Am I the only one who doesn't think I have enough time to study for Xmas exams?

breadmonkey

Tbh, I think this is a bit of a joke. Previously, I would have had all of the Easter holidays plus all that time at the end of the year when a lot of my subjects had either wrapped up or were wrapping up and I had a lot of time to study. This year, I have 9-5/6 about 4 days a week for November and then a whopping week off before exams. Anyone else think this is a bit tight?

Stepherunie

I join you on that one.

I have to go on clinical placement and my charming school informed me I needed no study space or internet access despite being sent outside Dublin. I was politely informed 'you're going on clinical not studying'. How very kind they are considering these exams account for 30% of my degree.

nando

It is tough but you get used to it - it's prob just that your not used to the new system. We had Christmas exams every year and no study week at all.

rainbow kirby

*gets ready to level up her cramming skills*

breadmonkey

The thing that p!sses me off the most is that this year I have been really good for coming into lectures and making sure I have all my notes and know what's going on in all of my subjects (well, most!). I thought this would drastically reduce the sick cramming I did last year but obviously not. 2nd semester should be much easier by comparison with Easter off.

Sangre

breadmonkey wrote:

The thing that p!sses me off the most is that this year I have been really good for coming into lectures and making sure I have all my notes and know what's going on in all of my subjects (well, most!). I thought this would drastically reduce the sick cramming I did last year but obviously not. 2nd semester should be much easier by comparison with Easter off.

This is just mental anxiety over the level of preparation you think you should have. If you've had good attendance and kept up with your notes than 'cramming' won't require nearly as much effort as if it was a full year.

Also cramming implies you need to shove everything in your head in a very short period of time when the reality is you're only going over what you already know.

I was kind of the same coming from finals to fe1s, a totally different approach to study was needed and a much different level of knowledge of was required. The fact that I only had a broad knowledge of a number of topics (unlike indepth knowledge of a few) kept making me think that I was drastically unprepared.

Remember, there is less to learn and the exams are shorter.

Although on a side note, you're doing Engineering, of course you've a big workload, what did you expect?

tywy

us engineers expected the traditional degree structure. we didn't expect to be modularised. i'm so bitter!

TheVan

Jeez....I haven't enough time at all!

Fúcking arts get a "reading week".....I would do so much with a reading week!

breadmonkey

Sangre wrote:

This is just mental anxiety over the level of preparation you think you should have. If you've had good attendance and kept up with your notes than 'cramming' won't require nearly as much effort as if it was a full year.

Also cramming implies you need to shove everything in your head in a very short period of time when the reality is you're only going over what you already know.

I was kind of the same coming from finals to fe1s, a totally different approach to study was needed and a much different level of knowledge of was required. The fact that I only had a broad knowledge of a number of topics (unlike indepth knowledge of a few) kept making me think that I was drastically unprepared.

Remember, there is less to learn and the exams are shorter.

Although on a side note, you're doing Engineering, of course you've a big workload, what did you expect?

1st and 2nd year Eng was actually a p!ss take as far as I'm concerned. And this isn't mental anxiety, it's a pain in the hole.

breadmonkey

TheVan wrote:

Jeez....I haven't enough time at all!

Fúcking arts get a "reading week".....I would do so much with a reading week!

Wurd.

Chakar

TheVan wrote:

Jeez....I haven't enough time at all!

Fúcking arts get a "reading week".....I would do so much with a reading week!

Yay!

panda100

I have to admit I have put off thinking about it. The fact that there were no august repeats this year mean I have to resit two subjects from last year too. I am quite literally screwed!

TheVan

Chakar wrote:

Yay!

Dossers

elmyra

TheVan wrote:

Dossers

Quite frankly I think reading week is entirely justified given the number of texts my courses require me to cover and the fact that due to departments being very very silly and standardising essay due dates I have 5 essays due after said reading week.

In fact, with 8 essays due before Christmas, with a total expected work count of 16,000 words and a term of 12 weeks, I need to do more than 1,000 words of an essay every week along with reading for double the amount of tutorials and twice the number of lecture courses that 3rd years doing my subjects had last year.

