The biggest leap in my academic education to date has definitely been the transition between college and university. The nature, quantity of the workload and teaching style were the major defining factors in this regard. Despite taking mathematics and sciences at A-level, I still don’t feel like it pushed my mind towards stimulating thinking, at least not to the extent that would prepare me for what was to come at university!
For example, in A-level Mathematics you are taken through module books, where you are expected to understand the equations and how to apply them. Once you grasp how to solve the equation, what is left is to go through every single past paper you can get your hands on! However, it wasn’t quite as simple as that in university; for example, instead of solving an equation, you would be expected to first construct it from first principles and then solve it. Hence, the solving that was learnt in A-level becomes the easiest part of the given question, so you could say A-level sets the basic level of knowledge that is required for university.
The advice I would give for anyone reading this and currently in their A-levels is to seek to understand the origins of the equations, as opposed to just how they are used and applied. For example, try to understand the origin and concept of differentiation and limits from the graph rather than just memorise the methodology of how to differentiate.
The syllabus in first year most certainly didn’t feel as ‘clear cut’ as it did in A-level; for example we didn’t follow through a certain book, rather each lecturer gave us a set of lectures for the module and recommended literature for us to expand on our knowledge. However, most of the time I couldn’t gather much from literature since our lectures were very basic in comparison! Some general advice I would give here is to look through the past papers as you are ploughing your way through the lectures during the year; this will most definitely give you a feel of the extent of in-depth knowledge required for the actual exam and would help relieve the stress of not comprehending the complicated literature.
You soon realise literature is supplementary, but the more that is read in first year, the more it will pave way for a deeper understand in the later years. That is why, despite the fact grades do not count in the first year, it really is worth investing time and effort into understanding the content from its roots, as opposed to simply focusing on the most effective way to pass the exam and achieve well. This is be because what you study in first year most certainly complements what is to come in the later years; in fact all the academic years are a build-up of each other, and you will often find yourself in 3rd year referring back to first year content!
Batool