I am going to be a senior!

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A senior in University that is, not high school.

I've just been thinking about that recently. Understandably I have mixed emotions, I'm sure that my upcoming academic year will likely be tougher than the previous years. However, it's somewhat exciting that my time in University is almost at a close. Also scary. In September, if the University is running again at that point, I'll be in my final year.

On a only partially related note, it won't be long until I'm twenty one either.

Have they adopted the term “senior” for university students in their last year in the UK?

Anyway...excellent luck in your senior year.

I assumed she meant "senior citizen", until I saw who the poster was.

Whoops.

Nah, it'll be a while until then.



Typically most people refer to them as third years or final years. However, I have heard a few people use the term seniors before to refer to final years, but it's not particularly common in the UK. We call our first years Freshers though sometimes. Then our second years are just second years. Occasionally sophomores but that's rather rare.

My secondary school had high school in the name, but we only ever referred to it as a secondary school. Our education system here is a little strange.

Also, thanks for wishing me luck.

In the US, it is universally freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior in both high school and undergrad college.

I remember learning those terms from watching Grease, when I was ten.

So that’s how it goes!

UK it’s:
School:
First year (now renamed 7th)
Second year (now renamed 8th)
Third year (now renamed 9th)
Fourth year (now renamed 10th)
Fifth year (now renamed 11th)
-General Certificate of Secondary Education- (11 subjects)
Lower Sixth form*
Upper Sixth form
-A Level- (3 subjects)**

University:
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
-Bachelors Degree- (one subject)
Then various Masters and PHDs, years of study vary depending on uni and subject.

*at this point you can go to a college that does vocational training towards a ‘BTEC’ instead, or an in-work apprenticeship.
**at some point after I left school this was changed to 12th year leading to AS level (in 5 subjects) then 13th year leading to A level.

I always forget about the Junior stage of the American school system.

@Karamazov

I heard a joke about this once.

UK student: I'm in sixth form.

Students elsewhere: ...Oh, cool, uh, How many regenerations do you have left?



Sixth form is sometimes referred to as year 12 and 13. I personally think that makes more sense. However, I went the vocational BTEC route via a College instead of A-Levels so I wasn't in sixth form. I know a few people who did both.

Also, I did a foundation year (sometimes called year zero) before starting my Bachelor Of Arts degree. It doesn't count towards my final grade; I just needed to complete it in order to get onto the course I wanted to do. My teachers used to joke about the fact that I got to be a Fresher twice. It gave me a little bit of a head start since I already knew the grading system and general building layout by the time I started my first official year.

^ yeah, I in was the last year they numbered secondary education 1-5 followed by the two year A-levels... so I can convert between the two.
I started a BTEC foundation after A-levels at a college, but dropped out and then went straight to university as a mature student after working in a factory for a bit.
When I was in school most kids left after GCSEs: the sixth form was only thirty kids over both years!

I only have one more module to finish and then my second year will be over. My last deadline is 12th May. After that I'll no longer be a second year.

Good luck!

I found third year uni the hardest of all: but there was a little cluster of outside-of-academia issues involved there, I think the actual work itself was subjectively easier...
I mean it was harder objectively, but due to the learning & experience in previous years of education it was less of a challenge personally.

I also managed to offend the third year tutor and his teaching aid on the first day of third year: that might have been a factor

Secondary school in British-influenced schools used to call each year a “form.”

Usually, one did 5 “forms” before sitting the “O-levels.”

Yeah, the ‘O’ (ordinary) levels were replaced with GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) at some point in, I think, the eighties.
And the numbering and naming shifted in the mid-nineties.

Congratulations!

I handed in my last project today, so now my second year is over.

Congratulations: well done!
(There are various emojis of balloons and party poppers on my phone keyboard that don’t work here, but imagine a small selection thereof )