Just because some people on this board have chosen to uphold and encourage the misconception of the Arts workload by using silly icons to grate on others who don't have a reading week doesn't mean that others aren't making the best use possible of it while also working and doing societies stuff like every other week.

You might notice that some of us Arts heads haven't even been on boards in the past week, a couple of names come to mind, and others of us like me have just been popping by for a read. Going back to the point of the thread, no I'm not fit to sit any Christmas exams because one of my departments isn't having exams and have given us essays due in the middle of when the other department are holding them. Thank you S&M, another fine mess you've gotten me into.


Aggggghhhhh, I hate UCD.

Don't call me a dosser because I don't have lectures, call me a dosser if I don't make use of the fact that I don't have lectures, and if you have to read as many texts as I do (I'm thinking 20+ novels for my core English courses, 3 different core texts for history lecture courses, a whole host of essay reading) then get on to your department, because you just might deserve a week off too.

Terribly sorry, rant over, very stressed.

Chakar

TheVan wrote:

Dossers

Not so TheVan..

I agree with what Sinead said, we do get a lot of essays I for example have three essays to do which granted is not as much as the third years but I still need to do my reading on top of that as well.

The essay due dates really don't help in subjects like History which I don't do.

fish-head

My god I've only started doing any work today... Stupid stupid stupid. I've been very busy preparing for gigs and stuff though.

Sangre

Everyone else is in the exact same boat so it all evens outs. If the exams are harder than the standard will drop and it'll be the same top 10 getting 1st etc.,

gubbie

elmyra wrote:

Quite frankly I think reading week is entirely justified given the number of texts my courses require me to cover and the fact that due to departments being very very silly and standardising essay due dates I have 5 essays due after said reading week.

In fact, with 8 essays due before Christmas, with a total expected work count of 16,000 words and a term of 12 weeks, I need to do more than 1,000 words of an essay every week along with reading for double the amount of tutorials and twice the number of lecture courses that 3rd years doing my subjects had last year.

Just because some people on this board have chosen to uphold and encourage the misconception of the Arts workload by using silly icons to grate on others who don't have a reading week doesn't mean that others aren't making the best use possible of it while also working and doing societies stuff like every other week.

You might notice that some of us Arts heads haven't even been on boards in the past week, a couple of names come to mind, and others of us like me have just been popping by for a read. Going back to the point of the thread, no I'm not fit to sit any Christmas exams because one of my departments isn't having exams and have given us essays due in the middle of when the other department are holding them. Thank you S&M, another fine mess you've gotten me into.


Aggggghhhhh, I hate UCD.

Don't call me a dosser because I don't have lectures, call me a dosser if I don't make use of the fact that I don't have lectures, and if you have to read as many texts as I do (I'm thinking 20+ novels for my core English courses, 3 different core texts for history lecture courses, a whole host of essay reading) then get on to your department, because you just might deserve a week off too.

Terribly sorry, rant over, very stressed.

Rant rant rant. Nothing annoys me more then when Arts students complain about the amount of work ye get.STOP COMPLAINING YE DON'T KNOW HOW GOOD YE GOT IT. Ye only have about 10 hours of lectures a week. We have 28 and believe me you do not get more work then us. For every hour that we spend in class we are supposed to spend 2 hours doing homework, researching and learning bringing our beautiful course up to about 70 hours of work A WEEK. Difference is though, we don't get a week off to study. I know anyone in health science will agree with me here, maybe not on the hours but definitely on the work load.

How often do you see engineers, health science students, vets et all bumming around the place? Never. You have a week to do this work that I assume you were given at the start of the year (I mean the reading not the essays). If ye guys did half as much work in reading these as the other students do in just trying to keep on top of their courses then you'd have them finished way before now.

And we all have midterms bearing down on us. For now its a pain, but when Christmas comes I think we'll be happy that our love that is circuits is not all due at one time

Chakar wrote:

The essay due dates really don't help in subjects like History which I don't do.

And if you're not good at dates in history then you're kinda in the wrong subject

Thats all folks... only another 3 hours of lectures today

humbert

gubbie wrote:

Rant rant rant. Nothing annoys me more then when Arts students complain about the amount of work ye get.STOP COMPLAINING YE DON'T KNOW HOW GOOD YE GOT IT. Ye only have about 10 hours of lectures a week. We have 28 and believe me you do not get more work then us. For every hour that we spend in class we are supposed to spend 2 hours doing homework, researching and learning bringing our beautiful course up to about 70 hours of work A WEEK. Difference is though, we don't get a week off to study. I know anyone in health science will agree with me here, maybe not on the hours but definitely on the work load.

