University.

Soldato
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Was the solution actually that it's true for any k,p,A,t then?

I'm not sure a very strong argument can be drawn from A levels. The ones I took were borderline irrelevant for uni, and I only took pure sciences then went into engineering. So unless you're suggesting that both general studies and economics as A level subjects are irrelevant, I'd say general studies as a degree is far less useful than one in economics. I have a suspicion that all A level subjects are trivial relative to university courses though, so I don't think I'm following your reasoning.

@Nix at no point have I said humanities are easy. How did you misread " "Reading" is evidently more difficult than I can fully understand as an engineer."? Reading from my perspective is a dozen or so pages of theory followed by a ludicrous amount of mathematics, so I tend to consider reading the easy bit. However I've also mentioned the Iliad in Greek as an example of reading, and I'd be unwise to say this is simple.

Geography is not something I've ever shown interest in. Despite this I acknowledge that I'd find a geography degree more difficult than an engineering one. However I will also stereotype and say that you'd have found an engineering degree much more difficult than your geography one.
 
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HAz

HAz

Soldato
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That wasn't aimed at you. It was aimed at this:


I have done essays on stuff that I'd learned a couple of days ago and got good grades, actually - my soft science A level subject. Managed to get As on coursework that I read the book for 2 days before, wrote the essay in a few hours back in GCSE English. I also took an essay based subject or two at A level, and got an A in each of them. One was a soft science, the other was general studies. General studies isn't specialised by the looks of the name... It's an essay based subject that doesn't specialise. Does that make it useless compared to, say, economics? I'm using economics as it isn't a hard science like you seem to believe I adore.

That equation, despite it being worth 1 mark, it was something a lot of people had trouble with. They set us things that we find difficult, or there isn't really much learning going on.
Tell me, what do u gain out of answering that question? i mean its no different to a complicated puzzle in the news paper to me!
 
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Okay, first off, I wish to apologise for my remarks made. They were not made out of any hate for "foreign" people, and indeed I would say the issue extends further than such issues, and being as subtle as a sledgehammer I failed to mention them.


Sorry if I caused any offense at my remarks. Its just that i'm sorely disappointed in the whole uni experience. Socially its fantastic, having a great time, but academically I know deep down its just not for me. I can do the work, hell I know i'm going to end up with a degree. Its a worthwhile degree at that, but I just can't find any interest in it.


It sucks to have no goal or purpose in life.
 
Soldato
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But which degree is it? I have friends who greatly enjoyed an English degree and are now effectively unemployed, so that would probably qualify as no clearly defined goal.

Joining the general race hate, I was taught about turbines by a Chinese gent who was utterly incomprehensible. I'd like to say it was just the accent, but in truth I've no idea if he was aiming at the right words and failing to pronounce them or just making noises at random. I'd know a lot more about turbines had I been taught by someone who could speak English.
 
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Soldato
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Oh. I was hoping I'd be able to say something reassuring, but I know nothing about business studies. Your uni will probably let you change discipline if you wish, economics is sufficiently similar that your A levels probably qualify you for it, and it leads to a more clearly defined career path
 

Nix

Nix

Soldato
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@Nix at no point have I said humanities are easy. How did you misread " "Reading" is evidently more difficult than I can fully understand as an engineer."? Reading from my perspective is a dozen or so pages of theory followed by a ludicrous amount of mathematics, so I tend to consider reading the easy bit. However I've also mentioned the Iliad in Greek as an example of reading, and I'd be unwise to say this is simple.

Geography is not something I've ever shown interest in. Despite this I acknowledge that I'd find a geography degree more difficult than an engineering one. However I will also stereotype and say that you'd have found an engineering degree much more difficult than your geography one.

Not you, just throwing it out at the elitist mob who'll inevitably pipe up as they always do on these threads.

