The breakdown of a Degree

mrpockets09

Hi can someone tell me the breakdown of a degree from UCD, as in what is required to get a 1:1 degree and if it is as impossible as people seem to suggest it is.
Thanks.

Jizzear

it depends on the course obviously but i think the average course will have about 10% of firsts, last year in my course about a fifth of the graduating class got 1! if you have a research project or a thesis and you get an A in it than that can go along way to getting first. its definitely not impossible but if it was easy than it wouldnt really be worth having.

[Jackass]

A first is a GPA of 3.68 or higher.

So in order to achieve this grade, you roughly need between a A- and B+ average, so if you got nothing but B+ in every module (which would be an excellent achievement) you would still fall short of getting a first. (B+ is 3.6 GPA value, an A- is 3.8).

What makes a first difficult to get is if you have a few crippling modules. Personally from my experience I usually have one pretty tough module per semester where I'm happy enough to just pass, so may land in the C or even D range on, but for the most part would pick up B's and maybe one or two A's along the way, so you make up for it and can (hopefully!) land a pretty solid 2:1 degree, but in order to get a first, one or two C's or D's can make it almost impossible, you basically can't afford to mess up more than maybe 1 module in the duration of your degree...and if you can manage that, then fair fu*ks, you'll get a first, but most people will have a few modules where seeing a D- on the results page comes as an elated sigh of relief to have just passed it!

Definitely not impossible to get a first, but you'd want to be really really organised, too many times I realise I'm fu*ked for a module only when I start studying it the week before exams and also you would want to work your absolute socks off, you don't need to be a genius to do well in 90% of modules, but for the most part the amount of time put in to studying gives a pretty accurate reflection of your grade, and to get A's, you usually just have to work exceptionally hard.

Oh, and go to lectures. Seems simple enough, but missing lectures can really mess you up, and sometimes you miss one or two in a row and fall behind, and if you don't catch up, then you pretty much wait out the topic until something new is started. I've done that more times than I care to mention too.

TimeToShine

Depends on the course.

ironclaw

Its not impossible but you'll need to sacrifice a good portion of your life to get it unless you are pretty naturally gifted. You basically have to get less than 15% of so of ever exam you ever sit 'wrong' As has been said, a single string of bad modules will drop you very quick. You need to be consistent for 4 years. Without being offensive, a First in Arts would be far easier than a First in say Engineering or Medicine.

A Second Class Honours Grade 1 is easily achievable with decent lecture attendance and a 'Leaving Cert' level of work when it comes to exams. Obviously, all that changes if you doing something you really like which you should be doing anyway

gline

ironclaw wrote: »

You need to be consistent for 4 years.

I thought your final grade is only based on 3rd-4th year results in a 4 year degree? Do 1st and 2nd year results have much weight on your final result?

beardedmaster

It all depends on what degree you do folks. Don't assume your degree breakdown is the same as another degree because yours is also 2/3/4/5/6 years or whatever.

Also, when degrees are graded from 2 years, some degrees may be 50/50 split with the final and penultimate year, or it may be 75/25 or 60/40. So it's best to check for degrees individually.

ironclaw

gline wrote: »

I thought your final grade is only based on 3rd-4th year results in a 4 year degree? Do 1st and 2nd year results have much weight on your final result?

Well, I suppose one could make the point if you are not bother in 1st and 2nd year, your certainly not going to pull a 'first' in 3rd and 4th But yes, you are generally right in the weighting, however it depends. The 3+2 Eng Course is 30% in Year Two, 70% in Year Three. And then I believe the two year Masters is 50:50.