How often do you see engineers, health science students, vets et all bumming around the place? Never. You have a week to do this work that I assume you were given at the start of the year (I mean the reading not the essays). If ye guys did half as much work in reading these as the other students do in just trying to keep on top of their courses then you'd have them finished way before now.

And we all have midterms bearing down on us. For now its a pain, but when Christmas comes I think we'll be happy that our love that is circuits is not all due at one time


And if you're not good at dates in history then you're kinda in the wrong subject

Thats all folks... only another 3 hours of lectures today

Haha so true:) poor ikkle arts students:p

Anton17

Bear in mind that each of our '10' lectures a week represents a different text, be it a novel, play or medieval poem often several hundred pages long which require a detailed in depth reading. Attribute a minimum of 5 hours to each of these texts and that adds up to a 50+ hour week.
Then add secondary reading of critical texts and articles, necessary if we are to achieve anything greater than a 2.2. Easy???
I am not so ignorant to assume I know how your courses work and make lazy statements about your workload. Do us the same service.

fish-head

Ah who gives a flying donkey anyway.. Pack of whiners.

Blush_01

Anton17 wrote:

Bear in mind that each of our '10' lectures a week represents a different text, be it a novel, play or medieval poem often several hundred pages long which require a detailed in depth reading. Attribute a minimum of 5 hours to each of these texts and that adds up to a 50+ hour week.
Then add secondary reading of critical texts and articles, necessary if we are to achieve anything greater than a 2.2. Easy???
I am not so ignorant to assume I know how your courses work and make lazy statements about your workload. Do us the same service.

QFT.

Mr_Roger_Bongos

breadmonkey wrote:

Tbh, I think this is a bit of a joke. Previously, I would have had all of the Easter holidays plus all that time at the end of the year when a lot of my subjects had either wrapped up or were wrapping up and I had a lot of time to study. This year, I have 9-5/6 about 4 days a week for November and then a whopping week off before exams. Anyone else think this is a bit tight?

Stop Posting and GET BACK TO WORK!!! You don't have much time!!

singingstranger

/me has no exams at Christmas and 14 hours a week

/me has exams in February

/me thinks it balances out

Samos

Can't believe my finals are in five weeks. I don't have time to study for them because all of the interim effort goes towards working on the assignments that always seem tobe due the next day! But on the bright side, I think the continuous assessment is a boon that allows one to swot up on the course material while icking up marks along the way. It all amounts to a mre measured approach to study rather that the three week cram before exams that are worth 100% for each subject.

/me thinks singingstranger's expression of thoughts is bizarre

/me has realised that it's contagious...

the evil lime

rainbow kirby wrote:

*gets ready to level up her cramming skills*

This is one of those rare situations where grinding might work in the real world...

Stabshauptmann

Anton17 wrote:

Bear in mind that each of our '10' lectures a week represents a different text, be it a novel, play or medieval poem often several hundred pages long which require a detailed in depth reading. Attribute a minimum of 5 hours to each of these texts and that adds up to a 50+ hour week.
Then add secondary reading of critical texts and articles, necessary if we are to achieve anything greater than a 2.2. Easy???
I am not so ignorant to assume I know how your courses work and make lazy statements about your workload. Do us the same service.

Yes. Easy.

Ive gone to history, english and politics lectures for first, second and third arts. The material was basic.

Ive read many of the books for the lecturers I dropped in on.
The material was recapped well enough in the lectureres and i think any of the essays could be done just from reading notes and summarys, and I know many people who do do this.

Now you can cry that each lecture has a different core text, thats the same for everyone. Each of my lectures not only have their own core and secondary texts but they are completly different subjects and require different skill sets. What I mean is, the skills I need for statistic are useless when doing marketing.

Stabshauptmann

Because we're that great

http://www.ucd.ie/quinn/intro-quinnschool.swf

Umaro

They just like to pamper us Quinn students because we're going to be making megabucks tomorrow (supposedly) and they want donations further down the line.

