How university works

[Shenz0r]

Hey guys...I'm back with more subjective questions.

Difficulty:

As you probably saw in my previous post, I'm looking at graduate medicine, and obviously it needs an extremely high GPA [MU: ~4, UoM: ~6.7]. I was wondering how hard is it to pull off such a feat. I mean, does it require raw talent of the likes of all you guys, or hard work. I'm willing to put in the effort, but is it something only those will pure skill can pull off? At the moment I think I currently sit in the 85 - 95 bracket in terms of ATAR (who knows). I can see that you guys that got 99.00+ are managing to pull HD after HD, but will this be possible for someone who achieves significantly lower?

Yes. Sometimes you'll hear people who got ATARs in the 80s or low 90s smashing every subject they do in university. You'll hear stories of some chancellor's scholars sometimes scraping with a pass or credit. University is a completely different ballgame from VCE. For the most part, hard work seems to the most important factor. But bear in mind that you not only need to put in the effort, but you need to study smart too (just like in VCE).

Time Constriants:

How do people that do 5+ subjects a semester manage time? Are you in any groups? Do you have a part-time job? How many hours do you put in a day?

No idea how people manage overloading but I think they're masochists. lol

The workload is going to differ for everybody. Some days I can get by with only watching 3 hours worth of lectures a day, other times I need to do that and cram for 3 hours...although bear in mind it's not how many hours you put in, but rather what you do in that time, that matters.

Resources:

Are the lecture notes provided by the lecturer sufficient to do well with? Or do they have holes in them. Do you take notes during the lecture, or just soak it in and rewatch/go through the slideshow again in your own time?

For most (if not, all) of the undergrad subjects I've had, the lecture notes are sufficient and are usually the only things you'll be examined on. Since the end of 1st year I've only ever briefly opened a textbook maybe 3-4 times.

You'll experiment and find out which works for you, some people like to listen and absorb whereas I'm a person who annotates everything on the lecture slides and then looks over them a billion times.

The people:

Are people more friendly and outgoing in uni that high school? Could you ask your lecturer questions and stuff?

Of course, lecturers/tutors/demonstrators encourage you to ask questions. You can email them whenever you need something clarified. And more people tend to be more friendly and outgoing (maturity factor) I think.

[Alps]

A lot of questions 

1) Is university like a scaled system? Whereas if everyone does well, it does not mean everyone will get HD?

2) Is it possible to get HD if i work really hard?

3) Is it worth getting a job + uni?

4) what is credit transfer?

5) What does this mean? Context: I want to switch from Bachelor of Arts to Commerce at UoM. I didnt do methods *_*

This quote is some high level thing for me 

Do as many commerce subjects as you can in your arts first year, as well as introduction to maths, as it covers the methods prerequisite to commerce - note that it's not a credited subject in commerce though.

Commerce takes a max of 37.5 points of level 1 breadth, so no more than 3 non-commerce subjects will be credited (assuming you only do level 1 subjects in 1st yr). You can circumvent this by doing level 2 subjects in second semester - you can't do level 2 subjects in first semester though.

Midyear transfer into commerce is quite competitive. I think midyear needs 75-80%+ average.

6) I cant wait to go to uni.. whats the best thing about it?

[extremeftw]

A lot of questions 

1) Is university like a scaled system? Whereas if everyone does well, it does not mean everyone will get HD?

 It varies from university to university and even from unit to unit. Some faculties/unit coordinators 'mark to a curve' (i.e. there might be a quota of say the top 20% of students get a HD) whereas others do not do this. In my expierence, it seems that marking an entire unit to a curve is quite rare in Australia (at least in the faculties I have been involved with), but that it isn't too uncommon to have some individual assignments marked in this way; for example in some of my units the graders have tried to fit everyone's marks for an essay to a normal distribution.

2) Is it possible to get HD if i work really hard?

 Of course.

3) Is it worth getting a job + uni?

 Depends on your circumstances. I think it's much better just to work over the summer holidays and not to work during university if you can avoid it.

4) what is credit transfer?

 Credit transfer means you are getting 'credit' for doing previous study that you have done when you are transferring degrees. For example, I was enrolled in an Arts/Science double degree and transferred to Arts/Economics so I received credit for my previously done Arts units and had my science units credited as electives as part of my economics degree.

5) What does this mean? Context: I want to switch from Bachelor of Arts to Commerce at UoM. I didnt do methods *_*

 So if you enroll in some commerce units as electives when you begin your Bachelor of Arts degree you could potentially receive credit for these units after you transfer which means you won't have to start from scratch in your new degree.

6) I cant wait to go to uni.. whats the best thing about it?

 The independence.

