10 worst student’s mistakes

Students very often make mistakes that only seem to be trivial or insignificant. However, they can lead to an immediate end to their academic adventure, loss of money and many other situations that everyone would prefer to avoid in their lives. We present you “10 biggest student’s mistakes” – read very carefully!

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1. “I’ll just start revising after the weekend”.

This is probably the biggest mistake a student can make during his or her academic career. Continuous postponement of the exam for later leads to mandatory participation in the September retake session, which is much more stressful. Good luck on the exam may obviously sometimes occur, but do not expect to be able to overcome all exams and pass them only thanks to fortunate fate.

2. “MA thesis? That’s a piece of cake. I’ll get to work at the end of May”.

Another serious mistake that can cause a lot of problems. Master’s thesis is not an ordinary writing assignment, which can be dealt with in one evening, printed and handed in to the reviewer. To succeed, it involves a solid bibliography, elaboration, a lot of good ideas and loads of free time. An additional problem may arise at a compulsory reasearch to be conducted, which is required in diploma theses in many fields of study. When starting to write MA thesis, you had better mobilise early enough …

3. “There certainly won’t be any colloquium today”.

Fact, the lecturer is also a human being and sometimes does not want to kill the students gathered in the room. However, if you expect that this will continue throughout the whole course, you are obviously wrong. The colloquium will come sooner or later …

4. “Speaking exam? Coco Jambo and get on with it- that’s my motto!*”

Are you good at red herring technique and quoting Mickiewicz*? In an oral secondary school-leaving exam- go ahead, but in college it will never hold up. Your lecturer expects specific knowledge and factual answers to the questions asked. Can’t you answer them? The September retake campaign is waiting for you …
* a writer and a poet, Polish national prophet, whose quotes can be easily recalled with no effort by most of Polish students

5. “Compulsory student internships are total boredom and a waste of time, I had better arrange an approval signature somewhere”.

That’s a fact, brewing coffee and photocopying hundreds of nonsense documents does not seem too exciting. However, if you look closely at student placement offers early, you can be sure that you will reach a modern company where you can count on both valuable knowledge and skills as well as additional benefits. Many apprentices also receive proposals for permanent cooperation after the end of the obligatory internship period.

6. “Mom, do not pack me these jars and cans, cause it’s such a backwater”.

This is probably the student’s greatest sin. You never know when a jar or tin brought from your family home can save you from certain death by starvation. But you must be careful about your roommates who can deprive you of precious supplies – the best solution is to hide jars and cans. Everything in accordance with the student principle “Out of eyes, out of stomach.”

7. “I’ve rent a room in the outskirts for pennies- Gonna save!”

Living outside the city has its undoubted advantages: lower rent, peace and quiet. However, it should not be forgotten that commuting to university will take you much more time, the nearest student club may be located several kilometres (or miles) from your apartment, and the overnight return home by public transport is basically unrealistic. Quid pro quo?

8. “Going to lectures is a relic of socialism, it’s better to play CoD”.

The fact is, participating actively in many lectures may require being cool as ice . Boredom and monotony are often synonyms that students use to determine the activities in which they must participate. Many lectures, however, are compulsory, and regardless of their form, you simply have to attend them regularly. Plus, you will also kill time with CoD:)

I believe a much better idea is work smart on studies. You can find some tips for students on that page. Maybe You can find time for CoD 😉

9. “Am I not right? Of course I’m right, professor!”

The most important rule that must be definetely respected is: “The lecturer / professor is always right. If he or she is not, do reading comprehention of the previous sentence again.” Any quarrels or battles with the professor can quickly end your academic career and close the path to obtaining the dream diploma …

10. “For sure, there will be the same set of questions as last year”.

At the end, there is last but not least mistake, that has been accompanying Polish students for a very long time, better known as “a forlorn hope”. You can obviously dare to count on the lecturer’s laziness to form a new set of questions, but does it make sense? A much better solution is to properly prepare for the exam – leaving wonders and hope for a completely different occasion.

Many students think that it is easier to write the entire text of the thesis than to add a few footnotes and bibliography to it. A critical apparatus is not really a problem. Just get acquainted with a few …

*a quotation from a well-known Polish comedy