The results are in…
Well, I received the final results for my first
year at University and am pretty happy. I got just under 72% overall, which my
supervisor tells me would give me a ‘good first’ if I keep up the
standard for the next two years, although of course it gets harder as you go on.
(I'm not quite sure what an ‘ordinary first’ would be, but
presumably somewhere in the 67–71% region—they round up from a high
2:1 here at York provided your other marks fall in roughly the same
area.)
To my great surprise I was also
awarded a University prize for “academic performance, commitment and
important contribution to the Department”, although I'm not sure which
part of that conjunction (sorry, logic-speak) I fall under. I first got wind of
this in an e-mail from one of my lecturers who said that as Chair of the Board
of Studies for the summer term he was putting me forward for an “Ede and
Ravenscroft prize” (they make academic robes, apparently) and was
“hopeful that I would receive it”. Sure enough, about a week later I
got a letter through the post saying that I had won the prize, along with a
cheque for £150… Nice one!
Although I am still somewhat confused as to what
I did to deserve this accolade (my results in the summer term were pretty good,
but not exceptional, and I'm not sure that I've really contributed anything to
the department other than attending a few extracurricular events, so I can only
conclude that it must have been my commitment that has made an impression), it's
good to know that my hard work has not gone unnoticed. I've tended to make a
point of mentioning to whoever is willing to listen that I'd like to go on and
do an MA and PhD if at all possible, and I'm sure this kind of thing will look
good on my CV when I do finally get around to applying for them. Perhaps that
was why he put my name forward, I don't
know.
I'm particularly happy that, of
all people, it was Andrew Ward who recommended me, as I must admit to having
been somewhat intimidated—not to mention a little put out—by the
fact that, as admissions tutor, he seemed rather uncertain about whether to
offer me a place to study at York or not. Although the University as a whole is
fairly pro-mature students (which translates to anyone over the age of 20),
individual departments can pretty much set their own acceptance criteria for
each course, and evidence of recent academic achievement seems to figure pretty
highly on the philosophy department's, with the emphasis on
recent.
As was pointed out to me, this makes it difficult for mature students, even
those who have an extremely good academic record but have been working for more
than a few years, to gain admission. No special consideration is given to the
fact that you may have gained relevant skills and experience through your
working life, or be able to contribute a lot to the university as a whole. This
is evidenced by the fact that there are only a handful of over-25s on the course
I'm studying, despite the fact that philosophy is a subject that is probably
better followed, and more attractive to those who have ‘lived a
little’, shall we say.
After a
nail-biting several months, Mr. Ward decided to offer me a place to study at
York—something for which I am eternally grateful—and the rest, as
they say, is history. However, I always felt rather nervous of this guy who held
my fate in the balance, even when I later found that he is actually really nice,
extremely helpful and considerate when it comes to giving advice, and a very
entertaining and interesting lecturer. I guess I felt like I had something to
prove, i.e. mature students can be at least as good as, if not better than,
school leavers, academically speaking. Having been awarded this prize,
particularly on his recommendation, I think I can finally put this feeling to
rest and get on with finishing the rest of my degree without worrying about
whether perhaps he was right, and being a mature student really does put you at
a disadvantage when studying at University. Personally, I think the reality is
quite the opposite, but then I would say that, wouldn't I?
Posted on Tuesday - July 19, 2005 at 02:01 PM
