I don't understand university.

[Deleted]

Get in doctor school and you will get fixed daily studying routine.

[Theodon]

Reading through the replies here raises a lot of points that I do agree with, but it leaves me with an underlying question;

Why do we pay £9,000 or more for degree courses? What does that money get us besides a certificate and, in some cases, facilities you could set up at home for a fraction of the price? It seems we manage our own learning and provide much of our reading material when it comes to gaining the knowledge to pass assignments given.

[Wikiy]

Why do we pay £9,000 or more for degree courses? What does that money get us besides a certificate and, in some cases, facilities you could set up at home for a fraction of the price? It seems we manage our own learning and provide much of our reading material when it comes to gaining the knowledge to pass assignments given.

Because people generally can't make themselves learn. Especially not everything that's required for a specific field, and then there's the fact that you need people to tell you what exactly you need to know in the first place.

[Deleted]

I got my first lecture of my second year this coming tuesday and I cant wait. I'm lucky that I chose a small university instead of a large one. There's like 25 people in my class instead of upwards of 60, so it's a lot easier for the lecturer to have 1 on 1 time with students. I agree with the losing interest quickly during long lecs, all mine are 3hrs long and after like an hour I'm bored out of my mind, but I just jot down notes and then go and look shit up afterwards in my own time, that's what my lecturer told us to do and it seemed to work for my first year :P it's different from secondary school where you're spoonfed everything. For most courses in uni you have to actually go out of your way to read things and look stuff up for yourself.

[Endus]

Reading through the replies here raises a lot of points that I do agree with, but it leaves me with an underlying question;

Why do we pay £9,000 or more for degree courses? What does that money get us besides a certificate and, in some cases, facilities you could set up at home for a fraction of the price? It seems we manage our own learning and provide much of our reading material when it comes to gaining the knowledge to pass assignments given.

1> Access to every academic journal and text in the library, which isn't an insignificant advantage.
2> Evaluation by academics in your chosen field.
3> Mentorship by those same academics
4> Guidance and breadth of education, often necessary for relevant context even if it's not immediately apparent.

None of those things are front and center, of course; if all you want to do is go to class, write your exams, and get your grades, you aren't getting much out of your investment. You're behaving as if it's High School ++, and it isn't.

[Catta]

I got my first lecture of my second year this coming tuesday and I cant wait. I'm lucky that I chose a small university instead of a large one. There's like 25 people in my class instead of upwards of 60, so it's a lot easier for the lecturer to have 1 on 1 time with students. I agree with the losing interest quickly during long lecs, all mine are 3hrs long and after like an hour I'm bored out of my mind, but I just jot down notes and then go and look shit up afterwards in my own time, that's what my lecturer told us to do and it seemed to work for my first year :P it's different from secondary school where you're spoonfed everything. For most courses in uni you have to actually go out of your way to read things and look stuff up for yourself.

My classes are just me and my "team" of 28 students. Some classes are two teams together which is the case with the Microscopying classes. Lectures are all the teams on the semester ie 9x28ish give or take. So around 250.

[MAGAmobile]

Do tell how you do then, I've only heard that you can't pay attention for more than 15 minutes, personally my mind dies after 5.

Change that 15 minutes into 60 minutes and I might agree with you.

[Hisholyness]

There's always suicide. That's what I'm leaning towards anyways.

Infracted.

Infracted for "trolling". Was completely serious.

[CptMitta]

How can college (university) be mandatory?

It's kinda hard to explain, but you basically need your College diploma if you want to do anything here. You have till you're 27 years old to get it. The only option I have is quitting to go to the army but besides that you can't quit even if you wanted too.

[Payday]

It's kinda hard to explain, but you basically need your College diploma if you want to do anything here. You have till you're 27 years old to get it. The only option I have is quitting to go to the army but besides that you can't quit even if you wanted too.

Oh, so it's not mandatory then.

[Deleted]

I started university with high hopes a month ago, but I'm already tired of it. It sucks. For example, before university I would go to a lesson, listen for about half an hour, do an assignment there, get some specific assignment to do at home, and that's it. It was simple, fun and I learned something. At university I have to listen to a guy stand and talk about math for 2 hours, even though (as far as I'm aware) the average human being can listen for about 15 minutes before attention starts to dwendle. Then I only get a 5-10 minute break where I can't do anything but stand up before the lecture starts again. Then I go home and there I am, I know kinda what math I need to study but there are no recommendations, no one that has introduced me to how to structure my work, I just sit there like a jackass. I go to school because my book doesn't have examples of math problems that I can look at and learn from, only to find out we're not going to have those math problems, even though they're in the chapter that has the stuff that we've talked about in school so far.

