6th March 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Since the 1990s, the number of first-class degrees that are awarded to students has tripled in number. Some say that this is because higher marks are easier to achieve now, but having just sat my finals, I would quite happily shoot anyone who tried to argue that point with me. The graduate job market is completely saturated and in order for us to have any chance of gaining that coveted graduate scheme or first job, a 2:1 or first is a must.
As an Arts student, I know just how great it feels to get anything above 70 per cent in an essay or exam – a far cry from the 90 per cent marks at school. However, it is easier to achieve 90 or 95 per cent in a Maths exam in which completely correct answers can be given. This means that fundamentally it is easier to get a very high mark in subjects such as Maths and Physics. Conversely, an Arts student would hardly ever (and in fact I’ve never heard of anyone receiving this) achieve 20 per cent in a paper whereas this could happen in the sciences.
While the number of firsts awarded might seem unfair to those of us slaving away with our essays and books, the number of failures seems to balance this out. However, studies have shown that obtaining a first-class degree could provide graduates with a critical advantage. According to a report last year from the Association of Graduate Recruiters, an increasing number of employers were considering increasing their minimum degree requirement to a first due to the large volume of graduates achieving this.
Even though the most common selection criteria used by companies is a 2:1 or higher, our job market already excludes students achieving 2:2s even in difficult subjects from universities at the top of the Russell Group. The fact that this has happened within the past decade means that potentially my children will be entering a job market in which students with 2:1s will be excluded from applying to certain jobs – a scary thought.