What's degree life like?

As most of you are aware I'm currently pursuing my Bachelor degree of science in biotechnology in UTAR.

Honestly I wasn't sure why I took this course but I'll leave that indecision for the coming years.

I've heard that degree life is different from foundation life, in that the course will be much more difficult.

So far I've not really got the chance to experience this 'quantum leap' in difficulty, instead I find myself having more time for leisure, and that doesn't mean that I'm skipping classes more often than not, because I've skipped classes less. Maybe it's because the tutorial classes are held on only 4 weeks per trimester.

Yeah, that should be it.

I used to spend large amounts of time at home finishing my tutorials (especially physics and maths ones, and since I'm not taking both domains this trimester, I'm free from constant exercises to remind me of certain complicated steps in order to solve mathematical problems or weird equations in physics leading to unexpected results). And giving me so little to do I know I'll slowly rot off before I have time to prepare myself for the finals.

Lab reports are more troublesome in degree. Instead of procedures, you write methodologies, which is about the same thing but still a bit different anyway. Oh, and your introduction carries marks. Loads of them. References must be written in APA format and conclusions are longer than foundation reports as well. But the absence of physics graphs are a huge sigh of relief. Believe me, I used to spend hours just to find the gradient and error percentages for physics experiments. However, lab reports do come out more frequently though, and the deadlines are tight. Squeeze in assignments and constant quizzes and tests (Cell biology alone has six), and you have a huge pile of workload in front of you.

The key to being free? Complete your tasks early. Presentations? Be the first group to present, and you can afford to be absent in the coming lectures without having to worry about your turn. Complete chunks of your report on the day of issuing, leaving the complicated stuff for later (definitely not pre-deadline day) and you'll have time for entertainment. But as always, study first. Quiz at the end of the week? Study during the weekend before.


I know I am not supposed to judge or give advice since my results are a little to the side of lackadaisical compared to most of you here, but if you happen to ask why I'm so free at times in this 'stressful' degree life, here's my answer for you.