I don't mind being pampered though. The nicest words a student can read are "Some food and refreshments will be served."

gubbie

How do you know none of the other colleges don't do it... but just don't gloat about it like the Quinn school??

*zing*

Viva il eng block
(the fence around the Quinn building is a bit tricky seeing as I gotta get it stamped first)

the evil lime

They make it sound like you need to read all the texts in commerce....

Blowfish

the evil lime wrote:

This is one of those rare situations where grinding might work in the real world...

If only it was as much fun though.

I have 9 assigments to do before the end of term, and thats without even thinking about exams

rainbow kirby

Gotta love the CS end of term squish... *runs away screaming*

Anton17

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

Yes. Easy.

Ive gone to history, english and politics lectures for first, second and third arts. The material was basic.

Ive read many of the books for the lecturers I dropped in on.

I find this difficult to believe. Along with your course work, you have also been attending English, History and Politics lectures just for kicks???
Is commerce seriously that unfulfilling? How's that social life going?

For the record I'm quite content with my level of course work, I never complained, I just don't appreciate all this condescension.

panda100

Anton17 wrote:

I find this difficult to believe. Along with your course work, you have also been attending English, History and Politics lectures just for kicks???
Is commerce seriously that unfulfilling? How's that social life going?

For the record I'm quite content with my level of course work, I never complained, I just don't appreciate all this condescension.

In my honest opinion there is no course particularly harder then other courses. All those in the quinn school have a chip on their shoulder but we get the last laugh as they'll all be back in the smurfit school in a years time paying through their noses for further qualifications cos they couldnt get a job. Thats what hapens to everyone I knows whose done commerce! B+L is different,good solid course.

Back on topic....Just wondering if anyone else here has to repeat exams from last year?Were u glad of the summer break so you didnt have tor repeat exams or do you wish they were held back in august. I never thought id say this but bring back the august repeats!

pretty*monster

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

Yes. Easy.

Ive gone to history, english and politics lectures for first, second and third arts. The material was basic.

To be fair, for english anyway, while the material covered in lectures is usually basic (and frequently obvious) a much higher standard is required for essays and exams.

If I think about it, for most of the last two and a half years the essays and exams I've done in english bear little or not relation to what's covered in lectures, sasve for the fact that it's (usually) to do with the same core texts.

breadmonkey

panda100 wrote:

In my honest opinion there is no course particularly harder then other courses.

Some courses are definitely harder than others imo.

panda100

breadmonkey wrote:

Some courses are definitely harder than others imo.

But its not something to gloat about or put people down for like Kaptainredeye was doing.
What maybe difficult for some people might be incredibly easy for others. For example,I am atrocious at writing essays and it used to take me weeks to finish one english essay at school. Yet I find learning off 30 differnet bones and nerves in the arm incredibly easy.I know people who really struggle with learning things like this of by heart.

Jonny Arson

panda100 wrote:

But its not something to gloat about or put people down for like Kaptainredeye was doing.
What maybe difficult for some people might be incredibly easy for others. For example,I am atrocious at writing essays and it used to take me weeks to finish one english essay at school. Yet I find learning off 30 differnet bones and nerves in the arm incredibly easy.I know people who really struggle with learning things like this of by heart.

Nail on head. Just because you're a Law student doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able for Engineering, same for Commerce/Medicine etc.

TBH this whole ''my course is > your course'' debate is a pile of annoying bollix. It is impossible and foolish to make judgements on courses/subjects you don't do. Sure, some courses have longer hours or require more reading than others but at the end of the day you filled that course on your CAO form, you did the research on your chosen course, you are stuck with it, you take responsibility for it - to moan about other students in other courses because they ''have it easier'' or whatnot is absolutely pathetic. Spend your time concentrating on your course and not worrying about how little other students are supposedly doing.

Scraggs

Zane from MTV2 wrote:

Nail on head. Just because you're a Law student doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able for Engineering, same for Commerce/Medicine etc.

