University is academically challenging regardless of the course you choose to study. There is no easy course at university. Some people believe they are studying the hardest and best courses therefore, they tend to look down on others. But the truth of the matter is that each course has its own challenges. Whether you study Communication, Music, English literature, Sports management, Business, Art etc., you will face academic challenges. The course you study doesn’t make you superior or inferior to other people who study different courses. For instance, if you study Finance and someone else studies Human resources, it doesn’t mean you are better than the other person. Or, if you study English literature and someone else studies Physics or Math, it doesn’t mean you are inferior to the other person. Someone can do well in Math and fail an English course. And someone can fail Communication and do well in Computer Science. It all depends on our abilities. We all have different abilities which determine our results.
Students choose their courses for different reasons. Some choose a course because they think it’s going to be easy, some because they like it, some because they’ve been advised to do so, some because their parents studied the same courses, some even choose a course randomly. However, all students aim to get a degree but some are more ambitious, and aim to get a First class degree. This article focuses on how to be a First class student and how important it is.
Is it really important to get a First class degree? Well, I would say Yes…Why?
A First class degree makes you feel proud of yourself and boost your self-esteem. According to Maslow’s theory, the fourth human need is Esteem. His theory explains that as humans, we have the need of accomplishing things and getting recognized for our efforts. Esteem includes self-esteem. We want to be appreciated and respected by others. We need to sense that we are contributing to the world therefore, we take part in academic accomplishments and other activities to fulfil the esteem needs. A first class degree will help you fulfil your esteem needs.
A First class degree will enable you to get admission in the best universities in the world in case you wish to pursue further studies. It’s difficult to get admission in the best universities in the world without a First class degree. Universities such as MIT, Stanford university, Harvard university, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge mostly require students with a first class degree. Only a few courses in those universities require students with second class honours, upper division (2.1). That’s why several students struggle to get admission in those universities.
Can you easily find a job with a First class degree? Well, I doubt it. There are many first class graduates around the world who are unemployed. And there are many C students who have the best jobs in the world. Therefore, a first class degree doesn’t guarantee a job. My university lecturer told me that he has a fist class degree but after completing his degree, he couldn’t find a job for one year therefore, he decided to become a lecturer. Nevertheless, it is crucial to get a first class degree.
How can I get a first class degree?
Perhaps, you are expecting me to say “don’t party,” “don’t drink,” “don’t travel too much,” etc. But no.. I know many students including some of my former classmates who used to do all those things and still graduated with first class honours. There are 5 important steps you should follow in order to get a first class degree.
It is important to identify your study interests and choose a course accordingly. If you study a course you have no interest in, you are more likely to underperform academically. You won’t be motivated to work hard and do what it takes to get a first class degree. This will lead to poor academic performance. On the other hand, if you study a course you like, the probability of you getting a first class degree will be high. We perform better when we do or pursue what we are interested in. The most successful students are those who like the course they study. It’s the same in other areas of life.
If you like cooking, you will become good at it,
if you like playing football, you’ll become good at it,
if you like writing, you’ll become good at it,
If you like programming, you will become good at it.
When you like your course, you become good at it. You will take the right actions to do well without feeling forced to study. You’ll study with happiness because you like what you are studying. Many people complain about their courses because they didn’t choose their courses based on their interests. When you study a course you are interested in, you’ll devote yourself to it and might even become addicted to it. And this will lead to incredible and great academic performance. It’s like people who like playing video games. They can play from morning to evening without feeling tired and they end up becoming experts in it.
Choosing a course based on your interests is one of the keys to becoming a first class student.
There is no point in studying a course which has nothing to do with the profession or job you aspire to have. It’s like taking a plane that goes to a country you don’t want to go to. Or, buying a product you don’t intend to use. If you want to be an accountant, you should choose Accounting as a course. If you want to be a lawyer, you should study Law, if you want to be a doctor, you should study a medical course. If you want to be a banker, you should study a course based on the type of bank you aspire to work at (commercial bank, shadow bank, retail bank etc.). I am sure you don’t want to spend years studying a course that will not help you achieve your career goals. On the other hand, some courses are broad, while others are specific. You may choose to specialize or keep your studies broad according to your career goals. For instance, if you choose International Business as a course, you will learn different subjects such as Accounting, Management, Economics, Marketing, Business Law, a language (optional), Communication. It is a broad course but the advantage is that it will expand your knowledge in different fields. It will also allow you to work in different fields, it gives you more options. The disadvantage is that some recruiters target graduates who specialized. You might also get confused about the kind of job you want to do or the kind of company you want to work at after completing your studies. On the other hand, specializing can help you master a particular and unique skill set and recruiters will feel more confident in recruiting you in the field you specialized in. Choosing a course based on your career goals will motivate you to study hard and make the required efforts to do well. You will achieve better results when you know that your degree will help you achieve your career goals. But if you know that your degree will be useless, you won’t take it seriously and this will lead to poor academic performance.
Choosing a course based on your career goals can help you become a first class student.
I define smart work as the ability to understand what you are working on and to apply the right method to get it done effectively without making a great deal of effort. It also means doing the right work at the right time. Some students work hard and underperform, while others work smart, not hard and do very well. Hard work doesn’t guarantee good academic performance. You can work hard without doing the right work or applying the right method to do well. For example, if you have an assignment and spend one month working hard on it, it doesn’t mean you’ll pass it or score a high grade. It all depends on how well you understand your assignment and the method you apply to get it done effectively, and not how hard you work. Some students do their assignments a day before the deadline and still do better than other students who started the assignment long before them. Why? Because those students work smart, not hard. They use a better method to do their assignments and get the work done effectively. They understand what to do to score a high grade without making a great deal of effort. They do their assignments based on the assignment requirements and not based on their own opinions or ideas. First class students are necessarily hard workers but smart workers.
Working smart will help you become a first class student.
You don’t have to befriend your lecturers but make sure you ask them for advice on your subject, assignments or exams regularly. You can meet up with them once in a while or send them emails. They will give you the right advice and methods to score higher grades and become a first class student. Some lecturers are not open but you’ll find some who are very open and will be willing to help you. Your lecturers grade your papers so, they know what you should do in order to score higher grades.
Building a relationship with your lecturers will help you become a first class student.
There is a proverb which says “walk with the wise and you shall become wise.” Who you associate yourself with determines who you become. Therefore, if you work with first class students you are more likely to become a first class student. Do your assignments with them and revise for your exams with them. You’ll learn from them and be able to perform like them. They will tell you what they do to be first class students and you should follow their advice.
Working with first class students will help you become a first class student.
)