A major reason why I chose Queens was to experience education in a different country. Upon enrolling in classes, I knew it would be difficult. However, I was a little surprised as to how different it would be over here, and the learning curve was real.

The biggest difference is the grading system. In the US, we start at 100 and professors subtract points, while in the UK, you start at 0 and professors add points. It is quite literally impossible to get a 100 in the UK system. On the first day of class, one of my professors told me anything above an 80 is considered “publishable” material. This was quite a shock to me as I aim to never score below a 92 on my papers.

All of the grading was explained to me on the very first day, but after that, class was pretty similar to what I was used to at Pitt. I would have two lectures a week for each class, accompanied by a “tutorial”, or a recitation, as we know it at Pitt. Queens even uses Canvas, and my professors would post weekly readings there for every class. Quickly, I noticed a major difference between my education at Pitt and Queens.

Every aspect of learning is more independent than what I was used to. Professors do not take attendance to make sure students actually go to class. There were no reading quizzes to ensure students did the weekly readings, nor a syllabus quiz for everyone to vet familiarized with expectations. Professors do not have rubrics for essays walking you through the prompt. “Busy work” does not exist, and there are only two graded assignments a semester. For my classes, this meant I had a midterm essay worth 30% and a final worth 70%. My classes at Pitt have never been structured like this ever, so at first I was intimidated.

The real challenge came when it was finally time for me to start writing my midterm essays. I got so in my head about writing them because I was used to professors adding in “filler” grades, so if I did badly on a major assignment, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. However, at Queens, I thought if I did badly, it would genuinely be the end of the world. Before I even started writing, I put so much pressure on myself to the point where I couldn’t even do anything. I was in the library for three hours, just paralyzed, staring at the essay prompt, not writing. I was so scared to mess it up that I just could not bring myself to write a single word. This was unlike me, as I usually consider myself a good writer, and at Pitt I received good grades, but back at Pitt i usually had a pretty detailed rubric to follow. Now I was in a whole new environment with different peers, professors, grading system, no rubric, so i did not know what to expect. I started to doubt my writing abilities here even more.

So I took a step back from my essay and decided to start it another day. Even though I was across the ocean from Pitt, I did the same routine I would have done there. I treated myself to a coffee and went to the third floor of the library, which is my favorite floor in Hillman. I reminded myself that not everything has to be perfect on the first try, especially writing. So by the end of that day, I had a really bad rough draft, but what mattered was that it was completed. I slowly revised it over the next week, hoping it was good even though there was no rubric for me to follow, I just had to believe in my capabilities.

Then three long weeks later, I finally received my grade-62. Opening that canvas notification immediately made me upset, as I have never seen a grade that low before. Even though I realized it translated to a B+ at Pitt, I was still not impressed with myself in the moment. The next day, however, I looked through my professor’s comments on my essay and was surprised. He really enjoyed the content and analysis of my paper (about the Serbian minority in Croatia), but he did not like my writing style. For him, I wrote too casually and informally for an academic paper, and as a result, my grade dropped significantly.

So in the end, I am not a bad writer, but rather there was a learning curve, which was to be expected. When you are in a whole new environment, not everything can come easily, and you can’t expect things to be the same as they were back home; sometimes things will be hard and a lot different than what you’re used to. Whether that be assignments or simply adjusting to your new life abroad. However, you cannot let that stop you. After that assignment feedback, I went and talked to my professor about how I can improve my writing. Now, as I write my final essays, I am 100x more confident than I was two months ago.

In the end, this is what being abroad is all about: learning and growing.

Cheers!

Abby Cook