Homecoming/fall at William and Mary...

I have now been at William and Mary for 2 and half months: America has taken me by storm and I've been immensely busy! Speaking of which, it's actually Homecoming this weekend (english translation: a weekend that epitomizes american college culture of pep rally's, concerts, football games and bonfires!)

The most prominent change that has affected me whilst being here is the academic culture, which particularly at William and Mary is VERY different to Nottingham.


- We don't have any lectures here. They are all discussion groups, with the largest being 15 in one class, which requires consistent concentration. In contrast, at Nottingham, topics are introduced in 1-hour (or VERY occasionally, 2-hour) lectures and followed up by 1-hour discussion groups which we call seminars, usually with 8-12 students in a class.

- William and Mary has a different way of grading so 95%+  is an A grade. I personally found this slightly confusing at first as it is so different from the mark scheme in the UK, which considers 70% and above to be a 1st (roughly equivalent to A+/A/A- grades), and 60-70% to be what we call a 2:1 or upper 2nd (roughly the same as B+/B/B- grades).

- All classes are a minimum of 80 minutes because they are discussion based, while at Nottingham, lectures tend to be 60 mins, and are followed up by seminars of the same length. I even have a 2.5 hour class here on Wednesday mornings at 9am...luckily I find the class fascinating so it keeps me interested!

- Office hours are pretty much the same at Nottingham. They are usually 3 hours per week scattered on various days. The professors are relatively flexible in opening up alternative office hours if you cant meet their set ones. Like at Nottingham, it's really useful to be able to meet with professors one-to-one to discuss your work.