Hitting the top of the net

For some people the top of net can be the difference between a First and a 2.1. With a little luck you make it over in to hallowed First territory. Or maybe you don't and you only wish luck had been more affectionate with you. After all, luck is what separates the highest 2.1s and lowest Firsts, isn't it? I am not so sure.

Like much of psychological research, this is a matter of averages. All other things being equal, if you increase the number of participants in a study the more reliable the data become; the chance of chance messing up your numbers is reduced with each new person through the door.

Your final degree classification does not suffer from too few participants. In fact, by the time you reach the end of your degree, your classification won't hang on the whim of the occasional marker or odd piece of alcohol-infused work you hand in. It will hang on the aggregated quality of your plentiful work.

Match Point is Woody Allen's most satisfying and chilly film in a long time and I think the fable about luck is appropriate in many situations - it is scary to think how big a role luck plays. However, with your degree classification luck is not the biggest player: consistently good work is.

Those of you who discover you are on the wrong side of 70% in June may feel unlucky but really you have not worked hard enough. You know the division is there. If you sense you are close, now is the time to make sure you start hitting the ball a little bit harder.