Fellow psych students on the forum?

[Guest_322]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20 year old uni student in my second year of the B.Commerce/B.Psych(hon) degree.

I guess I'm posting this mostly because I've really been feeling the pressure for the psych stream of my degree.

It's tough and the competition for psych honours is FIERCE at my uni (as I'm sure it is at most, if not all, unis).

At my uni, those who currently have honours embedded in their degree are extremely stressed about losing it if they don't maintain their grades (e.g. me). And many of those without the honours currently embedded in their degree are stressed about getting the grades to transfer into the honours stream.

Every exam and every assignment but most of all, our final grades, I worry that I won't be able to keep the honours.

I love the psych content but I don't love the psych academic environment as it's extremely toxic at my uni. It's partly because the psych faculty reminded us of the competitive nature of psych from day 1 in first year. I've seen classmates withhold notes from friends. I've seen classmates refuse to help their (academically) struggling friends. At my uni, it feels like a case of every student for him/herself.

I don't know what I'm trying to say but I'm hoping someone here on this forum can empathise and knows where I'm coming from.

Thanks everyone!

Dottie

[james1]

Hey Dottie,

I didn't do psych, but I had lots of friends who did and I saw it first hand with my ex who went on to do honours then PhD.

I think it's really unfortunate that the course is so competitive. Naturally, the competition for clinical masters is super fierce too, if that's a path you'd be interested in. The best you can hope for is to make one or two friends who will support each other, but sometimes that just doesn't happen.

During my ex's final honours year, what worked was making sure she had time off. Even when she didn't necessarily feel like she could, I'd drag her out to go for a short walk. We also tried to take a full day off every few months because she was cooped up at home or uni basically 24/7 studying. Of course, this meant that she'd have to work extra hard in the lead-up, but this gave her something to look forward to.

So my suggestion is make sure you take time out. Especially around exam and assignment times, it's so easy to lose track of time. Take a half hour out every now and then to do something you like and talk to people, but also make time for the longer breaks of a Saturday or Sunday. It's amazing what a full day of rest can do and is well worth the extra work you have to do in the week or two leading up.

James

[Zeal]

Hi Dottie,

The pressure you feel is completely understandable. As you know, I'm no longer wishing to do Honours next year. Postgrad counselling/psychotherapy is the right path for me. It is fantastic that you have set Honours as your goal and are working to achieve this. As James said, having some time off here and there is essential for your wellbeing (getting mentally exhausted and worn out will make study harder). This is easier said than done, I realise. You are a bit ahead of the curve, as you will get Honours if you maintain a specified GPA (I imagine this is outlined somewhere), whereas others who did not manage to gain entry to the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) program will have a great deal of uncertainly regarding their selection chances. For them, it depends on how well everyone else does, which as you said, adds to the competitive environment.

Try not to compare yourself to others, if possible. I struggled with this today - my assignment partner and I went to our research poster presentation venue (assignment weighted at 10%), and we both started feeling worried when we realised that many people had professionally printed their posters at Officeworks (and were larger than ours). A few others who were talking to us felt intimidated too. Some people did the research poster on their own (and had very fancy printed posters) - I feel that some people are already trying to make their mark before Honours! This is by no means a critique of them - it's a smart move and shows they care about research work!

I hope you've met some nice people in psych (who aren't super competitive)!

Best wishes,

SM

[Guest_322]

Thanks James & SM! You guys are the best!

I'll write a proper response later. On my way to the uni library to study with a friend.

Thanks again x

[Guest_322]

Hi James,

Thanks a mill for your support and advice.

Wow, credit to your ex for getting through her honours year. I'm glad she had your support during that year.

Yeah, I agree that breaks are a good idea. I struggle with feelings of guilt that is accompanied by catastrophising about how I'm going to fail or do badly by taking some time off. This is then normally followed by panic about how I'm going to lose my honours place. And before you know it, I'm a big, panicky mess ha, ha.

So yeah, I just need to figure out a happy medium between taking breaks and not feeling incredibly guilty for taking them.

Thanks again James!

[Guest_322]

Hi SM,

I think it's wonderful that you've decided to pursue the counselling/psychotherapy path. It sounds like you're heading in the right direction for you which is fantastic 😊

Good point about trying to not to compare yourself with others. It must have been hard not to compare after seeing all those research posters. But well done on finishing the project!

Thanks. I have made quite a lot of friends in psych. In saying that, I don't open up to most of them. I like them but don't necessarily trust some of them enough. How do I put this? I have a lot of uni friends but that doesn't mean that they're necessarily quality friends.

I do have one friend- bless him- where we are both in the same boat of trying to maintain our grades (so we hopefully don't lose our honours place) and we are each other's support.

I have another really supportive friend but she doesn't want to do honours (so the good thing about being around her is she's a lot more chill about grades so it can be healthy for me to be around her relaxed vibe).

I have also made a new friend this semester who is a little bit wild (but oh so fun). She kind of reminds me of what I'm missing out on sometimes ha, ha.

Anyway, now I'm just rambling. Not even sure what I'm trying to say anymore.

Either way, thanks SM!

[james1]

What helped me when I was working and studying full time was just timing my "mini breaks" during the day. I made sure I took them when I wouldn't be productive anyway. i.e. I'd read papers while eating and then about 30 minutes later, I'd just clock off and take a break (since I'd be having a food coma anyway haha). So I wouldn't feel particularly guilty about this since I could argue that I wouldn't have done anything anyway.

The big breaks are tougher... but I did try after major assignments and the mid-sem to take a half day off.

[Guest_322]

Hi James,

Thanks for the tip and sharing your food coma experience (that made me smile).

You're a legend on this forum 😊

Dottie x

[Guest_322]

Hi again,

Wasn't sure where to post this and didn't want to start a new thread so thought here would be a good place to post.

Feel like some of my friends are starting to crack under the pressure of grades and competing/keeping their place for/in honours.

During the mid sem break, I had 2 friends burst into tears after one of our mid sem psych exams.

And I am definitely feeling the heat too. I'm currently procrastinating instead of working on an assignment that's due tomorrow. I know there are worse things in the world but I personally feel like bursting into tears right now too.

Dottie

[Guest_322]

correction: "During the mid sem exams (not break)..."