for that 9AM lecture? It'll be online later! While the slides may be online, these form only the basic part of a (good) lecture. You won't get any of the added information that may have been given beyond the slides, and you'll have missed the chance to ask questions and get help if you're unsure what the slides mean.

There's no homework

Some people go to University thinking that homework is a thing of a past, for reasons we're not totally sure of. In fact, you can expect to be doing far more work outside of University than in it: Most courses suggest about 2 hours of 'self-study', even if nothing has been specifically set by your lecturers or tutors, for every one hour you spend in classes.

You can finish an essay in a day

You can probably get away with doing a A level essay overnight and still coming out with a good grade, but at University forget about it.

Not only are your University essays going to be a lot longer than anything you'll have written at A Level but you're going to be expected to do a lot more independent research and this takes time.

Even if you do somehow manage to pull of an essay overnight, it's going to struggle to get anywhere close to a top grade classification.

It's all fun and games

Yes, University - especially your first year - is a LOT of fun and will probably be one of the best years of your life, but it's not all fun and games.

As well as focusing on your work, you've got a lot of growing up to do as you move out of home for probably the first time. From budgeting to doing your washing, there's more than just your course to learn about...

About the author: Thomas Brella

Thomas Brella is the founder of Student Hacks, starting the website in 2013 while studying at the University of Brighton to share tips and tricks on life as a cash-strapped student. He's now spent over 10 years scoping out the best ways to live on a budget

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