These first years think they have it tougher than you

Their workloads are too much…apparently


Paranoid freshers are shocked to be given homework – and told even the basic amount of reading will only get them a C. 

Arts and Social Sciences freshers are already feeling the strain of required reading and nasty tutors.

And some don’t even have the time to join a sports club.

Many are admitting to only having the time to focus on one subject, and letting the others slip.

Politics appears to be the subject with the most reading, amounting to one separate tutorial reading, and around 30 pages per lecture and three lectures a week.

Even then, they’ve been told all this is the minimum requirement that will only get them a C.

We asked various first years how they’re coping.

Rachel Green, Politics, French and Beginners Italian

Politics is Rachel’s biggest subject

“I’d say Politics has the biggest workload out of my three subjects.

“Just because of all the reading and I don’t have to write essays for the other two either.

“Its about a chapter and at least one article per lecture, and there are three lectures a week.”

When asked if she was coping with being a fresher, Rachel said: “I think so, but I feel like I have to choose one subject and focus on that or do all three and be bit meh in all of them.

“I focus on politics the most, because you have to get all the reading done for each lecture.

“I read that you only need 9/22 to pass but I’m not the sort of person that would be happy with that.

“To do all the reading and still be told that is the minimum for a C is a bit annoying, and at the minute it doesn’t seem like there are that many ways round it.

“Hopefully it’ll get better.”

 Immy James, Geography, TRS and Politics

Immy’s coping mechanism with the workload is simply not to do it

Immy is convinced the workload is slightly more than a chapter/thirty pages per lecture for Politics.

“They set us like 60 pages every lecture, and we have 3 lectures a week so even my advisor said that’s too much for a first year.

“For the tutorials you have to read a lot more. The readings are literally just what he speaks about in the lecture, so it’s a bit pointless.”

“If I’m honest, I’m not really doing half of it. I do the things that I’m least confident on, so if I don’t understand something I make sure I go over it.

“I’m quite worried about the essays, I’m not sure if they have prepared us properly for them yet, so I’m worried about that.

“Though I probably spend the most time on Geography, because it’s my main subject.”

And Immy doesn’t even have enough for sports alongside her degree: “I joined volleyball, and they expected me to train three times a week, and with the workload it was too much.”

 Lucy Smith, Earth Science, Geography and Psychology

Lucy had to quit frisbee

“I probably spend the most time on Earth Science.

“We have labs to do and then reading for every lecture and then mini essays for each lab. The practice essays are like 700 words and the real ones 1500 words.”

“I’m coping because I’m just not doing all the stuff, I pick one subject and do better than the other two, or like I’d do all three really badly.

“I was on the Frisbee team but I’m not anymore, because I didn’t have time. I’m on the surf team, which is fine because their main trip only happens like once every year.

“And I need to get a job but I don’t know how I will have the time.”

Her hardest subject? Psychology.

“I don’t understand it. They don’t give much of an explanation, like they kind of rush through it.”

Rowan Brown, Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry (Chemistry, Biology, Geography)

Rowan thinks science students have it easier

“To be honest, none of my subjects are that challenging at the moment, but I assume that Biology will be pretty heavy.

“In Geography there aren’t very many wrong or right answers because its very objective answers, whereas in chemistry and biology like its either right or wrong there’s no argument with it.”

When asked if he was coping with being a fresher, Rowan said: “I am, but I’m not too sure about my liver’.

But he did have something very interesting to say about sciences versus arts in first year: “I think that the Scottish unis, especially in the sciences, are geared up to getting everyone up to speed.

“I have noticed the workload difference, because a lot of my friends are doing Arts subjects.

“The reading is a lot different from science subjects, like a lot harder.

“In all honesty, compared to what I have to do for a science degree, they have it a lot harder.

“The reading for politics is way harder, like it’s really dense.”