Schols Schols Schols, information and venting thread.

JC 2K3 · 27-02-2009 11:37pm

Today I blurted out (light-heartedly, but not obviously so) that I hated a certain lecturer who sets one of my schol exams (I don't have him for anything though) - he was right behind me.... :S

mathew · 28-02-2009 1:28am

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Today I blurted out (light-heartedly, but not obviously so) that I hated a certain lecturer who sets one of my schol exams (I don't have him for anything though) - he was right behind me.... :S

I'm sure they're well used to students not liking them. If you teach a few hundred students theres bound to be a few who dont like you..
Once he doesnt know who you are and remember what you said it'll be grand!!

Embarrassing thing to happen tho.. Seen it happen a few times with people in my course!

LenovoUser · 02-03-2009 7:10am

Kwekubo wrote: »

I suppose I can legitimately throw my hat into the ring here, since our first year exam results constitute part of Schols if we choose to go down that route. Academic masochism ftw.

first year exam results part of the schols ? Now I didn't know that...

What I would do if I were facing the schols in a couple of weeks time is to get together with any other CS fellow students doing the schols and together work out correctly between us ALL the past exam papers , in LG 12 , when it's quiet from Friday next onward. That should ensure at least one schol from CS this year :

Lecturers do not generally like drawing up new exam qestions, as it's a terrible bother to get every part of every question you ask answered correctly line by line, so as to compare students' answers with theirs when marking.

So it's a good bet that right now those past exam papers make up the bulk of all the question s on those schols exam papers for this year, awaiting you right now in Trinity safes .

And if you CS Schols entrants get toogether, you might even achieve more than one schol this year for the Dept. so the very best of luck :-)

ApeXaviour · 02-03-2009 1:25pm

LenovoUser wrote: »

first year exam results part of the schols ? Now I didn't know that...

I'm pretty certain that's not the case.

Podge_irl · 02-03-2009 1:29pm

ApeXaviour wrote: »

I'm pretty certain that's not the case.

First year exams count towards Schols for medicine, and possibly other subjects. Its one of the things being reviewed at the moment, as how departments decide what to base schols on is a bit of a mess.

jason&arthur · 02-03-2009 4:04pm

time to start studyin'

ApeXaviour · 02-03-2009 4:09pm

If you're going for exemptions. If you're going for schols you're likely a little late, unless you're one of those people.

jason&arthur · 02-03-2009 4:17pm

deal was "if u make an effort jason u don't have to work this summer", so the actual result itself isn't to worrying, i just dont want to do too awful like arthur's gonna

scruttocks · 02-03-2009 4:25pm

my head asplode

tolosenc · 02-03-2009 6:01pm

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Today I blurted out (light-heartedly, but not obviously so) that I hated a certain lecturer who sets one of my schol exams (I don't have him for anything though) - he was right behind me.... :S

And who might that have been?

LenovoUser · 02-03-2009 6:18pm

obl wrote: »

And who might that have been?

Ah, yes, JC, c'mon, tell us please...:D

Sir Ophiuchus · 02-03-2009 8:58pm

In reference to an earlier post: It's never too late to start studying for Schols, you're just (much) better off allowing enough time.

I didn't really allow enough time (my estimate of what's required: THE WHOLE TWO YEARS), but I've a lot of material from the past two years to fall back on, plus reading and essays I've done for my various courses. I've been doing desultory (always wanted to use that word) study over the past month or so, but only really got my nose to the grindstone (as in, in the library every day) two weeks ago. However, I've kept my outside commitments to a minimum this year and worked very hard for all the essays and reports I had to do, so I'm not too badly off.

I think I'll be okay. Just got to get these damned end-of-term essays in!

tolosenc · 03-03-2009 12:27am

Does anyone else just feel like giving up?

mathew · 03-03-2009 12:59am

obl wrote: »

Does anyone else just feel like giving up?

At times... Keep at it tho.. Theres no penalty at all for doing badly..

The chances are you'll do much better than you expect..

Stick with it.. If anything its good preparation for the summer...

Brian · 03-03-2009 1:51am

Yeah, a friend of mine in 3rd year who got Schols said that he did the Summer exams just because he was bored..

