Degree Classification & post-grad

Surion

hi all,
Quick question. If your degree classification does not come up to spec (mine might not!) as say a 2.1 - are you doomed to a life of being blocked from ma/msc study with reputable colleges??

I've read most of the threads here, there is 'some' consensus it will not totally rely on this BUT would I be prevented from continuing in academic study altogehter?? A frightening thought

If the worst of the above is true, what options are then left? Start a new degree all over again? As a mature student (in full time work, though unrelated to mental health) does this have any sway in it?

I started part time degree (BPS recog) a number of years ago and about to embark on final year - continous assessment @ 70+ but exams not that great (don't ask!). I've been working all my (short) life and would be interested in carrer change. Does anything else count except the 2.1?? (which I believe I wont achieve next year).

Thanks guys in advance....

JuliusCaesar

Much as I hate to tell you this........it might. A friend was refused access to a Masters in an Irish University on the grounds of having a 2.2 in his undergrad degree - which was taken over 20 years ago, and despite having had a 1st in another related post-grad qualification taken later on. The Irish university suggested my friend retake his degree exams, despite having happily worked in an extremely specialised area of psychology since his post-grad. Luckily he found a British university which allowed him study further, as they give credit for knowledge and experience. He now has a PhD, but is extremely embittered about the narrow-minded outlook of the Irish university system, which was concerned only with the 2.2 and didn't enquire into the rather strange and startling change that enabled him gain a 1st later. (His mother had died during his last year as an undergrad, and he couldn't afford to repeat at that time.)

Gibs

I think Julius is correct about this, although to be certain, you should probably check yourself with every relevant Uni department.

Perhaps you could identify some area of research that you might be interested in, find out which lecturers in each college might have research interests in that area, and approach them for advice (usually the college websites have profiles of the lecturers detailing papers they have written and topics that they lecture on). Most of them are likely to be approachable if they think you have an interest in their area. They will also probably be very familiar with the general position vis-a-vis quality of your degree.

Academic research can be a pretty demanding area to be in, both personally and professionally, so I would also think about whether you are ready for a couple of years of mostly solitary, self-directed reading and writing, and what do you want to get out of it. If it's a career in academia you are after, then perhaps if you feel that you are only borderline for a 2:1, you might find it a very difficult thing to achieve, if only because other people with better degrees/results may be selected ahead of you at the various bottlenecks on the way to a career. As Julius' example demonstrates, exam results are rarely descriptive of a person's potential, but it's my experience that Uni's in Ireland do tend to use the magic 2:1 as their cutoff point. I've heard some of them say that they simply don't want to take a chance that a student might not be academically able enough to do the research.

Why do you think you won't get the 2:1? A pretty reasonable percentage of students in psychology classes do get a 2:1. You could actually ask your head of department for figures on this. He/She might be able to reassure you a bit by telling you what percentage of, say, last year's final year got a 2:1.

Surion

Thanks guys for the reply! I'm studying with Open University - so that alone = non 'traditional route'. OU is a funny beast at times. My end of course classification is a joint split between continuous asses & end of year exam. I did very badly last year (and you don't have option of resit unless you retake the entire year, and even then I believe thats difficult..).

As a result of this system, your 'end of year' score is dragged down to the lowest common denominator...so while my regular submissions (6/7 per annum) scroed very well...it's not borne out as a result of end of year performance

I will follow up on Gibs suggestion and speak with the college (should have done that first I guess, instead of worrying!) and see what their response is! So, in the mean time, its tricky one!

Incidentally - I should not have given the impression I wanted to work in acedemic life!!!! No way LOL - but to work 'in' psych you need to achieve a masters at least (am I not correct?) and thats what prompted my query.

Thanks again guys...!

grace143

Hi, I have just completed a masters and got through, through the APEL process. I never completed a primary degree and obtained an honours - results in today! Every college has this process, I am really surprised that the college in question did not offer it as an option.

kitkat.3b4t

grace143 wrote: »

Hi, I have just completed a masters and got through, through the APEL process. I never completed a primary degree and obtained an honours - results in today! Every college has this process, I am really surprised that the college in question did not offer it as an option.

Congratulations Grace!! I'm glad to see that some universities have a more flexible approach. I think practical application of life experience and experience gained during training is much more useful than academic skills, but the system seems set up in a way that gives more value to academic skills. I also think written exams can be very unfair because one is expected to perform under severe time pressure. This sort of pressure is never mirrored in real life situations.

adastra

I got a 2:2 for my BA, which was psychology and sociology/politics. I was on track for a 2:1, but I screwed up my last politics exam, which dragged everything down. I then did a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (the conversion course) in London, and only managed a pass, because I had some bad stuff going on in my personal life.

I then applied for maybe 5 or 6 Masters courses in the UK, all psychology courses, thinking that I had totally messed everything up for myself, and I got accepted for all of them outright, with the exception of one course, which asked me to submit an essay so they could evaluation whether I could work at Masters level, and after that they accepted me as well (thats the course I decided to do, and I finished with a Distinction and came top of the class!).

So while the courses weren't 'professional' psychology courses, which would have enabled me to start working at a higher level, it shows that there are courses out there that will accept less than a 2:2. So good luck!

billyduk

I have a third class honours degree (really a 2:1 (67.5 avg) but it got downgraded because I missed an attendance quota on a module which resulted in a module failure. This, of course, resulted in the downgrade of my degree) from one of the bigger Irish Universities and even though my transcripts read like a 2:1, most Irish Universities don't care. If they see 3:1 they consider it a 3:1 and won't entertain it. I can no longer appeal the decision made on my degree classification (unless somebody knows another way). At the time I couldn't afford to because of the "admin fee"... apparently the administration of a form can cost €120.

In 3 years of PAC applications I have yet to be invited to an interview. If I were you I would get out of this country and apply to UK universities. Thats what I'm doing as the draconian policies here have driven me out. You'll find they are much more progressive and forgiving to individual circumstances than our lovely institutions.