Anyways, here's the last (for now) installment of the University Q & A--the dreaded classes. Hopefully, after reading this, you won't be so worried about choosing the right classes to take, or picking the right major--it's all made out to seem a lot worse than it is, promise!
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Q: Okay, this might possibly be a silly question, but here we go. Can you do two majors at once? I thought you could only do either a Single Honours or a Joint Honours degree, and on the Joint option, I thought it was like either a major with a minor, or a subject and another one (half-half as I call it.) That’s why when you told me you were studying History and Communication I thought you meant a ‘half-half’ Joint Honors degree sort of thing. Maybe the two majors option is only a thing over there in the States and not in the UK? Because to be fair, that’s where I had the whole ‘briefing on degree options’ lecture.
A: In the US, you can have (possibly) up to four majors, I think. It kind of depends--most universities don't allow you to go over a certain number of credit hours, and I have no clue why anyone would want to quadruple major, but, I guess anything's possible! From my understanding, double majoring in the US is similar to joint majoring in the UK. I think with the UK's standards, though, it's more like two majors that are designed to work together, where as in the US, you can take whatever two majors you want to--like, Biology and, I don't know... Theatre! I'm assuming they don't offer that as a joint major in the UK (but, who knows! I could be totally wrong!). It can get a little confusing, but I would just ask your advisor or a professor if you aren't sure about it! I know it varies by school as well, so there's really no telling how each university does it.
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Q: Allow me to agree with you on this point, why would someone on their right mind choose to do FOUR MAJORS?!?! That’s just welcoming insanity to take over. Wow. That’s crazy.
A: Yeah, no, I do not recommend four majors. At all.
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Q: So, I did some research and apparently in the UK the only thing you can do is the Joint Honours I told you about, either the halfsies option, or do a Major&Minor combination (X with Y, where you do 60% of your course on X and 40% on Y). Apparently Double Honours is not quite like the Double Majors you can do in the US because of the whole half-half balance. This really good student forum for UK students had professors saying that a Double Major programme in the US allows you to do two full subjects in one degree, while you lose quite a lot of content on the Double Honours. Although, I did read that you end up doing more than just half a major for each subject in the Double Honours programme, but you still don’t do two whole majors.
A: Oh, yeah, I forgot all about minors! Minors are also a pretty good way to get some depth in a particular section of a subject! I was going to minor in French for a while, but I decided it'd be too much with a double-major. But, yes, in the US, since I'm double majoring, I'll have two full degrees--one in History, and one in Communications (should everything work out!). That's weird that the UK does it that way, but I suppose it's to lower the amount of hours you need for a major. Both of my majors are around 40-50 hours total, so my two majors will be at least 90 hours of my schooling out of about 124? I think I might be a bit off on my numbers, but that's about it. So, yeah, it's tricky.
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Q: Wait, so universities over there count how many hours you do for a degree? I thought the only sort of “measure” they used were credits. Do you have to do those 124h of classes otherwise you can’t graduate, then?
A: And, yeah, we get credits, but credits & hours are the same thing--sort of. It gets complicated with labs (science ones, that is) because they're technically three-hour-long classes, but only count for one 'hour' or credit. It gets sticky really quickly. Most courses are three 'hours'/credits, and then you can pick if you want it twice a week (meeting for an hour & fifteen minutes on Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday) or three times (meeting for fifty minutes Monday/Wednesday/Friday. It gets tricky, but that's the simple version, haha. But, yes, you need 124 to graduate, though you can go over that. They just don't want you under that number.
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Q: I think I get how it works now, so credits are hours are pretty much just two ways of keeping track of how many classes students are attending. That makes sense.
A: Yeah, credits=hours and vice versa. It gets confusing, but, you know. It is what it is.
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A: It's alright, love! It's all very confusing, believe me. I promise, though, once you get into it, you're going to love university. It's a great place, honestly. Stressful, but great. And, that sounds really interesting! I took a Brit Lit class last year and absolutely adored it. It was partially because I had a great, young professor who knew how students like to learn, but there's so much good British or even just English literature out there that I'm sure there isn't a bad professor for it! I took an Art History course freshman year, too! I took it from Early Renaissance (about 1200) all the way up to modernity (I think we ended around the 1960s), and it was a great class. I kind of wish I'd taken the first part as well! I think half-and-halfing them may not be a bad idea--again, I would talk to an advisor or professor for that, seeing as I don't know the specifics of the UK system.
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Q: You work in a clothing store alongside your two majors? How do you even manage to find the time of day for a social life and omg for your writing as well? I bow at your feet for your excellent time managing skills.
A: Well, in all fairness, I usually don't work during school time. I usually just work when I'm home from school for a weekend, or I'm on break. I'm not that amazing! But, I will say, my time management skills have definitely skyrocketed since being away at school. At some point you kind of just realize that you're on your own, and if something doesn't get done on time, it's all on you.
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Q: Can you tell me a bit about how you balance work and studying and, well, living life? I’m really worried that I’ll end up lagging with my reading list or the assignments as a result of just being too tired to care.
A: It's really difficult at first--until you get yourself into a good routine, which, sadly, does take some time. But, there are a few things that you can do to kind of remedy that! I know at the beginning of each semester, I look at my courses' syllabuses & write out my (usually tentative) schedule for the semester! This at least helps me figure out what weeks I'll be busy, and keep myself on top of deadlines, rather than drowning under them! It's really important to know priorities, too. Like, right now [when I conducted the 'interview' in January], I don't have much going on, so being on Tumblr is alright. But, I know once I really get into my courses, I'll have to kind of curb how often I'm on Tumblr, so I can properly focus on my school stuff. You'll have time to live, I promise! I had a 17-hour class load last semester, but I still had plenty of time to be on Tumblr or go hang out with friends! I promise it's not as terrible or scary as it seems. It just takes a good routine. For example, today, I don't have class until 11AM, so I'm using this time for my free time today, since I don't know how much I'll have later. Actually living at school is very, very possible--you just have to make yourself a good, solid routine!
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Q: That sounds really helpful! It’s what I used to do in school to organise all I had to do, and all the deadlines I had to meet etc. Hopefully I’ll keep that habit in university as well. And yeah, talk about setting priorities. I got so comfy during the holidays not having to worry about work, and dedicating my time to my friends and tumblr, and now, like I said before, I’m having to fall back into reality and prioritize translating over writing and tumblr. But, alas, we all have responsibilities. I miss not being an adult.
A: I'm serious--organizing will save your life. I have a desk calendar and I've put all of my important dates and such on the calendar, and seeing it all laid out... I'm a lot less worried about my semester than I was a week ago! It sounds cliche and stuff, but, seriously, when you have your life together, everything's easier. If you've already been organized and on a schedule, you should be fine! Well, that's okay. You can get back into a routine, I promise. It's usually kind of easy to fall back into one (but, be careful--it's just as easy to fall out of one!), especially if it's a routine you've had before. And, that's okay. Once you get back into your routine, I bet you'll find time in between the messier parts of life that you can save for Tumblr & writing. I totally agree with you. Some days, I wish Peter Pan would just come take me to Neverland, so I never have to grow up!
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I sincerely hope that I'll be able to answer some more questions about university in the future, so if you've got questions, please ask! I'd be happy to answer any you had!
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