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[nartothelar]

ugh

[academiceve]

Psychology at University

1. A-LEVELS VS. UNIVERSITY: I attended High School; therefore, I did not do A-levels; so I cannot compare A-level classes vs. university classes. Yet, I assume they are not similar. I’ve heard that the A-level psych classes are not that good at preparing you for university, because obviously you are going to take various courses in more detail that will make up your degree. Keep in mind that there are certain entry requirements for each program!

2. BEST A-LEVELS FOR PSYCHOLOGY: When looking up your chosen universities, you can look up the entry requirements that are specific to that school. But, when I applied, Biology was listed as a necessary course in the entry requirements. This will vary for each country.

3. WORK EXPERIENCE: Since you can barely get any, it is not necessary.

4. UK VS. US PROGRAMS: Each university will have a different program, as they will be focusing on different things (even in the UK and the US). Some distinct differences are that most UK programs are 3 years long (with the exception of studying abroad, and if you want to study in Scotland, then it’s 4 years). In the US, the programs are 4 years long. As for classes, in the UK, you have lectures and tutorials (labs, group discussions), and in the US you have lectures (or small classes) and labs if necessary.

5. SUMMER READING PREPARATIONS: Not necessary, unless you really want to… Or your school gives you a mandatory summer reading list (mine definitely didn’t). Make sure that you are taking an Intro to Psych class your first semester and your reading will depend on the textbook that Your professor will choose for the course.

6. WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY STUDY: Various classes from the sub-fields of Psychology. Those include, biological and cognitive psych, social and personality psych, research and writing in psych, as well as applied psych (organisational and industrial psych, counselling, health, forensic, religion, etc.).

7. TIMETABLE/SCHEDULE: My timetable/schedule usually depends on how many classes I am taking that semester. Sometimes I have only one lecture per day, sometimes I have 5. However, the schedule is flexible enough for you to enrol in other activities, such as clubs/societies, organisations, volunteering, any other extracurricular activities, or even having a part-time job. It’s manageable if you really want to.

8. HOW MUCH WORK DO YOU DO: A LOT. But this depends on your school and program. I get to do a lot of smaller assignments throughout the semester; therefore, I get to do a lot of homework, alongside mid-term and final exams. Those include writing papers and lab reports, completing reading assignments, taking tests and quizzes, writing exams.

9. WORKLOAD AND SOCIALISING: Some weeks are busier than others, some semesters can also be very busy. Depends on how much you have on your plate. However, if you are good at time management, you can definitely find time to complete work and socialise, no matter your major.

10. DO YOU DO MUCH READING: Yes, yes, yes! Most classes require you to read textbook chapters, as well as research articles for assignments or homework. This can vary from being a 3-5 page or up to a 20-100 page read. It really depends. It can also require a lot of time and analysis, since the materials can be used in exams. Therefore, I recommend incoming students to be thorough.

11. EXAMS IN GENERAL: They really vary. Sometimes you only take mid-term and final exams, sometimes you have extra tests and quizzes, or other substitutes, such as presentations and research papers. This depends on your school and your instructors and how they like to teach classes. They can all be stressful, but if you study enough for them you should be fine.

12. LAB REPORTS:  These are assignments that require you to write a report or a research paper after you have completed a lab assignment or an experiment. They follow a certain formatting structure, but this obviously depends on your school. Mine uses the APA formatting structure (I assume all psych degrees in the US uses APA as well!).

13. STATISTICS AND ARE THEY HARD: Yes and no. They can be hard for some students and not that hard to others. I was the later. I really enjoyed my stats classes, because I hope to do research in the future and believe these courses to be really useful. However, it is important to note that you don’t really do a lot of calculations yourself and most likely will be using certain computer based programs like SPSS for data analysis and calculations. So you shouldn’t worry before you have to take the classes.

14. ESSAYS: Instead of writing essays, psych students write research papers. With each year they become longer and longer and require you to do a lot more research. Since you have to write them frequently, you get used to it; therefore, it becomes easier to write them. You also receive feedback from your instructors which helps.

15. TEXTBOOKS: I wouldn’t suggest purchasing them until your classes have actually started. Also, use alternative ways to find cheaper textbooks, in order to save money. These are great master-posts about textbooks - HERE and HERE.

16. OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES:

- Careers in Psychology APA HERE

- Psychology UK Prospects HERE

- Another resource for careers in Psych HERE

- My masterpost about PREPARING FOR A NEW SEMESTER

- My masterpost about STAYING ORGANISED IN COLLEGE

- My masterpost about HOW TO CHOOSE A MAJOR

- My masterpost about STAYING MOTIVATED IN COLLEGE

If You have any other questions, do not hesitate to message me! I might do more master-posts about psychology! 😊

If you would like to read more from me, click HERE to see other blog posts! You can also follow my studygram HERE for some inspiration!