TBH this whole ''my course is > your course'' debate is a pile of annoying bollix. It is impossible and foolish to make judgements on courses/subjects you don't do. Sure, some courses have longer hours or require more reading than others but at the end of the day you filled that course on your CAO form, you did the research on your chosen course, you are stuck with it, you take responsibility for it - to moan about other students in other courses because they ''have it easier'' or whatnot is absolutely pathetic. Spend your time concentrating on your course and not worrying about how little other students are supposedly doing.

Round of applause for Zane!

gubbie

panda100 wrote:

But its not something to gloat about or put people down for like Kaptainredeye was doing.
What maybe difficult for some people might be incredibly easy for others. For example,I am atrocious at writing essays and it used to take me weeks to finish one english essay at school. Yet I find learning off 30 differnet bones and nerves in the arm incredibly easy.I know people who really struggle with learning things like this of by heart.

Here here, only with Maths instead of learning bones

singingstranger

Well done to Zane for knocking some sense into this thread.

the evil lime

panda100 wrote:

All those in the quinn school have a chip on their shoulder

Hey!

I don't...do I?

panda100

the evil lime wrote:

Hey!

I don't...do I?

There is exceptions to every rule and you are a big exception on this case:)

Stepherunie

panda100 wrote:

In my honest opinion there is no course particularly harder then other courses. All those in the quinn school have a chip on their shoulder but we get the last laugh as they'll all be back in the smurfit school in a years time paying through their noses for further qualifications cos they couldnt get a job. Thats what hapens to everyone I knows whose done commerce! B+L is different,good solid course.

With all due respect:

a) I've met plenty of meds who've had a chip on their shoulders aswell as an 'I'm so much better and far superior to you in every single, solitary way - you are nothing but a piece of dirt' attitude. (met plente of people in other courses with that attitude too so don't just tar commerce students)

b) not everyone going to the smurfit school does commerce or wasnt't able to get a job - I myself am seriously considering going there to study - they offer an MBA in Health Care management which I'd find very useful. Also quite a few people go there to further there skills and to progress higher in there jobs. Hence why so many people opt for the 2 year part time MBA.

Ballerina

TheVan wrote:

Jeez....I haven't enough time at all!

Fúcking arts get a "reading week".....I would do so much with a reading week!

me too!being in first year,i thought i could take it easy for the first couple of weeks and now i feel really behind and would LOVE a week to catch up!now the work is building and building and when i study ohne subject,i get lost in another- Its like a visious(sp?) circle!!!

panda100

Stepherunie wrote:

With all due respect:

a) I've met plenty of meds who've had a chip on their shoulders aswell as an 'I'm so much better and far superior to you in every single, solitary way - you are nothing but a piece of dirt' attitude. (met plente of people in other courses with that attitude too so don't just tar commerce students).

Dont get me wrong I wasnt trying to tar just commerce students.There is snobby people in every course. I know people in arts and sciences who look down their noses at me for my course cos Im not able to discuss deep philisophical matters etc etc. I am sure there probably is med students with chips on their shoulders (I dont know any though) like their is in every course. The point I was trying to make is that there is no one course better then any others so nobody has the right to think their superior to anyone else or that their workload is infinetly harder.

Stepherunie wrote:

b) not everyone going to the smurfit school does commerce or wasnt't able to get a job - I myself am seriously considering going there to study - they offer an MBA in Health Care management which I'd find very useful. Also quite a few people go there to further there skills and to progress higher in there jobs. Hence why so many people opt for the 2 year part time MBA.

I was just trying to put kaptainredeye in his place Cheap shot by me I admit. Im sure not everyone who goes to the smurfit school is a failed commerce student.
Are you mad though?Your doing rad right??Why bother with the smurfit school??

Stepherunie

In order to further my career and progress I have no option but to consider options outside of straight radiography if I wish to continue living in Ireland. Currently there is little career progression past clinical specialist grade in Ireland hence my consideration of a masters in the Smurfit School, which, incidently, is one of the highest rated graduate schools of business in Europe if I remember correctly.

So why bother with the Smurfit School: simple; radiologists chip on THEIR shoulder seeing as they live in the belief that radiographers are incapable of reporting radiographs aswell as them (which btw has been shown by research to be totally incorrect)

OT: Working 9 to 5 in a busy A and E and trying to study afterwards is not working out too well - getting little study done and it's not boding well for the finals in 5 weeks. AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!