[Alps]

It varies from university to university and even from unit to unit. Some faculties/unit coordinators 'mark to a curve' (i.e. there might be a quota of say the top 20% of students get a HD) whereas others do not do this. In my expierence, it seems that marking an entire unit to a curve is quite rare in Australia (at least in the faculties I have been involved with), but that it isn't too uncommon to have some individual assignments marked in this way; for example in some of my units the graders have tried to fit everyone's marks for an essay to a normal distribution.

 Of course.

 Depends on your circumstances. I think it's much better just to work over the summer holidays and not to work during university if you can avoid it.

 Credit transfer means you are getting 'credit' for doing previous study that you have done when you are transferring degrees. For example, I was enrolled in an Arts/Science double degree and transferred to Arts/Economics so I received credit for my previously done Arts units and had my science units credited as electives as part of my economics degree.

 So if you enroll in some commerce units as electives when you begin your Bachelor of Arts degree you could potentially receive credit for these units after you transfer which means you won't have to start from scratch in your new degree.


 The independence.

Cheers mate, and how does one go from one degree to another that requires say Methods 3/4 if i havent done it?

[extremeftw]

Cheers mate, and how does one go from one degree to another that requires say Methods 3/4 if i havent done it?

 You could do the Methods equivalent at university as an elective unit (I think it might be MTH1010 at Monash, here is the link http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/units/MTH1010.html, University of Melbourne will have a similar unit) and then use that to satisfy the prerequisite.

[Alps]

You could do the Methods equivalent at university as an elective unit (I think it might be MTH1010 at Monash, here is the link http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/units/MTH1010.html, University of Melbourne will have a similar unit) and then use that to satisfy the prerequisite.

Awesome beauty mate

[Alps]

Hi, i heard there is a 7 point GPA scale in Monash? What marks do you need for say 4 out of 7, or 6 out of 7? is there a table or something i can follow it by? Thanks

[pi]

Hi, i heard there is a 7 point GPA scale in Monash? What marks do you need for say 4 out of 7, or 6 out of 7? is there a table or something i can follow it by? Thanks

Nope, 7 point is UoM.

http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/gpa.html

[heart]

Nope, 7 point is UoM.

http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/gpa.html

This is incorrect. The 7 point system is pretty much used for grad med courses, grad dent courses and also physiotherapy at Melbourne. Otherwise all the other graduate Melbourne courses requirements are based off WAM. 

[Alps]

Nope, 7 point is UoM.

http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/gpa.html

I was checking out the JD at monash and they use 7 point scale 

[SlothPlays]

Work + university? I need the money seriously. I dont know how work really operates. If my timetable changes can i ask for a change in shift times?

[keltingmeith]

Work + university? I need the money seriously. I dont know how work really operates. If my timetable changes can i ask for a change in shift times?

Assuming you get a casual job, you can let them know your uni timetable in some manner so that your work doesn't give you a shift during that time. If all else fails and they give it to you, you have two options:

1. Swap the shift with someone else who's a casual.
2. Skip the uni stuff. Unless it's a tute or lab, you don't really have to go (unless you're assessed on lecture attendance, but that doesn't happen a hell of a lot and they'll let you know if it is the case). (hell, even for tutes and labs you don't have to go, although it's highly recommended)

[SlothPlays]

Assuming you get a casual job, you can let them know your uni timetable in some manner so that your work doesn't give you a shift during that time. If all else fails and they give it to you, you have two options:

1. Swap the shift with someone else who's a casual.
2. Skip the uni stuff. Unless it's a tute or lab, you don't really have to go (unless you're assessed on lecture attendance, but that doesn't happen a hell of a lot and they'll let you know if it is the case). (hell, even for tutes and labs you don't have to go, although it's highly recommended)

I never really understood this. WHy dont i have to go to tutes and labs? Is there not some benefit of doing them?

[keltingmeith]

I never really understood this. WHy dont i have to go to tutes and labs? Is there not some benefit of doing them?

There is benefit in going, but when you get to uni you're an adult. Nobody cares if you do or don't go to things, because you make your own life decisions.

When we say you don't have to go, we don't mean that you're better or worse for not going. Just, quite literally, it's your choice if you go or not.

[SlothPlays]

There is benefit in going, but when you get to uni you're an adult. Nobody cares if you do or don't go to things, because you make your own life decisions.

When we say you don't have to go, we don't mean that you're better or worse for not going. Just, quite literally, it's your choice if you go or not.

Okay yup. Just another question.

In University how does it work.
So is it you go to a lecture, then you go to a tutorial? Which is like class discussions? And then you study for exams or tests?

Is there like a study design for units you chose so that you know you can cover the whole test?