First and foremost, as i am new to this forum i'd like to say hi to everyone!

I am basically suffering a severe lack of motivation at the moment which i think is due to the fact that i have a total of 3 essays, 2 presentations and 4 exams to revise for in under 2 months! I am in complete denial about this fact and am continually seeking ways to avoid working (probably why i'm on this forum!).

If i don't get my head down i know i will fail! Any advice or tips from others who have been in a similar situation would be gratefully received!

Welcome, luisa!

'Any advice or tips from others who have been in a similar situation would be gratefully received!' that includes (probably) ALL of us here - why else does the 'off topics' forum exist?!

I can offer you no advice that you don't already know, but there IS comfort in knowing that others are/have been in the same boat.

And then, as deadlines approach, the fear kicks in...

Hiya! I completed my second MSc at UCL and I remember having a similar situation-loads to do but struggling with motivation to complete it. One of the main things I did was have a list on my desk of things to do. I also counted back from the final deadline what I have to acheive and how long I had to complete it. I managed to get everything done, but I will always regret not working harder enough. I missed the distinction by a few percent, and if I had worked instead of procrastinating, I would have got that distinction. Perhaps you may regret it later on! Friends of mine on my 1st MSc didn't work hard enough and only managed a pass. As a result, they will not be able to progress to Stage 2 (Doctorate) which requires a Merit. One failed the whole MSc. She ended up paying £3k for a course that she ended up failing in. Also, you will feel so happy once its all finished with! Furthermore, there are only a few more months to go, then you will never have to go through such MSc stress again!

Hi Pineapple,

Thanks for your reply-it is helpful to know that i'm not the only one struggling with this-i always think i'm too lazy and don't deserve to be on the course. Out of interest, when you refer to the stage 2 are you talking about the doctorate in health psychology? (I am doing stage 1 at the mo)

Hiya!

Yep my 1st MSc was a health psychology MSc which is credited for Stage 1 Health Psychology. (My second one was an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology). Im currently on a social science PhD, but I have the option to do Stage 2 (via taught doctorate-can't bare another PhD!) after my PhD, if I decide to go down that route!

If you get less than a Merit and less than 80% attendance (I think!), you will not be able to go onto stage 2. A few people just missed out on the Merit and as a result, have been unable to go onto stage 2 :( I hope this will give you some motivation to focus on getting above an average of 60!

Having said that, the bps health stuff seems to have changed, before one needed to have a Merit to progress to Stage 2, looks like you just need to pass Stage 1.

http://www.health-psychology.org.uk/menuItems/training.php

If your interested in progressning onto stage 2, the BPS has a list of unis offering Stage 2 courses. If clinical psychology doesn't work out for me, my back up would be to get onto stage 2 health psychology training at City.

http://www.bps.org.uk/bps/careers/accredited-courses/accredited-courses.cfm?action=results&level_of_study=PGRD&in_id=all&pg_cat=DHPTC&submit=Search

Good luck with your MSc!

Ok, ta....at the moment i'm not considering doing stage 2 as we have had a series of rather disheartening careers talks...am considering doing a phd as i'd like to get into the research side of things more than anything. I think my main problem is that i set myself too high standards which results in stressing me out to the point of not being able to focus on the task in hand. I did well in my undergrad (1st), and am currently averaging a high merit, but am concerned that because the main criteria for Phd selection seems to centre around academic achievement,after factoring in exams my marks may significantly drop, and thus i won't be able to compete with candidates with much better marks! Anyway, sorry for woffling on.

Hi-Your reasons for PhD study are very similar to mine!Although, generally you will need to have a good academic background-which you have-for a PhD, but I managed to get a place with a 2.2 and two MScs. Also, if your searching for funding opporunities such as the ESRC, you may find, as I found, that you may need to obtain additional research training before embarking on a PhD. I found the the ESRC 1+3 funding studenthships were extremely competitive, I ended up studying for an additional MSc (which was +1 ESRC credited) so that I could apply for +3 ESRC studentships (which seems to be less competitive). You may be lucky to have a health psych MSc which is also ESRC +1 credited. Also, from my experience, its not just about your academic marks; work experience, networking and publications really helped and I won a funded (advertised) PhD studenthship at a good uni. However, some unis( UCL) do favor candiates for PhDs who have a 1st and an MSc Distinction

Wow-i don't think i could handle doing two MScs!!! I'm impressed. At the moment i am hoping that an opportunity will come up to do a phd doing what i'm doing for my MSc (which my supervisor has hinted), and that having already done the research for a year i would stand a good chance (of course, this is by no means guaranteed!) It is a topic i'm really interested in so i'm keeping my fingers crossed. What is your Phd looking at? Thanks for all the advice, i have actually started writing the essay now which is a start......

It will definitely help to push through a PhD application if you have a keen supervisor. You could argue that as you have a 1st and you've been doing research for a year, you may not have to do further research training? Anyway, whatever happens, good luck with your MSc and PhD application! My PhD is looking at quality of life issues with older adults and residents with learning disabilities.