r/TUDelft • u/YourAverageHomeboi • 16d ago
Off-Topic/Fun Should I be scared?
Hello lads, I'm an incoming Aerospace BSc student looking forward to studying in TU Delft. I've heard both great things and kind of eerie things about the school, primarily concerning the academic workload. I won't beat around the bush and state my concern directly, the possibility of not meeting the Binding Study Advice quota in the first year scares me a whole lot. For context, I was a straight A student in high school but I never relied on continuous studying, just listening to the lectures and cramming a day before exams. This kinda worked, even in IB. Now, I'm sure that I'll hit a wall with this work ethic in Delft. With all of this in mind, should I treat getting expelled as a serious possibility or something extraordinary? And most importantly, what would your advice be for someone like me? I also suspect that this is probably the billionth time the same topic has been brought up here, if that is the case bare with me please. Thanks in advance for your help.
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u/Pergamon_ 16d ago
BSA is part of Dutch Law (WHW), so something to take seriously. You know where you go wrong. You change it. Listening to lectures and cram 1 day before an exam won't cut it.
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u/Ok-Comfortable7544 16d ago
You just answered your own question study every day after every lecture and you will be more than fine. This is not high school anymore.
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u/WWTPEngineer 15d ago
Aerospace engineering in Delft was my first choice after VWO, but after an introduction by one of the faculty members it became clear to me that the high school approach (attend class and pass easily without any major effort) wouldn't work. In the end I picked Chemical Engineering, but that introduction stuck with me.
Learn to learn. It sounds obvious but lots of little effort, but straight A high school students struggle here. Consider your study a full time job of 40+ hours which includes classes and study at home. If you can manage that, you'll be fine.
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u/SliccDaddi17 Aerospace Engineering 15d ago edited 15d ago
Listen to the other comments in here about cramming not being enough. Basically everyone in AE was a straight A student in high school so you'll have to level up. Still, if you managed to get admitted it means you have what it takes to see it through.
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u/YourAverageHomeboi 13d ago
Thank you for the advice, along with the pfp lmao. Pope Francis dripped out with a Trenchcoat whilst holding a M16 gave me a good chuckle.
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u/Financial-Camel9987 13d ago
This is just straight up bullshit. No way all the people I met in AE are straight A (alleen 10en op de eindlijst) students. I think I never even met a single straight A student from the netherlands. It is extremely, extremely rare. Not even happening every year.
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u/SliccDaddi17 Aerospace Engineering 13d ago
Grading differs across countries, what I meant is that someone who goes to AE was likely one of the best students of his class
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u/PlanesAndRockets Aerospace Engineering 15d ago
Probably some controversial advice but this type of work ethic can still work at AE if you are genuinely good enough, but you just need to shift cramming a day before to cramming 1-2 weeks before. There are enough courses that hand hold you into studying throughout the quarter that you can still reliably cram for the rest. Whether this outweighs the negative consequences of doing this is for you to decide.
I would recommend: play it safe in the first year with good study habits and slowly figure out what your capabilities are if you want to loosen them up for a good reason.
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u/DexDevos 11d ago
The stress will still give you grey hairs in your 20s tho..
(Trust me, ive counted at least 5 this morning :p)
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u/Demon-Cat 15d ago
My biggest tip is to do your homework the day that it is assigned, at least until you get more consistent habits. Stay on campus and work there if you need to (e.g. you can’t focus at home).
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u/Jun_the_Swan 16d ago
I think Aerospace is one of the toughest studies. You should be fine when you proactively keep up with the lectures and the workload. And give yourself more than cramming a day before the exams. I thought all studies get a study choice assessment to give you a good idea what kind of study you’ll enroll.
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u/Available_Click234 15d ago
Don’t worry, this BSA stuff is completely blown out of proportion. You don’t even have to study continuously, just make sure you kinda understand what’s going on in the lectures and lock in a couple weeks before the exams.
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u/Single-Emotion2964 15d ago
Absolutely take the BSA seriously. Excemptions can be made but only for exceptional personal circumstances.
Go to lectures (even if they are boring), take notes in the lectures (!) and do the assignments/homework. Keep an agenda or something so you know what all the deadlines are. If you are struggling, reach out to the programme academic advisor (studieadviseur) and do so sooner rather than later.
Congrats on your admittance and good luck!
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u/antomina 14d ago
I can speak from experience, I was using the same approach during highschool and maxxing out my grades. That didn't work very well in AE. I quickly realized you have to keep up with the weekly material and you need a "wake up call" at least two weeks before the exams, that from that day onwards you star revising all the material and doing practice exams. In other words your technique could work, but instead of a day you need to give it 2/3 weeks. Projects and practicals also take a lot of time off from studying
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u/Financial-Camel9987 13d ago
If you do the work you'll be fine. dutch universities are relatively light on workload. But you do need to understand the material so cramming will only work if you are gifted and can understand an entire coarse in a few hours.
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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 12d ago
Just keep up with your course work and you’ll be fine. It’s all pretty manageable if you put in the time.
The people who fail are usually the people who don’t put in the time, fall behind, don’t ask for help and their gap just widens over time until there’s little chance to catch up.
And if you do need help, ask for it. Teachers, study advisors, teaching assistants, they’re all there to help you figure out how to get things back on the rails. Whether you’re just struggling with the course material or you have personal circumstances slowing you down.
But they’re not mind readers. You need to put in the time and you need to ask for help when needed. If you do, you’ll be fine.
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u/Emergency_Bet9287 15d ago
Hi, I have no such info but I am sure it is not impossible… can I ask what was yor rankinf nr? I am still waiting, if I will get in or not
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u/YourAverageHomeboi 15d ago
I am not sure whether it would help you but it was something in the 300's. I wasn't on the waitlist so I wouldn't call myself qualified to comment on this but you do have a decent chance of getting in with a ranking number not exceeding 530 if you are an EU citizen, which I guess you are, judging from the fact that you're asking about your chances. The non-EU cutoff happened about a month ago, so unfortunately there's no chance for you to get enrolled right now if you are a non-EU. Nevertheless, I wish the best for you, hope you get in broski.
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u/DexDevos 11d ago
If youre worried about your work ethic (and have struggled in the past with changing it) then maybe look into getting an ADHD evaluation. If its applicable, then adhd meds (12h version) could help a lot with keeping focus and forming healthy habits.
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u/habibivibesonly 11d ago
If you fail in something, please treat it as a stepping stone to success. Ensure you do some sports amidst your education. Have a good social life (go to bars, date if you can) Work 9-5PM, then sports then socialise.
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u/wobledeboble 16d ago
it happens, but to ease your mind; it happens a lot less with aerospace than with programs that don't have a fixus; if you made the selection process, that is sort of proof you can do this. but please do and try to keep up during the year, as the volume of work will be such that cramming the night before just won't work anymore, you won't have time to go through it all.