I was under the impression that there really isn't that much you can change about schooling regardless of where you are. That there will be certain set lectures and discussion sections every week where you will be graded on attendance and participation. There will be a few assignments, a midterm, and a final to determine the rest of your grade. All of which will occurred in a reasonably spaced timeline.
Let me just tell you that, no, in Britain they do it differently. And it's strange, and I still can't decide if I'm a fan or not.
+ Teaching ends April 12th. Finals begin May 11th. And end June 12th. You're given a solid month of not only studying, but another month just to take the darn finals!
+ But you might actually need that month because the one and only assessment for that class will be the final paper or final exam. Nothing else matters but that one piece of work at the end of the year.
+ You still better go to lectures though. And to do so you better check your timetables because classes change every week and they're not always the same day, time and place.
+ Being an exchange student was intimidating as is, but walking into a classroom where everyone already knows each other (because they take only classes for their major whilst here) made me feel like an outsider extraordinaire.
+ And on that subject. Uni only takes three years because you don't have to take General Eds, or a language, or writing classes. You have your one and only goal, and you go for it. And the grading system equivalates a 70% here to an A+ back home.
I was also under the impression that I wouldn't need to buy textbooks for some reason? FYI that part stays the same.
This semester should be an interesting one both inside the classroom and out.