I used to be a student that worked pisshard in elementary and high school so I could achieve something in life but now here I am and I feel like dropping out because I don't know anything at all, seemingly no one can help me to get some structure and I fail to see how the working methods in university relate with those in the worklife. Anyone that can relate or am I just going nuts?

That big building, its called a library, the idea is you take charge of your own learning and go read stuff.

lectures and courses provide some structure, but the onus is on you to educate yourself.

[Twoflower]

Then I go home and there I am, I know kinda what math I need to study but there are no recommendations, no one that has introduced me to how to structure my work, I just sit there like a jackass. I go to school because my book doesn't have examples of math problems that I can look at and learn from, only to find out we're not going to have those math problems, even though they're in the chapter that has the stuff that we've talked about in school so far.

I used to be a student that worked pisshard in elementary and high school so I could achieve something in life but now here I am and I feel like dropping out because I don't know anything at all, seemingly no one can help me to get some structure and I fail to see how the working methods in university relate with those in the worklife. Anyone that can relate or am I just going nuts?

Yeah it was nice when we were kids and didnt have to do much except opening a book and reading a bit, rigth ?

You are in the university now. You have to do your own work. Build up your own structure. Organise yourself. If you need more problems with solutions, go on the internet and find them. Make your own working methods. It's not your teachers job.

You are now grown up, welcome to the real world, better get a helmet and start working.

[Deleted]

Clearly the OP does not comprehend the concept of higher education. By now, you should be @ 20 and it's expected of you to already know how to structure the study material, allocate proper time to acknowledge said material, as well as understanding this domain you pursue...but given the fact that you've been doing literally nothing and got high grades regardless, all this time, is understandable.

[Puck]

I think I understand your problem OP, it was the same problem I had. You're a very structure based person correct? You thrive upon strict schedules and clear cut goals. Highschool does this well, you are clearly given work and lessons that allow little variance or room for interpretation. University does not, University expects you to know what you're doing without strict guidelines and little help from others.

I had the same issue transitioning because of it, as a scheduled rule based person I spent most of my younger life being fed said schedules and rules by others, then reaching university I suddenly had to do those things myself. It was hard as hell, basically you have to learn how to structure things and work out issues yourself without clear cut guidelines. And absolute nightmare for someone who thrives on strict rules and guidelines. It will take a lot of trial and error I'm afraid, just focus on passing. Your first term may be pretty tough and stressful but eventually you will figure it out and get into the uni tempo.

[Deleted]

I think I understand your problem OP, it was the same problem I had. You're a very structure based person correct? You thrive upon strict schedules and clear cut goals. Highschool does this well, you are clearly given work and lessons that allow little variance or room for interpretation. University does not, University expects you to know what you're doing without strict guidelines and little help from others.

I had the same issue transitioning because of it, as a scheduled rule based person I spent most of my younger life being fed said schedules and rules by others, then reaching university I suddenly had to do those things myself. It was hard as hell, basically you have to learn how to structure things and work out issues yourself without clear cut guidelines. And absolute nightmare for someone who thrives on strict rules and guidelines. It will take a lot of trial and error I'm afraid, just focus on passing. Your first term may be pretty tough and stressful but eventually you will figure it out and get into the uni tempo.

Yeah. I'm trying to get into the whole university studying thingy, so now I sit at campus for a couple of hours studying by myself and attending everything that's on my schedule. I think I've been kind of worked up as well since I've moved to a new town, and this is my first time living by myself, so it's been hard to transition smoothly...

[Memory]

Look, there are a lot of possibilities, and I am a bit skeptical that you may find a good insight on a forum where most people don't either know how does education work in your country.
You may be too intelligent to benefit from lectures, or you may be just too stupid for university. You may have picked the wrong faculty (change, you're still in time, don't try to tough it out), or it may be the impact of the beginning, or the impact of living alone... So many possibilities.

But yes, university isn't like high school: being successful at university means that you can organize your own studying time without having any teacher all time up your ass.

[xindralol]

I did a lot of pre-reading in math so I already knew the stuff before I went to class. also you don't have to attend lectures, just try not to fall behind : )
for studying in general try to play the system - look for old exams of that prof (ask seniors or your GSAs/TAs), go to his/her office hours and ask if they have any tips for exam prep ...

edit: ie in math you have to do problems ... don't try to memorize just everything on the powerpoint / blackboard - very often you only need like 92% for an A (A- is still an A right? : ) so if they don't want you to derive a certain formula on your own, you can safely drop that to the bottom of your to-do list (aka play the system)