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March 29, 2024, 04:55:12 am

Author Topic: Why should I do UMEP?  (Read 2804 times)  Share 

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A+study

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Why should I do UMEP?
« on: January 16, 2013, 04:40:48 pm »
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After being offered a place for UMEP Psych, I'm starting to become a bit concerned that its not a good idea because:

- It's 5 hours a week (plus travel time)
- I am dropping a subject I could get 40+ in
- I'm worried it could be really, really hard
- I would be doing 3/4 Psych concurrently so I only really have 1/2 Psych knowledge currently and it might confused me?

Would I be losing a massive opportunity if I don't take this? I kinda like the prestige of UMEP but my worries above are causing me much agony!

Please help me decide whether to do UMEP + 4 subjects or just normal 5 vce subjects!
Thanks in advance!!
« Last Edit: January 21, 2013, 07:30:13 pm by A+study »

ggxoxo

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Re: Why should I do UMEP?
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2013, 05:16:26 pm »
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1) Travel time is sooooo annoying- if I were to repeat UMEP again I would have just listened to lectures online and I would have just went on campus for tutes (you can use your free periods to listen to lectures)

Also consider if you are going to a study centre, it will usually be a weekday (Tuesday, for me) and the followng day I usually had a SAC but I would usually get home at around 9:00 (usually brain-dead) and not wanting to do anymore studying! So do consider this! I know you won't notice any difference if you do a couple of late nights but, in the long run, you run the risk of burning out, esp before exams!

2) IMO it's much easier to get a H1 for a UMEP science subject than a 45+ in VCE (this is my opinion)

Therefore, unless you are absolutely sure this subject you are referring to will be in your Top 4 then I would advise you to do UMEP

If this subject will be in your Bottom 2 then do UMEP (less work to get 4.5+; seriously I did like half of the ONE practice exam they gave us in Sem 1 and 2 and got H1s for both semester). Also, I noticed you can cram full on for a uni subject and get good grades (not necessarily the same for VCE subjects :( )

3) The difference between uni and VCE (again, in my opinion) is the AMOUNT they teach you. There is usually MORE that they teach you in uni within the 12-week period than two terms in VCE. That said, uni exams are usually easier than in VCE (I know this was the case for Biology) because it's usually memory-based than applying your knowledge to unknown situations.

To give you an example, for my Sem 2 UMEP Biol exam, there were easy quite a lot of marks available just by matching words to its definition.

The disadvantage at uni is there is NO study design; content in exam can come from ANYWHERE in lectures. For example, one of our questions in Sem 2, again, was "Insects composed how much of the world?" And there were like random figures listed- this percentage, however, was only briefly referred in a lecture. So, in this respect, uni exams can be hard.

4) On the other hand, it could motivate you- you would be thinking that you're doing a higher level Psychology subject than your competition, leading you to outperform them (think positively!)

5) tbh, you will not be losing a massive opportunity: aside from, experiencing uni life earlier- for example, this year, I don't feel daunted about going to uni because I know some uni jargon, how to navigate through the portal, the campus, etc- AND, of course, the friendships that you will make through the program
« Last Edit: January 16, 2013, 05:19:49 pm by ggxoxo »

t35t

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Re: Why should I do UMEP?
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2013, 01:08:03 pm »
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What ggxoxo said was right- I did UMEP biology as well- however you could say that I took a very half-assed approach to it. I still ended up with a H1 for both semesters however. If UMEP psychology is anything similar to UMEP biology then you should be fine. My student centre days were on tuesdays, and I always found that, upon getting home at about 8:30, followed by a short dinner, my brain would usually be exhausted and tired by the time I'd start studying at 10 or 9:30. However you sometimes work around it and mix up your schedule just to make it a bit more bearable. For example, on some weeks I found sleeping straight after dinner at 8:30 followed by an early rise at 1:30AM would given me about 6 hours or so to study. this routine however quickly became exhausting.

On another note however, once you get a general rhythm working, it does become a bit more enjoyable. Though I'd say that most of the students in the centre that I went to started dozing off during the lectures out of sheer exhaustion. That said, you do form quite strong ties with your group- every week we'd each bring in lollies, fish and chips, sometimes exotic cuisines and 2 minute noodles and we would have a little meal as the teacher would present the lectures- so it wasn't all that bad.

Also the travel time is a major drainer too... everything from going to the compulsory practical lessons at melbourne university to going back and forth from your student centre. I would say however, that the moments in between the UMEP course and year 12 were golden for me. It was sort of a forceful moment of respite, a compulsory break from the tedium and efforts of year 12 compounded by the impossibility of doing any form of productive study on the train ride back or bus ride (as was my case)  back.

To give you a clearer picture of how I passed my UMEP experience- I missed out on every single lecture, did not bother to watch any of the online lectures either (aside from when a concept was really unclear to me or maybe one or four select lectures+ the revision lecture two days before the actual exam), skipped out on every single tutorial, topic tutorial (aside from attending probably 1 tutorial per semester for revision), only studied by looking over the lecture notes 3 times before the exam, and also did perhaps half a practice exam and still went fine. I still did relatively decent in my VCE subjects however- and that was because I made sure to concentrate on that and not my UMEP.

To also respond to your other query about a concurrent unit 3/4 psychology in addition to UMEP psychology- i would say that having a 3/4 background greatly benefitted me for semester one only. Semester two was on an entirely different tangent to be honest. But quickly you get a feel for your subject.

In conclusion, UMEP during VCE is not as easy as an experience as I have perhaps painted to you. It is about persistence and endurance, cutting corners and taking efficient shortcuts. For example, my experience was not entirely devoid of dedication and commitment. I made sure to pay close attention during the student centre lectures, taking notes as we went along. If that helped at all? I am unsure. Maybe it did, or maybe it didn't. Either way, in order to get that 4.5 (or 5.0- but that requires quite a lot of effort in my opinion, for a 0.5 difference), you need to pay attention- but not always- only pay attention when it is absolutely necessitous (in order to prevent a burn out).