Hi, my name is Garrett. I’m from the United States and I am undergoing my MBA at Bournemouth University. I studied in the US for four years of college where I earned my BS in business marketing.

Differences:

My study strategies have varied from one course to another, although there is one constant that is a big difference between how classes work back home in the USA and here in England. The biggest difference is that in the US each class has many little assignments, almost an assignment to hand in every day. There will usually be one or two larger assignments at some point during the class. In England on the other hand there are very few little assignments, there are one or two assignments that make up your entire grade at the end of the term. You are notified early on what the projects are and your whole term is catered to working towards the completion of those works. This makes my study tactics change depending on which system the school does.

Strategies for Undergraduate:

As an undergraduate, if I were to receive an assignment that was do in the coming days I would look to complete it the day it was assigned. This way all the information is fresh in your mind and you won’t need to worry about it in case you forget or end up doing other things. When there are larger assignments assigned I usually waited until the deadline was insight. I wanted to give myself a good couple weeks to make sure I could complete the assignment and in the meantime complete all other works so that I am not doing many assignments at once, things can get hectic if that is the case.

Strategies for Postgraduate:

I have had to adjust my system of studying to better suit the way courses are run here in England. Often when you receive an assignment it is not due for another couple months. However all the deadlines are around the same time and it is important to be aware what and when each item is due. I make sure to attend each class and understand all the material that is relevant to the task at hand. I then start on my assignment as soon as I can. It would be great if I finished an assignment almost a month in advance to the due date, if it is actually complete that’s perfect and you can move on to something else, however if you receive new information and find something you add you also have plenty of time to add the items and make sure you really are finished.

Overlying ideals:

Time management is so important as well as organisation, in both cases those would be the top two skills for successfully completing your assignments and education. I wish you all luck in your studies and have all the confidence in the world that you will find the right strategy to ensure your success.