As I said a few posts ago: it's entirely subjective. I'd be completely lost within pages of mathematical theorem. So yes, a lot of the engineering principles are completely foreign to me. I wish I did know more to be honest, but my education didn't swing that way. ;)
 
Soldato
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But do you see my point about specialisation? If it's only worth 1-mark, you're clearly expected to be very familiar with the area.

I see your point about specialisation. However you won't know the vast majority of the background information, and for a lot of problems you won't be able to draw up on your own knowledge and will have to do research in a hard science/engineering degree.

Also, it's not really fair to compare General Studies or any A-Level soft-science to that expected at university level. It's one thing to impress your school, it's another to be able to discuss something at incredible depth whilst knowing little about it; how do you talk at depth if you don't know other perspectives?

Fair enough, you won't talk at depth. But considering someone is doing a degree where the majority of their course is reading, you'd expect them to enjoy reading, and be good enough at it that they don't find it hard, no?

I studied Geography, mainly human geography. That meant at any one moment I'd probably be doing: sociology, psychology, economics, philosophy, earth-sciences, geology, history, geo-politics, etc. and on whatever I was addressing I was expected to be able to answer it to the same level as someone who'd been specialising on the subject for years. Now, you can't sit there and tell me that that's easy because it's not and I will vehemently disagree if you continue to assert it as so.

I'm expected to know maths, applied maths, physics, design, and manufacturing. They expect us to be very good at it also.

I guess you can say I've had an eclectic university education, whereas the rule seems to be that you're supposed to specialise, I branched out into many fields.

My degree is mechanical engineering. Mine is also a bit eclectic...

Tell me, what do u gain out of answering that question? i mean its no different to a complicated puzzle in the news paper to me!

This allows us to understand how to solve the equations we'll get in physics later on in the degree.

Jon: I'll look up the solution tomorrow. I've gotta sleep now as I have an exam tomorrow.
 
Soldato
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I wish I knew more about lots of subjects. Philosophy and sociology in particular from your field, though first on the list for my "free time" is physiology. Unfortunately it's rarely possible to do multiple degrees.

I've got an exam today too, also mechanical engineering. Modelling techniques. I think I'm doing runge-kutta by hand for no reason I can understand. Boo :(

I also laughed at the idea of mechanical engineering being specialised. As far as I can tell we're meant to be able to make pretty much anything that moves or doesn't move, which feels like a hell of a lot of things
 
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To people crying "racist", wait till you're forced to work labs with someone who barely speaks english. Not fun, and I agree with OP that it's a legit problem.
 
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Try doing aerospace engineering, where by the time your reach the end of second year it seems like your doing about 6 degrees in one. It's great fun though, keeps you on your toes if you want a challenge.
 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;15820665 said:
What are you studying?

This year I'm only studying Extended Science. It's sort of like a foundation degree that will get me to slightly above A-level standard in chemistry, biology, mathematics and statistics. As I didn't do my A-levels it's required of me and I get no formal qualification from it but it allows me to do almost any science based degree if I pass it.

My original intention was to study Biomedical science but after having attended a presentation showcasing the Environmental science course I'm deliberating what I want to do. I only have until the middle of next month to decide.
 
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Meh, for years I was told, Uni will be interesting hard work full of other people who are there because they want to learn..........

What crap, I like several other people including the OP became very very bored and felt I was essentially conned into wanting to go to uni.

Sure I got drunk every night or two, that was about it, didn't go to a lecture or do any work after November and passed with high marks in the first year. Its pathetic, its so pathetically easy it actually teaches the smarter people on the course to never do any work, gets them used to doing nothing at all for an entire year, dislike the course, the uni and the lecturers and makes it that much harder in the second year.

Like I was sold the idea Uni would be interesting and hard work, all first year you get the excuse of well, the first years a wash, the second year is far harder though, bullcrap.

Its only harder because you've just spent 12 months hungover, waking up at 3pm, going out at 8pm, drinking till 5am and sleeping through to the next afternoon. You've also got it in your head lectures are pointless, the work is boring and you've lost all motivation.

