College/uni difficulty

[Psyche_92]

Hello,

My goal and life purpose is to become a Psychologist/Psychotherapist, and in my country i need a masters degree in Pyschology to even make a chance on getting a job in the field, which requires me to go to college for 3 years, and probably also 2 years of uni.

Today i did some good research, and ended up with a list of books that are used in the course i'm going to attend. This caught my interest, and i ended up going to the library to have a sneakpeak of them. I also tried doing a test on the website of the university i will attend, and i came to the conclusion that it's going to be way harder than i expected. At least that's what it looks like right now. The main problems that immediately came obvious to me where the complex vocabulary, and also the complexity of the science used to explain some of the most basic Psychology concepts. As i opened some of the books, and read some paragraphs, i literally couldn't understand anything from what i had just read. This was a funny blow to my ego, as i thought i would have build up a decent vocabulary after reading a good amount of self-help books. Nevertheless this hit my confidence a little, and now i'm here thinking i'm not smart enough.

Now i know i can expand my vocabulary and stuff if i read more of these books, but the thing that bothers me the most is that they are from the first semester, so they are actually the most basic and fundamental stuff. This together with the fact that i never really had to study, is scary to me.

What would you advise, apart from the obvious as in reading a ton more?

Edited July 1, 2019 by Psyche_92

[Elisabeth]

29 minutes ago, Psyche_92 said:

Hello,

My goal and life purpose is to become a Psychologist/Psychotherapist, and in my country i need a masters degree in Pyschology to even make a chance on getting a job in the field, which requires me to go to college for 3 years, and probably also 2 years of uni.

Today i did some good research, and ended up with a list of books that are used in the course i'm going to attend. This caught my interest, and i ended up going to the library to have a sneakpeak of them. I also tried doing a test on the website of the university i will attend, and i came to the conclusion that it's going to be way harder than i expected. At least that's what it looks like right now. The main problems that immediately came obvious to me where the complex vocabulary, and also the complexity of the science used to explain some of the most basic Psychology concepts. As i opened some of the books, and read some paragraphs, i literally couldn't understand anything from what i had just read. This was a funny blow to my ego, as i thought i would have build up a decent vocabulary after reading a good amount of self-help books. Nevertheless this hit my confidence a little, and now i'm here thinking i'm not smart enough.

Now i know i can expand my vocabulary and stuff if i read more of these books, but the thing that bothers me the most is that they are from the first semester, so they are actually the most basic and fundamental stuff. This together with the fact that i never really had to study, is scary to me.

What would you advise, apart from the obvious as in reading a ton more?

• Yes, college is a lot harder than high school, for everyone. 
• Drop the "I'm not smart enough" narrative, instead, realize you're a beginner, and get into the "I'm still learning" mindset. The 'I'm not smart enough' worm is a nasty limiting belief that sometimes follows people throughout all of their college and phd. It's rarely true. It's mostly a matter of resilience in the face of adversity, and a willingness to know nothing and learn. 
• Get some older friends/mentors from your uni and ask how they handled the transition. You can also ask about the stuff you don't know. 
• If your coursebooks suck, get some from USA. They tend to write in a 'for dummies' style  (ok, I'm actually not sure that's true in psychology - but the point is, extra sources can help)

[Psyche_92]

38 minutes ago, Elisabeth said:

Get some older friends/mentors from your uni and ask how they handled the transition. You can also ask about the stuff you don't know. 

HA funny, i'm actually 26. Probably going to start when i'm 27.. So i'm actually the old one. Let's hope i'm not older than the mentor. Yea my age is holding me back a little.. Can't help it

38 minutes ago, Elisabeth said:

If your coursebooks suck, get some from USA. They tend to write in a 'for dummies' style

Nah, can't do that. These books are hardcoded into the course, and a lot are from the same author, which is actually a professor in college from this country i'm living in. There is no way i can use any other books but these.

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Psyche_92

[Elisabeth]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

3 minutes ago, Psyche_92 said:

HA funny, i'm actually 26. Probably going to start when i'm 27.. So i'm actually the old one. Let's hope i'm not older than the mentor. Yea my age is holding me back a little.. Can't help it

Never mind, so get some friends your age who already did that uni. Experience is the point. 

Nah, can't do that. These books are hardcoded into the course, and a lot are from the same author, which is actually a professor in college from this country i'm living in. There is no way i can use any other books but these.

Yeah, you'll need to read those, but starting with something that was written in a more pedagogical manner is still a good idea. 

 

[RobertZ]

Read PhD dissertations.   Especially focus on the introductions and discussion sections.  Skip methods and results, unless it is interviews.  Dissertations summarize areas for a broader audience, and will tell you the current state of affairs of the science—like juicy questions your teachers might be interested in.

One place to get dissertations: When you become a student,

—> go to your university library website,

—>click on databases,

—> in and search for ‘dissertation’, or look for a database called Proquest. 

Then search ‘psychology’ or browse dissertations. E.g., cognitive behavioural, or whatever area.

Teachers will also assign difficult material, and half of the battle is paying attention to what you’re reading. However, there is tons of interesting and quite easily accessible psychological materials out there. A lot of dissertations summarize info in an accessible manner

Edited July 4, 2019 by RobertZ
Detail/grammar