Is it extremely difficult to obtain HD's?

[shooterblitz]

First year Business student checking in.

Been reading through my unit guides, and it all seems so overwhelming. Stuff like 'if you don't provide genuine arguments in class discussions, marks wont be provided for the tutorial', plus the size of the textbooks (bigger than Year 12 some of them) to be covered just in 12 weeks, is really making me feel scared and all..

Is it extremely difficult to obtain HD's or Distinction's even?

The criteria's seem similar to how it was in Year 12, just don't know if Uni assignments and all get marked quite tough and all.

Any input/advice is much appreciated.

Cheers!

[brenden]

Personally, I found HDS in uni (Arts) to be easier than getting 40+ (but I went to a school that wasn't great)

[hobbitle]

It's so relative mate it's pretty hard to determine. It depends on your commitment, your aptitudes, and the course you're doing. Personally I cruised through high school with what would be high 40s in VCE terms (10 years ago) but first year Science I am working my ass off and just scraping into the HD average.
I think though that HDs in Uni are harder to achieve than As in school. If you get a Distinction average you should be really proud I reckon.
The thing with Uni is that it really is what you make of it. You can work hard and reap the academic rewards or get passes and perhaps have more time enjoying the Uni lifestyle.  It really depends. Just don't freak out. If you stay on top of the content week by week you should be fine come swotvac.
PS you rarely (never) cover the whole content from a textbook in one subject. Usually it's just select chapters. This is even if the textbook is specialised for that subject. Textbooks are largely for being able to generate a greater/additional understanding of the content.

[brenden]

Yeah I actually really should clarify after reading that post ^^, I wasn't trying to imply that there was some objectively comparative standard between uni and high-school, I was just showing that an HD wasn't somehow equivalent to a 50, or something entirely elusive.

Btw hobbitle, I'm curious because I've heard so many people say "oh going back to uni after a long break from high-school would be really hard because you haven't studied for so long etc etc" -- do you think that's true in your case? Eg, do you think the reason you have to work really hard for the Sci HDs is because of the break, or do you think it would've been the same straight out of high-school?

[hobbitle]

Btw hobbitle, I'm curious because I've heard so many people say "oh going back to uni after a long break from high-school would be really hard because you haven't studied for so long etc etc" -- do you think that's true in your case? Eg, do you think the reason you have to work really hard for the Sci HDs is because of the break, or do you think it would've been the same straight out of high-school?

ABSOLUTELY it is made harder because of the break. I wasn't science oriented at school and so I definitely wouldn't have cruised through even if I had started straight out of high school. But your brain becomes less and less like a sponge the more years you aren't learning new things. Its unbelievable to me watching how easily some of the school leavers learn. But over the course of first year both my ability to retain and understand new information and my stamina for studying has increased tenfold, so I have faith that it will continue to get easier in some regards (though the content will get harder).

[slothpomba]

HD's are hard to achieve, no mistake about it, thats why they're high distinctions afterall. Personally, i reckon they may be harder or easier depending on the subject to 40's in VCE. The marking varies heaps by subject and how tough the content is obviously varies. Mix this recipe in with the fact your likes and dislikes will be different and boom, you get a heap of variability. Uni is (mostly) work in = work out, especially until you reach the higher end of marks. Below say 80ish, its definitely work in, work out. The amount of marks i've dropped by simply being late or forgetting to do quizes is staggering (yeah, i know i know, bad habit). If you do your work on time and with decent effort, theres no reason to suspect for most subjects you'd score anything less than a credit (60) bare minimum. A lot of the marks are showing up/actually doing your work/doing it on time. With decent effort, theres no reason to suspect you couldn't get over distinction (70) either. Gets a bit more tough towards the higher end but if you work at it, definitely achievable.

The textbook is that size because (usually) it isn't tailored to your course. All VCE textbooks are written to exactly match the VCE curriculum. Many books in uni are used globally and are fairly general and broad, that might contribute to their thickness as well.

[Fyrefly]

You don't normally use the *whole* textbook... just particular chapters.

I think marks in first year come down mostly to how quickly you're able to adjust to uni.
The work itself isn't that hard, but you've got to develop good study habits and such.
If you're disciplined, diligent and make an honest effort, HDs and Ds are perfectly achievable, especially for Business students.