FIRST CLASS TEST SYNDROME
Throughout the many years since the beginning of formal
institutionalised education the ‘’fresher’’ has never changed. They all come
from different backgrounds different schools, some with high quality education
such as A-levels or O-levels and some with normal NSC education and of cause
they also come in different shapes and sizes.
Making it into a well ranked institution is every fresher’s
pride. Most walk around campus carrying not only their large school bags and
brand new student cards around their necks but also a “6 distinctions” pride
that has them feeling untouchable. It is a very good achievement to pass matric
which such marks don’t get me wrong and it deserves to remain ones pride for as
long as University allows. Very few past fresher’s will deny how quickly their
prides had been humbled by their first class tests. For most it is a very
traumatic experience because they are not used to doing so bad academically.
But for some elite students their first class test at university is business as
usual, they continue to excel no matter what the Profs throw at them. The main
reason why most new university students perform poorly in their first class
tests in university is because of the difference in standards between
university and high school. It is also the “know -it-all-mentality” that leads
to under preparation, it happens to the best of us, I am talking from
first-hand experience.
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It is no secret that the high school syllabus is a lot
easier than the university syllabus. The South African high school syllabus to
be specific. Most varsity students who were top students at their high school
would often tell me that the high school syllabus did not challenge them at all
— what nerds. So the for the first time in their lives they would finally be
challenged by a ruthless opponent known as university. Some of these top
students maintain the grades that they have been getting in high school through
hard work and some because of their advanced syllabus e.g. most first year
courses are a repeat for some A-level and O-level students. Some drop their
grades a little, say maybe from an A average to a B or C average. The first
class test is always hard for most students and is usually a wakeup call. It is
not supposed to be taken as a measurement of your ability to learn. In the past
there have been student who have given up or changed courses within the first
few weeks of school because of the increased workload and fast speed of
lectures. Hopefully this will not be
happening to you. There is always a greater improvement in marks in the second
class test. The opposite can also happen, like if you do really well in your
first class test you may begin to underestimate the work and slack in the
second class test.
To be honest the method of studying in university is not
much different to that of high school its just that university requires more
effort on your behalf. Such as to study longer than you usually did and keep up
with assignments that come from different courses and being responsible; since
nobody is there to tell you what to do. Other than that the process is the
same, you have to attend all your lectures as you would attend all your classes
in high school and attend all your tutorials as you would attend after school classes
in high school. The first class test syndrome is not necessarily a negative
thing. It is just a confusing period of time were a student contemplates the
use of continuing with their studies after a horrible first class test,
sometimes it forces a student to study harder and miracles are seen in the
second class test. It also guides a student to what they actually should be
studying maybe a student had been studying hard but focussing on the wrong
parts of the course which leads to them having misconceptions about their course
work. It is all just a learning process even though we do not like it when
course starts to chow hard.
Hopefully you will have a much better first class test
experience than I have had and continue to chow course as you did in high school.
