Questions re: languages and degrees

[Caledu]

Hi, prospective Monash student here. Thinking about my future is giving me a headache and so I've come to seek the advice of all the nice people here. Basically what I'm looking for is a degree where I can major in 2 languages(not sure if this is possible), (most likely) major in psych, and also keep my options open for graduate entry med.
I've narrowed it down to 3 options:
1) Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Biomedical Science + Diploma of Languages,
2) Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts + Diploma of Languages, or
3) Bachelor of Biomedical Science (using electives to major in psych) + Diploma of Languages

Questions:
1. There's a page (https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1281454/Graduate-Entry-FAQs-2018.pdf) where it says:
"Applicants can apply for one of the 50 places as for single degree students but must be able to take an early exit from the double degree. "
If doing a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Biomedical Science, would I be able to complete my major in psych before having to take an early exit for the 50 reserved biomed places? Would it appear on my testamur? Will I have completed my Diploma of Languages by then?
2. I read in another thread that you can only start a Diploma of Languages in second year, is this true or can I start straight after Year 12?
3. What are my chances of getting into grad med through a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts? Would I also have to take an early exit for this?
4. Would I still be put in Chinese introductory for background speakers even if I speak shit (probably worse than a grade one) Cantonese?
5. I'm aware that options 1 and 3 would only allow me to do 1 language, so as a last resort, could I learn the other in a graduate degree or the med one if I decide to do it?
6. Keeping in mind that I'm not 100% sure if I want to pursue psych or med, what would be the best route for me?

[www]

2) Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts + Diploma of Languages

You can do Sci/Arts and not have to do the diploma if you want to major in two languages. You would double major under the Arts degree, and follow a Psych major in the Science degree. I'm not sure if this leaves you room in the Science degree to satisfy any requirements for Med pathways, though. The Science degree requires you to take 2 introductory sequences in your first year, so in the case you do not follow up on Psych, you can fall back on the other Science related area of study to major in.

6. Keeping in mind that I'm not 100% sure if I want to pursue psych or med, what would be the best route for me?

I would personally say the Sci/Arts double degree keeps your options pretty open. I don't understand much about admissions into Med, but just going based off your wish to study two languages and possibly Psychology, this seems to satisfy that and give you some freedom to pursue another Science area of study, and find pathways into Med if you wish.

Hopefully others can answer your other questions. Have you thought of contacting Monash directly? They'll probably give some more comprehensive and official answers.

[VanillaRice]

1)  A major is 48 points (8 x 6point units), which is equal to the number of points for free electives you would have in a single biomed degree, so I would say that its possible. However, an early exit via this pathway (assuming you want to exit after your third year) would require you to change your course plan slightly, and you'll basically be following this course map.

3) For Monash, your chances are the same as anyone else applying through the non-biomed pathway. You do not have to take an early exit to be eligible. For other universities, you chances are the same as anyone else (provided you meet any prerequisites).

5) Not sure if you'll be permitted to complete a Diploma of Languages alongside a medical course, as the course structure is usually quite rigid. You won't have any free electives in a medical course (at Monash anyway) to complete a major in a language.

Hope this helps

[Caledu]

Hopefully others can answer your other questions. Have you thought of contacting Monash directly? They'll probably give some more comprehensive and official answers.

Thanks for the info! Do you know where I could ask them?

Seeing as you're doing the double, could you describe your experiences so far? Is there anything I need to know about it? Do you mind sharing why you chose this degree? I'm curious to know because I haven't seen any other people doing it and it looks like a great option.

[AngelWings]

Just popping in to say "hi" as a current BSci (Honours) student who casually has a Japanese minor.

Thanks for the info! Do you know where I could ask them?

Tried this website for details?
Also, you tried the Ask Monash University Thread yet?

4. Would I still be put in Chinese introductory for background speakers even if I speak shit (probably worse than a grade one) Cantonese?

Depends on if you can read, write, speak and listen to Mandarin Chinese at all. It's likely that you will though. I actually got put into this just before I started my first year, but I actually jumped ship and went back to Japanese after studying it in VCE. (But I'll save that story for another time...)

[VanillaRice]

Seeing as you're doing the double, could you describe your experiences so far? Is there anything I need to know about it? Do you mind sharing why you chose this degree? I'm curious to know because I haven't seen any other people doing it and it looks like a great option.

I wanted to do a bit of maths alongside biomed, so I decided to go with the double degree with science so I could do a maths major (actually I originally wanted to do stats via commerce but then swapped over to science after a semester) The units I've done so far have been quite good, and I'm looking forward to my future units as well. Probably one thing to note is that if you're looking to extend on the things you learn in biomed by doing a biomed-related major (e.g. immunology, physiology, anatomy...) in science, you can't actually do that in this double degree.
Not really sure what else to say here haha but I'm happy to answer any other questions you have

[Caledu]

Just popping in to say "hi" as a current BSci (Honours) student who casually has a Japanese minor.
Tried this website for details?
Also, you tried the Ask Monash University Thread yet?
Depends on if you can read, write, speak and listen to Mandarin Chinese at all. It's likely that you will though. I actually got put into this just before I started my first year, but I actually jumped ship and went back to Japanese after studying it in VCE. (But I'll save that story for another time...)

Thanks, and quite embarrassingly, I can't do any of those things. I literally only know how to speak Canto, though not even decently. Does that mean I'll be put in the normal introductory one and do you know if any Chinese people are in there at all? By the way, for the electives in a sci degree can you choose to major straight away?

I wanted to do a bit of maths alongside biomed, so I decided to go with the double degree with science so I could do a maths major (actually I originally wanted to do stats via commerce but then swapped over to science after a semester) The units I've done so far have been quite good, and I'm looking forward to my future units as well. Probably one thing to note is that if you're looking to extend on the things you learn in biomed by doing a biomed-related major (e.g. immunology, physiology, anatomy...) in science, you can't actually do that in this double degree.
Not really sure what else to say here haha but I'm happy to answer any other questions you have

Thanks, this helped me realise that my interests are similar to yours in that we both want to do something else alongside biomed and right now, it's looking like the best option for me.

[AngelWings]

Thanks, and quite embarrassingly, I can't do any of those things. I literally only know how to speak Canto, though not even decently. Does that mean I'll be put in the normal introductory one and do you know if any Chinese people are in there at all? By the way, for the electives in a sci degree can you choose to major straight away?

Eh... I'm not too sure, as I can do all four, however, you'll know if you take the placement test. Usually, if you have any background at all, they are more likely to put you in the Chinese Background stream over the normal, as they teach both culture (which you'll probably have picked up) and the language itself, but they'll teach you from scratch regardless of the stream.

As for majoring in science? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. At Monash, you must do the general units in first year. For example, you want to major in immunology? Do biology. Want to do astrophysics? Do physics. For the elective slots, you can only do a certain number of units anyway meaning that you can't major in, say, Chinese from it. You could, however, double major in Ecology and Genetics (what a friend of mine did) - as long as it's within Science if you do the single degree.   

[VanillaRice]

Thanks, this helped me realise that my interests are similar to yours in that we both want to do something else alongside biomed and right now, it's looking like the best option for me.

Glad to have helped You'll probably find that your interests/decisions will change as you get closer to the end of year, and even after you've started a degree, you can also transfer (and often with no extra time required).