Studying, learning, lectures, grading, and exams are much different here than at ISU. It’s different for every class, but in general, you’ll spend much more time studying than you’re used to. By studying, I guess I mostly mean reading. At Iowa State University, we’re mostly just told to read chapters out of a textbook unless we’re researching for a paper. Here, I only have one textbook that they barely reference, and I have to read many more journal articles than ever before. I like it though because you get to read about what professionals are debating about and trying to educate the world about regarding topics that you’re interested in. It does take a lot of time, but we have more free time here. Each class only has one lecture and maybe a tutorial each week, so we don’t spend nearly as much time in class on a daily basis. For my schedule, I have Mondays and Fridays off which is super nice for traveling and getting school work done.
I think that I’ve learned more while I’ve been here than in a typical semester at ISU. Part of it is the kind of teaching style, part of it is the assignments, and part of it is that I’m getting to the point in my university career where I’m starting to learn more about what I’m specifically interested in because I already took most of my general requirements and introductory classes. The grading is so much different here. I’m not even sure you can compare the two grading scales, but I’ll try anyway. At ISU, you have an A, B, C, D, or F depending on your percentage. Here, it depends on percentages as well, but they mark much harder. They have a High Distinction (HD), Distinction (D), Credit (C), Pass (P), and No Pass (NP?). I’m not sure if the last one is right, but hopefully I’ll never have to worry about that! To get credit for the classes I’m taking here, I have to get a “Credit (C).” When I got my first graded paper, I had a minor freak out because the percentage was so much lower than I’m used to getting as an honors students who puts forth quite a bit of effort. However, then I had to look at the grading scale and compare it to what most people got. It takes some time to get the hang of how they grade things and what they want you to do, but it hasn’t been too difficult. Another thing that is way different at UC is the number of total points, homework, papers, quizzes, and tests in the whole class. For example, I have a paper worth 65 points due in the next couple of weeks that is worth 65% of my grade for that class. No pressure right? And I thought a 20% final test was stressful! I actually really enjoy that class, and I’m not too worried, but it’s so weird to get used to. Most of my classes have a total number of points available between 100 and 130 points. I remember at ISU that one of my classes had over 1000 total possible points, so it’s an adjustment. There isn’t any busy work here which is something I really enjoy. At Iowa State, there’s generally some sort of homework or quiz each week worth not very many points that takes not very much time, but when all of your classes have that, it tends to add up. Here, there might be a few weekly or monthly things, but usually they just have big papers, presentations, or discussion posts based on journal articles to prepare for. It allows you to take the time to research more and turn in a good product. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with ISU’s system, and I think I’ll enjoy going back to it. However, it’s nice to gain a new perspective and learn in a different way. It also shows the difference in learning techniques in different countries. I think I’m almost out of motivation to read journal articles all the time, but I guess that’s the life of an Aussie student, so I should just go with the flow. The motto here is “no worries,” so I’m going to take that to heart as I get ready to head to the beach for the weekend and learn how to surf with a bunch of my exchange friends. There’s no reason to let school work stress you out while you can’t do it anyway. That’s all for now.
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