I can haz general discussion? 2!!

Dickie10

is there college tommorrow? i see the library is closed. i have only one lecture and there were only 4 others there this evening, dont fancy a one on one lecture tommorrow,

Kiwi_knock

No college tomorrow, the whole college closed up this evening

Pudsy33

Dickie10 wrote: »

is there college tommorrow? i see the library is closed. i have only one lecture and there were only 4 others there this evening, dont fancy a one on one lecture tommorrow,

No lectures, be free!

Dickie10

LOVELY STUFF as alan partridge might say!
just started the first 600 words of my 4000 word geography mini thesis, does anyone else ever feel relieved when you get a few hundred words down on an essay like this? its like i feel i could do it all in a few days now! doesnt have to be in until May 4th but i have a few around that so b one down

PopePalpatine

As a CSSE student I'm so glad my essay-writing days are behind me-

Sh*t. I forgot about the industrial placement diary.

Westeros

mickstupp wrote: »

I want you to know that I'm not thanking you. It's like opposite thanks. No thanks. Thanks but I'd rather not do exams anymore thanks.

Hmmm. Like a fcuk this post kinda thanks?

marko93

PopePalpatine wrote: »

As a CSSE student I'm so glad my essay-writing days are behind me-

Sh*t. I forgot about the industrial placement diary.

If you've forgotten to do 8 weeks of your diary, good luck

Pai Mei

Just to backtrack a bit to the discussion on masters and degrees, lets say that you were doing business and geography as part of the joint honours, and your overall degree was a 2.1. However you got a 1.1 in business but a 2.2 in geography taking the two subjects separately.
If you wanted to do a masters in geography would they allow you because you have a 2.1 degree overall (if you needed a 2.1 to do a masters), or would you have to at least get a 2.1 in the chosen masters subject to be allowed in? So even if your overall degree was a 2.1, would you be allowed a masters in a subject you got a 2.2 for on its own?

Dickie10

i think they take into account the subject you want to do masters in, so it might be harder, howver the fact u got a 1.1 in any subject shows the good qualities you would have and and things like exams going a little wrong can swing a result from a 2.1 to a 2.2. they aso look into your history of attending tutorials over the years and having assignments always in on time. all this counts to getting a masters as well as your result also heard that students that go for advice an odd time during their degree can be remembered by staff and this gives them unoffical good references, its people like this that the deprtment want to keep on.

Wendero

Is the fitness centre open during easter break?

Planemo

Yeah but not tomorrow.

aaabbbb

On another fitness related note....

Can anybody say what are the quietest times to use the gym at are during the week ?

thelad95

aaabbbb wrote: »

On another fitness related note....

Can anybody say what are the quietest times to use the gym at are during the week ?

It's generally fairly quiet from 3-5. Gets very busy at lunch

aaabbbb

thelad95 wrote: »

It's generally fairly quiet from 3-5. Gets very busy at lunch

What about before 11am or after 6pm ?

thelad95

aaabbbb wrote: »

What about before 11am or after 6pm ?

Around 9am is quite busy. I've never been after 6pm but most gyms are quite busy in the evening so I presume it would be the same for Maynooth.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Jammed at 6, bit quieter by 7 but still pretty hectic. Before 9 is ok since most of the teams are finishing up their training for the year.

aaabbbb

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Jammed at 6, bit quieter by 7 but still pretty hectic. Before 9 is ok since most of the teams are finishing up their training for the year.

So would it be empty enough then by 9pm ?

zl1whqvjs75cdy

9pm? I'd say you'd nearly have the place to yourself. Closes at 10 though and they like to rack the weights at quarter to so might be better to go at half 8 or so.

Dickie10

when do people think its beyond worthwhile being a mature student, some people in maynooth seem to headed for 60+ surely they wont go into employment at that age! why on earth would anyone bother going back to college at 55+? there seems to be a rake of them around maynooth,jesus there annoying in lectures. would the college not be better off just keeping mature students to 45 years of age, at least then they graduate they stil have nearly 20 years of work in their new career ahead of them? id imagine there are loads of people between 23-40 who could do with upskilling

Dickie10

wait for it....."i hope your not studying english" ! oh yeah ha

thelad95

Dickie10 wrote: »

when do people think its beyond worthwhile being a mature student, some people in maynooth seem to headed for 60+ surely they wont go into employment at that age! why on earth would anyone bother going back to college at 55+? there seems to be a rake of them around maynooth,jesus there annoying in lectures. would the college not be better off just keeping mature students to 45 years of age, at least then they graduate they stil have nearly 20 years of work in their new career ahead of them? id imagine there are loads of people between 23-40 who could do with upskilling

Actually the most annoying in lectures tend to be the early thirties brigade. Some of them have a startling superiority complex over all the young plebs behind them.

I don't think it's ever too late. Education isn't just about the pursuit of a career and they may never have had the chance to go to college. Now that they have their children reared they have the opportunity to study something they've always been interested in why not take that opportunity?

Dickie10

yeah i suppose once they have the cash they can do as they please i suppose! ah i keep away from the 30 somethings like the plague! they leave me feeling very inadequate, they freak out over assignments and exams a horrid rate. always asking what did i study what i got in exams telling me il be fukced if i dont do this or that. like wtf?

GrandBlaa

Ha ha, and as a member of the 'early thirties brigade' I can tell you we hate the 60+ ones, too!

We just hide our eye-rolling better, perhaps?