Jonathan · 03-03-2009 1:57am

mathew wrote: »

Theres no penalty at all for doing badly..

Losing the respect of your peers...

mathew · 03-03-2009 8:16am

jmccrohan wrote: »

Losing the respect of your peers...

Ah go way outa that you..

Liquorice · 03-03-2009 12:23pm

obl wrote: »

Does anyone else just feel like giving up?

If you give up you'll always regret it. Fear of failure is the only reason not to do 'em, once you've been studying. You could say afterwards "if I'd sat the exams then I might have got schols", but having a real chance at a ridiculously valuable scholarship is a wee bit more worthwhile, potential failure included.

Best of luck, don't bottle it!

Sir Ophiuchus · 03-03-2009 12:54pm

obl wrote: »

Does anyone else just feel like giving up?

No. I'm going to damn well do this, and do this damn well.

bright · 03-03-2009 3:29pm

Schols is great craic...

TheAmateur · 03-03-2009 5:04pm

Do 2nd year engineers doing schols this year get exemptions from summer exams if they get a 2:1? We were just told they're doing away with that next year (i.e. for us 1st years) onwards...:(

Podge_irl · 03-03-2009 5:07pm

They're doing away with exemptions full stop next year as they are moving the schol exams due to semesterisation (at least that was the plan last I heard).

TheAmateur · 03-03-2009 5:11pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

They're doing away with exemptions full stop next year as they are moving the schol exams due to semesterisation (at least that was the plan last I heard).

Suppose there's a good bit of logic in that, if they kept them and put schols in between terms (which I'm guessing is the plan), then you'd be exempt from testing on a whole term's worth (12 weeks) of stuff! That'd be pretty mental.

Podge_irl · 03-03-2009 5:21pm

Yup, pretty much the thinking. There was a movement to do away with the schol exams altogether and merely award schols based on year-end exams, but thankfully it was done away with. I imagine setting the schol exams between terms will make them harder, as they will cover more stuff that the students have yet to cover in lectures...

I haven't really been keeping up with the plans for schols since i left though, so my info may not be up-to-date!

tolosenc · 04-03-2009 1:14am

mathew wrote: »

At times... Keep at it tho.. Theres no penalty at all for doing badly..

The chances are you'll do much better than you expect..

Stick with it.. If anything its good preparation for the summer...

I'm not gonna quit. I promise. I still vary from one night I will certainly be the next Toronto Schol, and the next night I just don't know a thing.

piby · 04-03-2009 1:54pm

I remember when I attempted the schols. Did the first paper then realised that I could spend my whole Easter failing them or just relax and enjoy the few weeks off!

I chose the 2nd option

tolosenc · 05-03-2009 9:34pm

piby wrote: »

I remember when I attempted the schols. Did the first paper then realised that I could spend my whole Easter failing them or just relax and enjoy the few weeks off!

I chose the 2nd option

What?! It's hard to hear you from all the way up here.

tolosenc · 05-03-2009 9:41pm

Oh! And, Fuckshitjesus my first exam's tomorrow!

qz · 05-03-2009 10:00pm

obl wrote: »

Oh! And, Fuckshitjesus my first exam's tomorrow!

What!! I thought they began on the 9th! :pac:

mathew · 05-03-2009 10:05pm

obl wrote: »

Oh! And, Fuckshitjesus my first exam's tomorrow!

Really?? In what??

I thought they didnt start until the 10th....

Best of luck in it... Ill be in the same boat next Tuesday evening

scruttocks · 05-03-2009 10:27pm

Monday, oh dear.

tolosenc · 05-03-2009 10:33pm

mathew wrote: »

Really?? In what??

I thought they didnt start until the 10th....

Best of luck in it... Ill be in the same boat next Tuesday evening

It's in French. Just the Oral. But it's two professors and me...

I don't have one after it till Tuesday. Then Thursday, Friday, Monday, Monday, Tuesday!

Thanks man!

JC 2K3 · 05-03-2009 10:38pm

Thursday, Monday, Thursday, Friday, Monday for me.

mathew · 05-03-2009 10:44pm

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Thursday, Monday, Thursday, Friday, Monday for me.