The only way the work was harder in the second year was it was infinately harder to motivate myself to do any. The work itself the few times I could be bothered bored me to tears, was painfully easy and was dished out in such small doses, so the stupid people didn't get overwhelmed, that I'd be done with a subject in minutes and be waiting weeks to move on.

THe first year of uni should be getting you used to a schedual, working you hard and giving you a solid base, it shouldn't be anyone with half a brain paying, getting in debt and doing no work just for stupid people to catch up. Thats why university has become almost worthless, encouraging everyone they should go to uni, has simply meant uni's have to bring the difficultly level down so the stupid people don't all go to uni, leave in 20k of debt and without a degree.

If they had to do this they really needed to split degree's and institutions up, and have tier 1 degree's and tier 2 degree's taught at separate places. Mixing the smartest and brightest with the stupidest people who the government has convinced should go to uni is ridiculous and a complete waste of time. Education from top to bottom is becoming a joke here, and uni's are no exception.

Oh well, I still have a little student debt, I hated my degree, I don't use it in the slightest and I feel I learnt entirely nothing beneficial during my time at uni, except how to get into needless debt of course and just how far my liver can go before it slaps me in the face and tells me to go home.
 
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Soldato
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OP must be at UCL...

Saw that when I took my sister down there, madness :p

Had one lecturer for Tribology in my first year with a lecture hall full with abuot 250 people. 1/2 way through the lecture at the short break over 1/2 left he was that bad, and no one could understand a word out of his mouth. We quickly learned to grab the notes at teh beginning and leave (which were pretty good fyi) and came to teh last few for hints on the exam.

OP, you need some clunge, so less whining about students and start ****ing them!

Sure I got drunk every night or two

Your name really doesn't fit you. A sober day in first year was a rareity :p:p

My life experience at uni and interacting with others, plus growing up was more use than the actual degree I got, and helped me jsut as much as that piece of paper to get the job I have now :)

I was a jibbering geeky white lanky scaredy of girls cat before uni, and the people I met helped me sort that out. Well mostly the boobs did that :D
 
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Permabanned
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When I started university it was worse than home -- then it slowely got better and better until by about the end of year 2 it was simply awesome..

Biggest dissapointment .. the lie that 'freshers week is one huge shag fest'. It's not. it never has been. Nor is the rest of uni. This is a big ol' lie. You'll just be pleased enough to get a girlfriend that is half-pleasing on the eye - and realise the 'crazy parties with beautiful topless student girls being chased round the front room and upstairs for shenanigans, and gallons of free beer and pot' myth is exactly that, a myth.


Oh, and I went to on average perhaps 3 hours of lectures a week, did a total of about 6 hours work a week (until the final year), and spent the rest of the time drunk or sleeping. And passed easily. Not showing off, just I think most people at uni do the same. Get used to just dossing around all day on a budget and the amount of spare time you'll have. You'll never have it again!

My degree was in computer science BTW. It helped a lot that I used to program demos on the C64!
 
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Soldato
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I Get Around, if you eventually decided to opt with Plymouth over University of Bristol, that easily ranks as one of the most incredibly boneheaded decisions I have ever seen on the forum - just, bwuh?!
Some people care about uni reputation, I care about how much I like the university.
Plymouth is more my kind of place, bristol is not.

If I was still considering being a doctor then yeah it might matter, as it is, i'm not fussed.
 
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Man of Honour
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Some people care about uni reputation, I care about how much I like the university.
Plymouth is more my kind of place, bristol is not.

If I was still considering being a doctor then yeah it might matter, as it is, i'm not fussed.

Well, I think it's good that you have made a decision based on the feel of the locations, but shunning 10 in the Times University Guide to favour 63... that's incredibly brave and arguably foolish, especially considering how well Bristol is regarded by both employers and simultaneously renowned for its student life unlike Warwick, Durham, Oxford etc.

You really would love it here, honestly. I've never heard a bad word from anyone who has studied in Bristol, UWE or otherwise.
 
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