How to Get a First At College/University

Higher learning is hard! If you're going to university or college and want to get good grades, there is a secret technique that I can teach you to pass with flying colours! It'll help with essays and with exams!

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[emilyslack]

i've gone down the leftist youtube rabbit hole so far i am being recommended antique philosophy tube. this is good.

[dmsvolba]

Congratulations! Well-deserved, I'm sure. I teach philosophy in the USA and often direct my students to your Philosophy Tube videos. You deliver some of the best philosophy content on YouTube. I hope you keep up the good work, but if you move on to bigger and better things then thanks for all the great work you've done!

[jojalooperegrin]

I'm an American student studying sociology (well, law now) and I graduated with a 3.98 using this technique. I can confirm that it works.

[jamesmackenzie]

I think it's worth saying as well that not getting a first doesn't mean your any less intelligent than someone that does, because essay writing, constructing an argument, and exams are all skills themselves as well, and it's only a flash point of the work you've done in those 4 years, at that point in time.

I scraped a 2:1, and following my masters I know why, I don't manage deadlines well at all, and I don't plan things out well, but lock me in a room for 2 hours where I'm forced to perform and I can do it.

The critical thinking and capacity to reflect on why I think the things I do is what I value from university, and I just don't feel like that's quantifiable in the same way.

Probably completely different in a Scientific or Engineering degree but I won't pretend to comment on that.

[PristianoPenaldoSUIIII]

Where was this video 2 years ago?

3rd year political science student. Dissertation year. pls halp.

[TrollJohnSmith]

I'll go ahead and say that the slang word for 'third' is 'big steamy'

[BadMouseProductions]

Or if you find you hate your course, fill in the minimum amount necessary and spend the rest of the time you have making friends, relations, contacts, and soak up all the benefits you can get whilst you probably don't have to work much :)

[EdwardScissorsHands]

I´m having some hard time to decide if I should or should not return to the academic enviroment. I really like to study things myself, about topics that I get really excited discovering alone, and university sometimes seems to me just a place where most people focus are in the burocracy, waste of time, senseless production, etc. As some kind of factory of thought instead an inquiry institution of search of meaning.

[amiraruzuar]

I just feel like telling a bit of my story I hope that's okay. I studied philosophy for my undergraduate degree and at one point in my third year (of a 4-year program) I wanted to do the philosophy MA program at the University of Saint Andrews so bad! But now I ended up doing an MA in education, gender and international development because it was easier to get a scholarship and I needed that practical knowledge for my career. And I realised how much I actually missed doing and studying philosophy! I find your channel 'channels' my love for philosophy. Thank you!

[obermegalutschoar]

Starting early is great advice for preserving your mental well-being, honestly. When I started uni, I sometimes began writing 18 page research papers 3 days before the deadline (including all the research!) and still got perfect grades. But the end of semester stress was a lot more than it needed to be as a result. I'm in my master's now and start the reading for my papers months before other students in my courses even know their topic.

[cyraelle]

well done getting a first!
I'm still working on mine...
The best advice I could give someone in uni/college is to break down the workload. It can be so overwhelming at first or daunting to write a large essay, but what I like to do (along with the suggestion of reading ahead) is break it down into manageable chunks, say for example 2, 000-word essay due in 2 weeks (please give yourself more time but this seems more the truth), do 250 words a day for 5 days in the 1st week (much more manageable and flexible around other subjects/classes/work/life) then the 2nd week fine-tuning that essay.
Hope that helps anyone x

[naphysa]

I did this during my gcses and now am doing this during my a levels - honestly by the time you get to lessons and learn it again, you know so much more and understand loads! Really helps with philosophy a level even if you don't yet get it fully because when you get to the lesson you can ask as many questions and probably even more targeted and useful questions.

[benneb]

In my first four semesters I have studied according to that method and it really works. Yet there is at least one downside: If you prepare one week in advance you might have a struggle to remember what you have prepared for a given session.

[salsie]

This is exactly what I did (actually more than a week in advance when I could) and you're right, it really took the pressure off and gave me an edge. Good advice!

[docpepperclassic]

This is really solid advice for folks going to schools which can support it. If this is an option for you, do it. Unfortunately, a lot of US community colleges and state schools (like the one I go to) don't even have an instructor assigned to classes that far in advance, let alone a reading list or syllabus. I take about 3 classes each term (fairly normal for folks at my school) and, of those 3 classes, they list typically list 2 of them as "TBA" until the day before classes.

But those who do have the option to do something like this, you should.

[mefoster]

Cheers Abigail, this will be really helpful

[AlbertShell]

thanks Ollie! I actually remembered this tip from one of your previous videos. I'm now in my first term at uni doing philosophy and linguistics and I have to say that this was immensely helpful. It allowed me to stay on top of my work and have a nice fun-work balance!

[janeclark]

I did physics, and my technique was slightly different. Keeping up with the schedule was crucial. However, from past papers, I worked out that you usually had to answer 3 out of 8 questions per subject. There would always be at least two mathematical questions. In most subjects they recycled four mathematical questions: you could expect to have to answer two of them. For these, memorise the start, the end and any clever tricks in the middle. You can ad-lib the rest in the exam room. You can then get full marks on each of the mathematical questions, i.e. 67% of the total score. You then only needed to get 3% on an essay question and you are over the 70% line for a first. It worked for me.

[alunakarsa]

Hi, Abi! Thank you for this video. I've just started my bachelor + master's degree and this really helps a lot. The first semester has passed and it didn't require me to do that much of essays, but pretty sure the second semester would have a lot more essays to write.. Will make sure to prep myself better in the next semester with this method.

[jgilgorri]

I was going to be the first in my family to graduate from College, but the work was no joke. I thought it'd be more testing and less homework, but it was just the opposite: TONS of homework and very little weight given to testing! On top of that, I found out that college graduates work just as many if not more hours weekly than non-graduates. The whole reason my parents had said going to college was important was to work half as much and make more than if I had no degree!
So I dropped out, which at first my parents didn't like but then I found a job at a factory that pays $50, 000 and gives me 3 months off in the Summer, so IMO it was the right thing to do.
It's crazy to me that someone would sacrifice health and well being just for a piece of paper, especially if it's just a slightly nicer piece of paper! I get it, if you just want the education, but I just buy the textbooks from Universities and read them, which is WAY cheaper than actually going to college!

Anyway, good luck on your journey, but just remember that happiness can be achieved with or without a degree. Don't sweat it!