college chancer

unclejunior

whats the point in going to college when everything you need is on moodle? our lecturers post everything on moodle, assignments, lecture notes and exam papers.
i know how many assignments are expected of me from now till the end of the year so why bother going in? i can just stay at home, work at the assignments and send them in through 'turn it it'.
i could even start on sample exam papers now. i dont see why we're not given assignments on exam papers like the leaving cert. it would save a load of time and effort.

sometimes i feel like college is a bit of a scam. i'll be off for almost 4 months this summer, more than likely without a job. i can't see why they don't just continue on through the summer and get degrees over and done within 2 years. its possible to fit another semester in during the summer. i dont feel like all this hanging around college thing is in anyway useful. its a pain in the @ss and a complete waste of time. i find myself on the net for nearly 6 hours some days trying to pass the time between lectures.
anyone else feel the same?

orchidsrpretty

yeah of course you could just sit at home and do all your work off Moodle etc, but what happens if you don't understand something in the lecture notes? I know in my college our lecturers just put outlines of what the lecture will be and "flesh it out" at the lectures so they are worth going to.

Also don't forget that some colleges require a certain amount of attendance to pass.

And about the summer thing, you could say the same thing about primary, secondary etc. Why bother at all with summer holidays??? I'm sure you will feel differently about having 4 months off to do what you like when you are working every week with only 4 weeks available for holidays every year.

W86indow

wow , worst post in along time.

i think you should just stay at home if you are so uninterested .

my lecturers have been invaluable to me and i havent been to one boring lecture.

attending lectures halves my study time . i know exactly what i have to do what and how much i have to learn , if i didnt have a lecturer to direct my learning ... god knows where i would be


i think its a shame there probably was someone that wanted your place in college so desperately.

and i find it even more surprising that you are posting in the mature section ,

neonitrix

this is what pisses me off with the whole college thing. I am putting in so many hours attending lectures / tutorials and there are others that appear out of the woodwork on continues assessment days or exam days and honestly its been months since they were seen last.

Moodle is a good idea but it needs to be mabey only be made available to those that are making an effort and taking part in college.

Larianne

People study differently. Some are fine with looking through notes put up on online systems and through books. I prefer to be in the lecture. The information tends to stick in my head for longer. My lectures are small so there is no problem in asking the lecturer questions throughout the class.

I'm doing a practical course so I have to be in college. But I like going to college, meeting up with my friends, discussing different aspects of the course and doing study sessions together.

Sounds like the OP is unhappy at college more than anything else.

Agent_99

The thought of doing everything online i would certainly fail, I need lectures, tutorials to help me understand the concepts of my course. plus i'm am doing a science degree with 4 labs out of my five modules so I have a lot of contact time in college which i love donning my white lab coat to get stuck in

As for 16 weeks of in the summer! bring it on ! a well deserved rest after a tough year.

unclejunior

dont get me wrong. i enjoy what im doing but the whole social aspect of college turns me off. im in my mid twenties and its kinda difficult to relate to the youth in college. i know there maybe only a few years between me and the younger ones but it feels like lightyears.
i havent missed a lecture. the sooner i get this over and done with the better.

Tragedy

I've been doing everything online so far(aside from tutorials) and am doing better than anyone I know who goes to class - especially in Maths and Statistics.

It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that the majority of the lectures are poor and do literally just read off the slides.

the keen edge

unclejunior wrote: »

dont get me wrong. i enjoy what im doing but the whole social aspect of college turns me off. im in my mid twenties and its kinda difficult to relate to the youth in college. i know there maybe only a few years between me and the younger ones but it feels like lightyears.
i havent missed a lecture. the sooner i get this over and done with the better.

Maybe this aspect of your college experience is something you could work on?

I will be 33 in a couple of weeks, so I'am a good few year your elder, but I hang with the students of my course whose average age must only be 18 or 19.

I find them very sound and quite more mature than I initially though they would be.

Now I don't look 33 although I'am sure at this stage most of them know I am. Regardless, it would be obvious that I'am at least 5 or 6 years their senior.
However this age difference has in no way been a barrier to my friendship with them.

Maybe you need to make more of an effort with your fellow students?

I see other students in my class who are loners, and without sounding too presumptuous, they are loners by their own choice.

Decent people are decent people, age is not a prerequisite.
I have made some great friendships in my course, and I'am having a great laugh with them.

I really hope you invest some of your time in getting acquainted with them, rather than looking for ways to avoid them.
You are missing out on one of the best parts of college life: having the craic!

It may sound silly, or even daunting for you, but go and force yourself to make friends with them(please try to do so without coming across as a mentalist/maniac).

Larianne

unclejunior wrote: »

dont get me wrong. i enjoy what im doing but the whole social aspect of college turns me off. im in my mid twenties and its kinda difficult to relate to the youth in college. i know there maybe only a few years between me and the younger ones but it feels like lightyears.
i havent missed a lecture. the sooner i get this over and done with the better.

I agree with the keen edge.

I'm 28, nearly 10 years older than most of my class mates but I get on well with them all.

I made a conscious decision before starting the course that I would throw myself into everything. I went along to Fresher's week, signed up to a few societies/clubs, gone to class nights out.

I'm in 2nd year now and having a great time. You get out of college what you put in. I do believe you have to have a social aspect to get you through college as well. It can be a lonely and sometimes daunting place otherwise.

Just make an effort. It will be worth it.

Feu

thanks to the OP, interesting to hear your perspective

I wish my lecturers put everything on moodle, fat chance! at one stage in 2nd year we had to use 3 separate external sites for continuous assessment/notes stuff. What a pain having to check them all! And even when they do put stuff up on crappy webct, it's usually just very scant outlines of stuff. Perhaps you are more suited to an Open University course? Then you could do stuff in your own time, and even work full time too!

i'm doing a practical (professional) course, so attendance at all classes is mandatory to be eligible for international certification, but i have benefitted so much from attending classes, not just from being the stereotypical mature and asking annoying questions , but also from meeting the other people in the class. I'm lucky in that there's 7 other matures in my class, [out of 40 students in total], but i also hang out with the other young ones, and they are great craic. If nothing else, than to hear their tales of trying to get the shift in coppers :pac:

Coming to the end of the 4 years, i'm gonna miss my class so much! Only one aspect is that they've been such a brilliant resource to me academically, as in bouncing essay ideas off each other, and even proofing each others stuff. But i know too i've been so lucky with the friends i've made

I know it's difficult for mature students, especially "young" matures, as you feel you're neither school-leaver, nor older person who treats college as their 9-5 job, and this can be a bit isolating, but i would encourage anyone [not just the OP!] to make an effort with the younger people, as it can really pay off. Or even try to make friends with other young matures in similar courses in your faculty. Having someone you can really get along with to go for a cup of tea makes a huge difference.

As to the point about wasting 6 hours on the internet, i'm not sure what to recommend? I presume you are talking about having a class at say 9am, and then another one at 4 or something? Why not do a bit of work, go to the gym in college, or go into town and do some errands? There's nothing forcing you to go on facebook for 6 hours!!!!