I will not sugar-coat it — I was a bad Bachelor student. I scarcely attended classes and at times submitted sub-par work. Panic ensued, I was already too deep in my final semester of not achieving to pull my grades around. Thankfully, I was eventually accepted, after having to plead my case with the Honours board. Honours was definitely a struggle, but it was also one of the best experiences of my life. I just wish I had known these 10 things before I started ….
Honours is full of ups and downs, and at some point, somewhere along the line, something in your project will go wrong. It happens to every person that has ever done an Honours or a PhD. Whether the failing is small or catastrophic, remember this happens all the time. More importantly your supervisor or co-ordinator sees it all the time. The best thing to do is tell your supervisor and your co-ordinator early on. It may be a simple case of steering your research in a slightly new direction, changing the scope of your project, or even taking some extra time.
Again, not as bad as it sounds! One of the biggest things I noticed during my Honours was how much I was treated as a colleague instead of an undergraduate student. People will start asking your opinion on subjects, especially on your research. You will also be a representative of your lab or supervisor, so you may be sent to conferences or be asked to represent them at different events. Take this time to shine. Being independent during your Honours is a tricky balance.
On the one hand, you will need to be an independent thinker and problem-solver — this is the big leagues after all. But on the other, it is important to have a good working relationship with your supervisor s.
Basically, its all about the project. If you know exactly what you want to do and how to do it ahead of time, it'll be easy also, you need to know that you'll have access to the right gear etc. Otherwise, it'll be like my project, where I was basically doing some scutwork my supervisor hadn't got around to on samples I hadn't gathered myself, and where I had to send off to a government lab for half my dataset.
The results of which were returned to me 5 days before my thesis was due because said government lab had decided to move its facilities to a new building after they received my samples. Yeah, that was fun. I still got a good mark, but I hated the entire process and it left me with a pretty thorough hatred of research.
My advice is take a year, use it to work and stealthily research what you want to do, then enrol and blitz it. And if you want to do something even slightly detailed, go the masters. But yeah, if you 'don't like academics', then why are you even in undergrad D: honours is a lot more work per day, and you won't be socialising all that much if you want to succeed. The Cat on January On the social side of thing University really is what you make of it. You haven't specified where you go but I can almost garauntee you that there are clubs and social activity groups that share the same interests as you.
If you don't pick yourself up and get involved with others and meet people then yeah, it's going to be a lot less fun. Ponge wrote: ». Edinburgh Uni where I'm guessing you are if you're thinking of the option of not doing 4th year, tell me if I'm wrong though.
RE: grants: I used to be eligable for one until they changed the rules of eligability last year. Before they didn't take my mum's husband's income into account whereas now they do. I'm not even eligable for travel expenses. BobCesca Registered User regular. If so, quite often only an ordinary degree is required. If you want to work anywhere other than Scotland, it may be difficult. Money wise, a student loan is the best loan you will ever have in your life.
The interest is stupidly low and you only start paying it off when you're earning a decent amount. Also, it doesn't count as debt in the same way as a normal loan in future years when you're trying to get a mortgage or whatever. All the advice from financial experts is that a student loan is a good idea.
Also, once Uni days are over don't rush to pay it off. You're much better using any spare cash and putting it in a high interest savings account. You also need to think about what you want to do job-wise. A lot of employers looking for graduates are going to expect Honours. Also, if you want to go back and do a masters later on, these days it is unlikely they will class you as qualified without the full Hons part of the degree.
Generally, I would do the Hons year, complete your dissertation which is usually the most fun thing in the Hons year and get yourself to all the job fairs that will be run at the Uni and find yourself a nice Graduate Scheme to go into.
BobCesca on January Could you look into getting a job as a Residents Assistant for your honours year? Most people do it when they're in their second year but it may be a good option for you. Heres a list of societies you could join. It's easier at the start of a semester or when they have a large event coming up as they'll be expecting newbies. Give yourself the head start with a one-year research degree.
Find out why we think you should do a one-year honours degree. Become a subject matter expert with our cross-disciplinary approach We've pioneered new models for multidisciplinary research and invested in some of the most advanced facilities in the world. Be part of a world-leading research community To help us achieve our goal of tripling our investment in research by , we need to attract and invest in the highest achieving students from all universities.
This means that doing an honours degree at Sydney, you will be part of an environment that enables you to fulfil your potential: You will undertake exciting, original research under the supervision of internationally recognised research staff. We offer exceptional facilities — the latest innovative technology across the physical, medical, life and engineering sciences, the humanities and social sciences.
We are one of the world's top research universities and a member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities which means we are able to partner with others that excel in research, including Stanford, UCLA, the University of Tokyo and the University of Hong Kong.
Fast track your further studies with our broad range of postgraduate degrees An honours degree is an introduction to further academic research with many using it as a pathway to undertake a PhD. Establish new connections Doing an honours degree at a different university to where you completed your undergraduate degree, means you can create a whole new world of networks. Last updated 2 December Honours is usually one add-on year to an undergraduate degree.
During this time, a student works closely with a supervisor to produce a research thesis. It is important to note that in some fields, such as psychology , you must complete an Honours degree in order to practice.
First, study at this level is incredibly rewarding for undergraduates who have a desire to complete postgraduate studies one day. You will learn inside knowledge on how research is conducted and how academics produce peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, the successful completion of an Honours degree can lead to opportunities in further postgraduate studies.
Honours can become a launching pad for your research career; sometimes an Honours research project or topic can sometimes have the potential to be expanded for Masters of PhD level degrees. You will graduate with specialised knowledge in your field. As a result, Honours can give you a leg up over all the other undergraduates competing for jobs.
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