Oooohhh two days in a row.... not nice..

I have Monday (class exam) then Schols Wednesday Friday Wednesday Friday Monday

JC 2K3 · 05-03-2009 10:53pm

Two hardest exams too.... The second one being Hardware Practical, which is THE hardest.

They're all from 9:30 to 12:30 though, which means I have a full day to study after each one.

Sir Ophiuchus · 06-03-2009 11:17am

Actually, how many exams do people have?

Can you beat eight? (Five Psychology TSM, three English TSM)

JC 2K3 · 06-03-2009 12:14pm

Five, but they're 3 hours each.

mathew · 06-03-2009 12:31pm

Sir Ophiuchus wrote: »

Actually, how many exams do people have?

Can you beat eight? (Five Psychology TSM, three English TSM)

I have too... all 3 hours..

tolosenc · 06-03-2009 2:23pm

I'm happy with how it went, but it could have good better. Ah well. One down now...

Liquorice · 06-03-2009 5:03pm

mathew wrote: »

I have too... all 3 hours..

24 hours of exams? Jaysus what sort of sadists are running your course?! You poor thing, good luck!

I've got Tues, Thurs, Fri, Mon, Weds, Thurs, Fri, Mon. Lovely, just lovely.

mathew · 06-03-2009 6:14pm

at least you've got the first of it over with... In a way Im looking forward to getting started.. Closer to finishing it then :P

Podge_irl · 06-03-2009 8:45pm

Good luck to everyone taking schols. Whatever happens don't get too disheartened and keep giving it your best. I had one absolutely God awful exam (as in I thought there was a chance I could have failed), but it went poorly for everyone and they were all marked up! Some lecturers are unsure of the difficulty to set the papers at and so they can vary quite a lot, but just remember that its not the end of the world if one exam doesnt go right - people have gotten schols while failing one exam before.

mathew · 06-03-2009 9:00pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

Good luck to everyone taking schols. Whatever happens don't get too disheartened and keep giving it your best. I had one absolutely God awful exam (as in I thought there was a chance I could have failed), but it went poorly for everyone and they were all marked up! Some lecturers are unsure of the difficulty to set the papers at and so they can vary quite a lot, but just remember that its not the end of the world if one exam doesnt go right - people have gotten schols while failing one exam before.

Cheers... Keeps the spirits up!

tolosenc · 06-03-2009 9:18pm

Thanks for the well wishes.

But, for the record, you can't get schols if you fail an exam, and exemptions will only be granted on a subject by subject basis.

JC 2K3 · 06-03-2009 9:20pm

Does that not depend entirely on the department?

Podge_irl · 06-03-2009 9:21pm

obl wrote: »

But, for the record, you can't get schols if you fail an exam, and exemptions will only be granted on a subject by subject basis.

It entirely depends on the course. Exemptions were all or nothing for me despite my course being split between two depts. In other cases its a subject by subject thing.

And when I say people, I mean I've heard of one particular incident. AFAIK the dept have some discretion as to who they put forward for schols. Of course, I could also have got it wrong.

JC 2K3 · 06-03-2009 9:22pm

Yeah, AFAIK in CS it's all or nothing for exemptions. And I mean, the exams don't directly correspond to individual courses.

Podge_irl · 06-03-2009 9:28pm

Exemptions are never (again as far as I am aware) given for individual courses. However, in Science for example you can get exemptions in individual subjects (i.e. if taking physics, maths and chemistry, you can get exemptions in each individually - well two of them anyway cause that's all you take for schols).
I had one exam for each course in maths, and two general physics papers (the same papers the physics people took), however I couldnt get exemptions in just physics - only overall.

mathew · 06-03-2009 9:43pm

In engineering its all or nothing too... Once you get over the 60% average you get exemptions.
Dont know how failing an exam comes in to it... Presumably if you fail an exam, thats pretty much it.. Dont know about compensation at all

tolosenc · 07-03-2009 12:20am

A scholar surely shouldn't fail an exam...

Schols Schols Schols, information and venting thread.

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