Edinburgh

sheepster · 10-20-2012, 12:47 PM

Friend's son is at University of Edinburgh for this semester, studying engineering.
He's having a wonderful time - lots of traveling and partying and meeting new friends.
He's enrolled in three engineering classes and one history class.
Other than attending some lectures, he's not spending much time on schoolwork because he's under the impression that "they don't grade like US schools". He says there might be one test at the end of the semester, but it "won't be a big deal - we don't have to prove anything".
Can this be true? Are expectations really that low?
D was thinking of doing this program next year - should I be concerned?

Eternal Icicle · 10-20-2012, 04:55 PM

The students I know who went to Edinburgh went for religious studies, and in addition to traveling, partying and meeting new friends they did a ton of reading and studying for their final semester exams-- but we go to a school where grades from abroad transfer back and count towards GPA. If your friend's son's grades don't transfer back to his school, or transfer back as pass/no-pass that might account for his attitude. The low expectations then would come from his home institution, not Edinburgh...

Dionysus58 · 10-20-2012, 09:59 PM

It is true that one is usually assessed at the end of the year, but there are still essays and a LOT of reading to be completed throughout the academic term.

This boy sounds like a bit of an idiot, why go to one of the UK's best unis if you're not prepared to work hard and take advantage of the educational opportunities? Nobody is going to make you work in the UK, you either motivate yourself to work or you don't - maybe he is confusing the expectation of independence with indifference.

cupcake · 10-21-2012, 05:44 AM

I agree with Eternal Icicle. It is very rare for US study abroad students in the UK to be required to take and pass the end of year exams which directly enrolled students have to do. However, if this is required the above-described student will almost certainly fail. If the requirements are determined my the students' home university in the US, he may simply have to attend, in which case no studying is required. Or there may be some other kind of grade assessment created by the US university. But tell him to be careful. I get a LOT of PMs from students complaining study abroad ruined their GPA. Usually it's their own fault because they didn't find out how their study abroad grades would "translate" into US GPA, or even how they would be assessed. Then they spent all their time partying....

Spriteling · 10-21-2012, 03:04 PM

While perhaps his study abroad grades don't count for anything back at his home school, exams at the end of term certainly do count for grades at Edinburgh. I did my undergraduate degree at Edinburgh, studying maths and physics. For manyo f my courses, there was no assessment but the exam in May. However, the exams were very rigorous and challenging, you certainly do need to prove you "know something".

sheepster · 10-21-2012, 09:17 PM

Thanks, everyone. Your insights certainly make more sense than 'party boy'.
My concern, as regards D, is that since engineering programs are sequential - one course building on the last and leading to the next - any gaps from a semester of not learning much could be seriously problematic upon returning to her school.
I will have her check into how her school handles the grading and credits.

boomting · 10-22-2012, 12:09 PM

I think part of the confusion may be the way that UK universities grade.

70%+ = First Class Honours (1st, which is the highest grade you can get)
60%+ = Upper Second Class Honours (often called 2:1 or 2:i and pronounced two-one)
50%+ = Lower Second Class Honours (2:2 or 2:ii, pronounced two-two)
40%+ = Third Class Honours (3rd)
39% or less = Fail

Now - to American eyes it looks like you won't have to work very hard at all to get the top grades. Unfortunately, UK universities grade much harder and it is unheard of to get above 80%, especially in essay-based subjects.

PhotoOp · 10-22-2012, 06:36 PM

My dauther is on study abroad at King's College in London, she is an English major. But she said essentially the same thing. The classes do not meet as often, and grading is only at the end of the semester. She's not using that as an excuse not to study. She said she has 400 pages of reading a week and she is getting it done. She will get credit for her semester back at home (U-Penn) but she said the grades will be adjusted upward because UK grading is harder. It sounds like your friend's son is using the different system as an excuse to slack off - he may end up regretting it.

She's loving it though -

keepittoyourself · 10-22-2012, 07:52 PM

Quote:

My dauther is on study abroad at King's College in London, she is an English major. But she said essentially the same thing. The classes do not meet as often, and grading is only at the end of the semester. She's not using that as an excuse not to study. She said she has 400 pages of reading a week and she is getting it done. She will get credit for her semester back at home (U-Penn) but she said the grades will be adjusted upward because UK grading is harder. It sounds like your friend's son is using the different system as an excuse to slack off - he may end up regretting it.

She's loving it though -

Might want to hold off on the gloating until she actually gets her grades.

PhotoOp · 10-23-2012, 12:21 PM

I'm sorry but that's just plain offensive.

keepittoyourself · 10-23-2012, 01:11 PM

If what I wrote is offensive, why are *you* sorry?

NYU2013 · 10-24-2012, 08:24 AM

As has already been said, the UK uses a different grading system which, to an American, may seem easier. However, make no mistake, just because grade thresholds are lower does not mean that this student will be earning top marks. I assume they're used to 80+%, which will not happen in a place like Edinburgh. Getting a 70+% is very difficult.

Spiked · 01-01-2013, 04:14 PM

I did a JYA in England. His home school will decide how it treats grades. But I took regular exams and got grades for each module in both UK, and translated to US style. My home school only required a C for credit and didn't figure grades into my GPA. BUT, the grades were in my transcript and reported to law schools I applied to. In fact the were figured into my GPA as figured by my law school. I presume employers will see them as well. As far as workload, while many UK students do more work at end of term, the workload is heavy and if you are not keeping up it will not go well.

sheepster · 01-01-2013, 05:02 PM

Update: Looks like party boy did indeed skate away. While there was a "test", the grades are reported to US school (top 20 USNWR) as pass/fail, with 40% being good enough to pass. Will have no effect on GPA.

This seems to me like just buying credits. The US school charges their full (very high) tuition, Edinburgh gets their cut, and the boy got a fun vacation.
He admits that he learned very little, and did much less work than would have required in those same classes here, but neither school seems to mind.
D will be looking at programs elsewhere.

5

cupcake · 01-02-2013, 06:08 AM

I think you will find the vast majority of study abroad programs are like that.

Students wants to spend all their time traveling and drinking without if affecting their GPA (look at the questions posted on this board).

Parents think traveling abroad is only safe if in a large group of US students at great expense, and they also don't want study abroad to affect GPA.

The host institution and US college don't want students to stop coming because their program is too difficult.

Hence academically rigorous study abroad programs are few and far between.

That's not to say most students get nothing out of study abroad. They do but it is rarely academic.

If money is an issue I would advise a vacation instead.