Alex Harries's diary

Thanks to Christina for writing me an "idiot's guide to figuring out your degree classification" - I know everyone else already knows this and it's just me that's stupid, but I'm going to stick this up here anyway so I can refer back to it:

right well
1 - get the average of 2nd year and multiply it by 0.4, add that to the average of 3rd year multiplied by 0.6
2 - Simply find the average of 3rd year and thats your mark!
3 - this ones weird,,,, look at your marks from 1st and 2nd year... collect together the 12 best marks (having at least 60 credits from 3rd yr) and if they're all 60's then you get a 2.1... if they're all 50's then you get a 2.2 etc

Cheers hon! 

So I have a vague idea what my course marks are now; although I have resits to do, I know that, if I pass, those marks will be capped at 40% (i.e. a basic pass). As a result, I'm in a position to work out my degree mark.

The only problem is, no-one seems to know exactly *how* to work the bloody thing out.

You see, (and I don't know if this is true for all Universities), there are three methods of calculating a degree mark. The wording on these methods is as cryptic as it is for us mortal chaps to decipher the myriad variations in body language a member of the opposite sex expresses shortly before smacking you in the mouth for upsetting them (although that could just be me...).  Here's an example;

• Method 1: "the classification calculated from the weighted mean of relevant credits at level 2 and level 3 in the ratio of 40:60 respectively;"

• Method 2: "the classification calculated from the weighted mean of the relevant 120 credits at level 3;"
  
• Method 3: "the minimum classification in which the best 50% of the combined relevant credits at level 2 and level 3 were attained provided  at least 60 credits were at level 3."

... of course. It all seems so simple now...

Bollocks is it.

Ok, first things first: in this case (assuming there's a smartypants out there who knows of "another" definition), what's a "weighted mean"?

Secondly, what the hell does method 3 actually mean? "The minimum classification in which the best 50% of the combined relevant credits at level 2 and level 3 were attained provided  at least 60 credits were at level 3." I'd appreciate some working examples, preferably with pretty full-colour diagrams.

I'm reliably informed by my head of year that I've scraped a 2:2. Which is a bit of a kick in the pants since my interpretation of method 3, and the interpretation of the Ed & Rep Sabb (I think), gave me an overall mark of somewhere between 60 and 62%; a (low) 2:1.

If anyone can help, please get in touch. In the meantime, I'm going to use my own method of working out my degree classification, which goes something like this...

• Think of a number between 10 and 50;
• Divide it by 2;
• Add the number of times you've had a hangover in the last 6 months;
• Divide by the number of times you've eaten at Subway (take away doesn't count - not posh enough);
• Add the number of cats you've seen today;
• Subtract the number of cats you've stroked, picked up or been scratched by in the last week;
• Go outside. Stand on one foot. Close your eyes. Hold your breath. Subtract the number of teeth you break when you fall over;
• Divide everything by the number of chavs you've seen this afternoon;
• Put the remainder into a blender with some ice, frozen yoghurt, and a pack of salt & vinegar crisps (still in the packet);
• Whatever's left over is your degree mark. Go outside and play with it (but be careful of traffic)...

Well, that makes much more sense to me, at least...