please help me! Is a Masters degree harder to get than a Bachelors degree?

Question

Is pursuing a masters harder than pursuing a bachelors? Before I started pursuing my masters at UOP two semesters ago, friends who were pursuing masters at other traditional colleges were telling me that pursuing a masters degree is much easier than pursuing a bachelors, but now that Im pursuing my masters, I, personally have a different story. I have never felt so frustrated and stress in my whole entire life. Pursuing my masters is just draining me, I dont know if its UOP's course work load or their expectation because I only have class one day a week or maybe its me, maybe I just jump quickly into pursuing my master's degree but Im like seconds from transferring or just quiting altogether. I swear. I had a minimal passing grade in my first class, and I swear I deserved at least a C.I always loved school and I use to promote school alot to younger children, teenagers, and even my friends and family member but now I dont really talk about school like I use to. Please, I need inputs

Answer 1

Terminal or Professional masters degrees (for career advancement) definitely feel easier than bachelors degrees due to high flexibility and forgiveness from the instructors.

Research or Pre-Doctoral masters degrees (for teaching/research) are more difficult than bachelors degrees. These professors/instructors are more strict but still very supportive.

At UOP, you're dealing with 5-6 week cram courses which are equal to full-time workload, yet UOP can legally advertise "part-time" degrees even though they are actually accelerated programs.

I prefer slow degree programs using 15-week semesters. You can study 1 chapter per subject per week. Makes it much easier to take 3 classes at the same time and still work & have a life. Quarter term classes cover about 7-9 chapters over 8-10 weeks, Semesters cover about 10-12 chapters over 14-15 weeks.

Leave UOP and go to a nice small liberal arts college or state university. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Getting a Master's at a traditional college/university is fairly similar to getting a Bachelor's until the final stage with the thesis and comps (final test). The work is harder and the requirements more stringent but the process is the same and so it's comfortable. Also, many people going for an MA are also working full-time so it seems even harder for them.

However, UoP has a very different learning environment than a traditional college. It's not something for everyone. I went the traditional route but knew some people in UoP and helped them with their work. The teachers at UoP are not trained professors who know the requirements of teaching, at least at the branch my friends went to. I felt the education was a little chaotic and for many of their classes, the topics weren't properly explained and they were left on their own or in their little groups to study the material. Class time was used for the students to present their "findings" rather than for the teachers to teach. Personally, I wasn't impressed. Eventually, my friends got through it and got their degrees (both BA's and MA's) but it took some getting used to for them, though it was much easier for the one that got her BA there and hadn't been through a traditional college/university program before.

You might investigate a traditional college and see if you can audit a class or two. If you feel that you're more comfortable there, then by all means make the switch. Otherwise, see if you can find someone in your group that you can do additional studying with and vent to. You CAN get through it and I hope you won't give up. You just have to adjust to a totally different system.

Best of luck to you:)

Answer 3

Obviously its "harder" in your case, at least personally for you. You are answering your own question. I don't even know if "harder" even needs to be in the question though. Getting my bachelor's degree wasn't that hard, and granted different majors = different levels of difficulty, I wouldn't think that most people would say that it was hard. College is supposed to be a fun time in your life, if its too frustrating or too overwhelming, take some time off, you can always go back, no matter what other people say. Especially since you're younger. And don't let pursuing your Master's with difficulty make you think that you don't enjoy school, you're just not enjoying it at the moment. Don't let this one soured moment in your educational career spoil your good thoughts and the good words you share with others.

Answer 4

It's the next step up. Your 2nd year of uni was harder than your first, your third was harder than your second and a masters is harder by about the same amount as the 'step up' from second to third year. Most masters courses want you to have a 2:1 or a 1st because anything less and you will struggle. It's not going to be easy but it is possible. congratulations on your 2:1 - well done.

Answer 5

Believe me, everybody feels like this. Classes at the graduate level require more preparation time than classes at the undergrad level. Its not so much that they're hard, but they are really time consuming. However, you have to be willing to have studying be your top priority or you just won't survive. Talk to your profs, talk to your classmates. Make sure that you are completing every assignment, as it was assigned. Generally things like minimum paper length requirements aren't arbitrary. They are how many pages you'll need to include all of the information that needs to be included. One of the first skills that you need to acquire is getting the important points of a book without reading it. I had 500 page reading assignments, often due two days after they were assigned. You didn't say what program you're in, but I'm sure that there are similar tips that would help you.

There is something that you need to understand about grading. At the graduate level a C is a failing grade. Anything below a B will have to be repeated. Really, talk to your profs, your advisor, your classmates. You are an adult now, so a prof will rarely talk to you about your work unless you start the conversation. Ask what you're doing or not doing that is hurting your grades. Ask if they'll look at assignments before the due dates and give you feedback. Help is there, but you're going to have to ask. Good Luck!