Hi,

I just completed a degree in physics. I ended up with a grade below what i hoped for, which was highly disappointing considering the effort i put in.

But I never really enjoyed the subject once I got to university and very nearly dropped out in my second year due to my highly stressful approach to the subject. Prior to and during my third and final year i decided to completely change my learning tactics and work on stress and anxiety management (to what i felt was a huge success!). I learnt to enjoy my subject and was doing well until i got really ill for the last 6 weeks of classes before the revision period... As a result I was forced to cram for my exams and did very badly in them (even worse than i expected :S).

I've wanted to switch to economics for 2 years now and am about to enrol on a conversion course which dumps me straight into 3rd year lectures, so i will have a lot to catch up on!

The thought of taking exams again really terrifies me and has made a massive impact on my confidence... I just feel like i have serious memory issues because i tend to do reasonably well on coursework but not exams although i don't usually get scared of exams... i dont think i had a fantastic intuition for physics problems, so maybe i just wasnt good at them and therefore not good at the exams?

I just wonder if I should be that afraid of economics exams, I started to really love the subject at A2 level more than physics but I'm afraid that it will be too much of a cram and that I will struggle since the entire year is based on the final exams :S

If anyone has any advice or similar experiences, your thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)

:(

Hi Strider,

I'm sorry that you are so anxious about going back. It may be worth looking for at what study support is offered to students at your institution - most places offer study skills workshops etc. They may be a good way to pick up some new techniques/gain in confidence re: exams.

If you're staying at the same uni and already know the lecturers/tutors on your new course then perhaps you could contact them to discuss things. The other thing I'd suggest is contacting the course secretary as he/she should be able to tell you where to locate copies of past exams and may even send you preliminary reading lists to give you a head start. Things may feel more manageable if you feel as though you are starting the term 'on top of things'.

It's worth remembering that the two topics are completely different and so your experience the first time round will not necessarily repeat itself on your new venture. I hope you enjoy the course - Good luck!

Coffeebreak

Strider I would advise that you find a job first and then decide later to do a degree on a part time or weekend basis. Reason being it is probably better to take a break from studies if you feel confused, hazy and have a headache. Build up you work experience acumen and take up a short course like book keeping and accountancy which is practical and can get you the necessary training and experience. Reason why I believe economics may be difficult and challenging is lots of financial institutions are retrenching their economists and physics grads after they did their financial modelling on them. Of course we well know that the economic crisis hit them and those grads were the first ones out the door. Try to be more practical in your approach towards studies and your career as well as giving your mind a breather so that you know later exactly what you want to do with it.

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