Dickie10

really?! i wouldnt say i hate them dont hate anyone thank god,just wonder what their game is!? although there was a funny incident this week in a lecture where a woman who id say is near 70 tried to tell a lecturer she was wrong about something and the lecturer wouldnt back down! was a very tense moment and not pleasant to witness, why cant they just shut up and listen to the lecture without giving their tuppence worth.

i do an evening lecture in a local studies module and this became a BIG issue this week, one bloke about 70 kept interrupting the lecture telling the lecturer that she didnt mention this or failed to pick up on that and saying "oh of course there was also this happeining", swear ta jaysus you rewaaly had to see it to belive it! anyway this week an adult education head man came in and gave a warning about treating lecturers with respect and all that, shocking stuff! all just to sound better than the rest......

mickstupp

Dickie10 wrote: »

when do people think its beyond worthwhile being a mature student, some people in maynooth seem to headed for 60+ surely they wont go into employment at that age! why on earth would anyone bother going back to college at 55+? there seems to be a rake of them around maynooth,jesus there annoying in lectures. would the college not be better off just keeping mature students to 45 years of age, at least then they graduate they stil have nearly 20 years of work in their new career ahead of them? id imagine there are loads of people between 23-40 who could do with upskilling

And if they were good enough to get through the admissions process, they would have. But they didn't. So why should someone less able but younger, get preferential treatment over someone far more able but older?

I graduated with an 80 year old who got a 1st class honours degree in Philosophy and History. He worked his ass off, attended all his tutorials and lectures, took notes, joined societies, contributed just as much as any other student and even paid his own way. He did more than most people in that class, and most that I've come across since, and he used every resource available to do his best. I guess if you had your way he wouldn't have been let in in the first place.

I detest the attitude that going to university for a degree, a master's degree, or a PhD, is simply a means to an end rather than an end in itself. And I detest the attitude that just because you're younger and more likely to contribute to the country with a long career, you deserve some sort of special treatment. People like that 80 year old man had already spent 65 years contributing to this country. Again, why should someone less able but younger, get preferential treatment over someone far more able but older?

Just because you can't grasp why someone aged over 55 would want to go to college without the prospect of a definite career, doesn't mean they don't have dreams and ambitions, and it certainly doesn't mean their reasons for going to college are any less valid than whatever yours are. And if someone aged 23-40 could do with upscaling, they can work for it, just like everyone else. Tough luck if they can't keep up with a 74 year old granny.

Zemuppet

I've never had any real issues in my lectures or tutorials with this over 30s brigade. Luckily for tutorials I have a good mix of young and older people without a hint of any superiority complexes who all work well together. Speaking as a younger mature student, I'm in the middle between the younger LC finishing students and the older mature students.
I have a growing annoyance over the younger students whispering crap while I'm trying to listen, but its not all of them. The same goes for some older mature students who ramble on a bit too much, but that is a minority. You'll always find those who annoy you for any reason, but you shouldn't think that just because they are a certain age, that they all are either smug, obnoxious or ignorant.

thelad95

Zemuppet wrote: »

I've never had any real issues in my lectures or tutorials with this over 30s brigade. Luckily for tutorials I have a good mix of young and older people without a hint of any superiority complexes who all work well together. Speaking as a younger mature student, I'm in the middle between the younger LC finishing students and the older mature students.
I have a growing annoyance over the younger students whispering crap while I'm trying to listen, but its not all of them. The same goes for some older mature students who ramble on a bit too much, but that is a minority. You'll always find those who annoy you for any reason, but you shouldn't think that just because they are a certain age, that they all are either smug, obnoxious or ignorant.

If you want to avoid those pesky kids whispering then sit up the front.

Zemuppet

Doesn't help that the acoustics in JH1 are shockingly bad. I prefer to sit in the lower middle section, so not to strain my neck, old age and all that

thelad95

JH1 is dreadful. Itchy seats, dreadful acoustics (a wooden wall was a terrible idea in such a large Hall), and terrible lighting.

Ionthas is my favourite

The Arts block lecture halls should have new seats put in them. Some of them have rusty nails sticking out.

mickstupp

I'm a postgrad giving tutorials and I tend to prefer a good mix of young (i.e. straight out of school) and mature. If everyone's young there's basically no talking in class, which is useless for a tutorial since because they won't talk they're forced to listen to me lecture for an hour. Blood from a stone. But if there's mostly mature, because they're more confident the talking never stops and we don't get through the necessary material! But if there's a good balance it means the matures start yapping and then the younger students get into it and start contributing too. Can be a really great class when that happens.

I feel like maybe it's partly a confidence thing, but could a few young first years here maybe enlighten me? Because I'd love to know if there's a way to make tutorials engaging for the people who sit there stoney-faced saying nothing. When I was in school I did what everyone else did, sat there and kept my mouth shut, even when I knew the answers. Don't call attention to yourself under any circumstances. First time I went to college I did what I see most younger students do today. First years anyway. Lot of staying silent. Blank expression just in case you get called because you're looking interested or know the answer. Felt like I was afraid to give my opinion on something even when I had one I thought was valid.

When I went back to college I just spoke and answered questions, mostly from impatience actually. If the lecturer asked a question and there was silence, about five or six seconds in I'd start getting really impatient and just blurt out an answer so we could move on.

Anyway, I think the mix of younger and older students is a very large part of what makes Maynooth great, and a real pleasure to attend. I feel I can stop and talk to anyone in this college. Which is a far cry from if any of you ever visited TCD or UCD. Very different vibe altogether. Maynooth is friendly because of the huge range of students, in my opinion.