Changes and transitions at university are often spoken about in the context of new students starting their courses, but a more understated change also takes place when you move up a level of study, from first to second year or second to third. For those students who had studied on an Integrated Foundation Year, there is the transition to Level 4 which you’ve been preparing for over the past year.

Whatever the level you move to, there’s a shift. It might be the increased depth of coverage of the subject content or the wider breadth of reading required. Perhaps the assessment briefs are less prescriptive than in the previous years and there’s more of an emphasis on critical analysis. Maybe the placements are longer, or you’ll be taking on more independent work such as a dissertation or research project. Now that you are a few weeks into the new academic year with assignments underway, those shifts might become more apparent and it may be you feel the step to the next level of study is a bit of a steep one….

But remember that this transition is actually just the last step at the end of a series of gentler, smaller increments that you have taken over the past year. In that time, you will have developed your academic skills, expanded and deepened your subject knowledge and gained a wider awareness of what’s happening in your field. Hopefully, your confidence and self-belief will also have increased as you grow professionally and academically. 

If you don’t believe us, take the opportunity to reflect on your progress so far and look at your assessments from over the past year. Compare the first assignment with the most recent and look also at the feedback comments. No doubt there will be at least one aspect of your writing, that has improved, be that your structure, your referencing or critical analysis of the subject matter. Try making a list of three areas where you can see you have made progress.

And even if the previous year was a bit bumpy and you were disappointed in your grades or needed to resubmit some of your assignments, that doesn’t necessarily mean you face a difficult transition to the next level of study. Such experiences enable you to learn exactly what’s needed to fulfil assessment requirements, provide additional opportunities for tutor feedback and help you develop your academic resilience. You have suffered setbacks and a knock to your confidence but you surmounted those challenges and successfully met the requirements to move to the next level.

So maybe moving up to the next year of your course is more about the next stage of your personal and academic growth. You are taking the next step in your journey towards the personal or professional goals that saw you take a place on the course in the first place.

If you want to learn more about moving up a level of study, take a look at our Head Start courses:

Head Start to University for those beginning Level 4

Head Start Plus for those moving to Levels 5 or 6

Head Start to Postgraduate Study for those making the shift to Level 7.