Studying for University?

[vox nihili]

Hey,

I will most likely get into Biomedicine at either Melbourne University or Monash University, as I meet the latter's requirements. So my question is, should I start studying? I won't necessarily be 'forcing' myself to study, because I really do enjoy studying, but the question is, to do extremely good in University, should there be pre-Uni studies/preparation going on? If so, when/how do I start?

Thank you

I'm with everyone else, don't bother. You've just worked your arse off for 13 years; you've earned a break. Take it

[Orson]

Anyone know where to get those subject guides with the timetables for Monash subjects?

I'm with everyone else, don't bother. You've just worked your arse off for 13 years; you've earned a break. Take it

Ooh, congrats on getting into UoM MD. Did you major in HSF or something?

[vox nihili]

Anyone know where to get those subject guides with the timetables for Monash subjects?

Ooh, congrats on getting into UoM MD. Did you major in HSF or something?

Google Monash handbook, that's what you're looking for

Thank you! Nope, not at all. I majored in Biochem/Molecular Biology.

[CH3ezEC4KE]

I'd usually start studying the week after swotvac, but I am in business 

[Rod]

You really don't have to. I didn't do anything during the long holidays and winter breaks and still did well.

Just refuel now so you don't burn out during the semester!!

***Maybe if you are really bored you can get a bit ahead by asking someone for lecture notes/lecture videos and then going through them and staying ahead. If you are planning to work and do other things apart from study during uni then at times (especially towards the end) its really hard to balance everything, and get everything done. So staying ahead can benefit.

[cosine]

Okay thank you for everyone who has replied. I am getting the gist of, 'don't study because you need the break', and 'study lightly so you don't get lost when you enter university'. I'll put it this way, I will start studying/reading into the course in February, a month before University!

Can someone explain what University life is like? Is there competition with the subjects/courses like there was in VCE? In which ways is University different from VCE?

Thank you

[pi]

Check this thread out How university works

Feel free to bump it with more questions

edit: there was a part on "Do I need to study over the summer break?" haha I'll add to it taking into account discussion in this thread

edit 2: added a "VCE in my school was very competitive because of "rankings" and stuff, is that the same in uni?" question and answer

edit 3: answered all your questions

[zsteve]

My personal views would be that this holiday period is very useful for doing things that you don't get time for during the year. So unless there are some things which you feel like you need to consolidate (i.e. chem), I'd do something else.

[SuperCell.27]

Don't study the holidays before your first ever semester at uni. You've just finished VCE, a culmination of probably 2 years of hard work and stress, so its time for you to just chill.

First semester of uni for first year is more or less like a test run, where you get to know what is required of you in semesters to come. For first year first semester biomed UoM, there isn't much you can prepare for, since the biology core is run from the ground up (this is to accommodate non-bio background students) and chemistry is a different story to VCE chem. For your maths elective (depending on your pathway), there isn't much methods/specialist and even so its not worth worrying about since you will be confused on how to learn material in a way that complements the course.

One thing to prepare for is to plan your timetable and to get up early on day of class registration for next year. The following website:
https://sws.unimelb.edu.au/2016/ gives you the classes which will be available for your subjects, thus you can sort of plan ahead and you will be able to select the classes you want on registration day, but they can change without notice. For biomed especially, where you get around ~20 contact hours a week, you'd ideally want a good timetable with a legit day off or so. Otherwise you'd be hitting the chem labs at 6:30pm at night and have really f'ed up clashes and ridiculously long breaks. 

Uni jaffy life has more freedom compared to school life, which is rigid. You can bail/wag lectures, leave stuff to the last minute, and leave legit studying for exams until swotvac (for jaffy year/first semester). Of course, this is if you really wanted to; it's definitely not a recipe for HDs. One thing though, you should definitely make an effort to rock up to your practicals, which marks attendance and are hurdles, and also to your tutorials (15-25 students; classroom setting), where you probably learn more stuff than in lectures themselves. Check the unimelb handbook to identify which things are hurdles or not since they are different across subjects.

As for competition, thus far, it hasn't been as intense as VCE. University is more about yourself and not your peers. You have to make an effort to understand things yourself and not rest upon on how well/bad information is taught. You can have bad lecturers who explain convolutely, and yet you'd be expected to know material that they have mentioned. As for exams, some lecturers say that anything they say is examinable, and this is not just the lecture slides. You have both in semester assessment which accounts for a certain percentage of grades, and then you have the exam, which totals to 100%. The thing is though, not all assessment/exams are scaled. Also, nobody cares if you don't know jack, its just makes attending lectures useless since you are too behind to follow.   

TL:DR - take it easy, you've just finished VCE, plus there's not much you can study anyway. Make the most out of first sem to get a real taste of uni life.

[slothpomba]

Not worth it, they'll start you off slow and easy. The uni cirriculum is somewhat even more "thin" than VCE arguably. There's far less to simply just memorise, you wont be wading through piles of shit anymore. It's designed to be done in the 12 week semester you get, it really is. Its very rare to hear of uni students studying before it even starts, i would even think of it to be a somewhat stupid waste of time really (again, it really is doable in 12 weeks).

Few situations where it would make sense. Say you're taking biochemistry or math next semester and you're really bad at your foundations, then, it would make sense to brush up. I suppose if you're overloading or plan on working a lot too.

[Orb]

Don't study the holidays before your first ever semester at uni. You've just finished VCE, a culmination of probably 2 years of hard work and stress, so its time for you to just chill.

First semester of uni for first year is more or less like a test run, where you get to know what is required of you in semesters to come. For first year first semester biomed UoM, there isn't much you can prepare for, since the biology core is run from the ground up (this is to accommodate non-bio background students) and chemistry is a different story to VCE chem. For your maths elective (depending on your pathway), there isn't much methods/specialist and even so its not worth worrying about since you will be confused on how to learn material in a way that complements the course.

One thing to prepare for is to plan your timetable and to get up early on day of class registration for next year. The following website:
https://sws.unimelb.edu.au/2016/ gives you the classes which will be available for your subjects, thus you can sort of plan ahead and you will be able to select the classes you want on registration day, but they can change without notice. For biomed especially, where you get around ~20 contact hours a week, you'd ideally want a good timetable with a legit day off or so. Otherwise you'd be hitting the chem labs at 6:30pm at night and have really f'ed up clashes and ridiculously long breaks. 

Uni jaffy life has more freedom compared to school life, which is rigid. You can bail/wag lectures, leave stuff to the last minute, and leave legit studying for exams until swotvac (for jaffy year/first semester). Of course, this is if you really wanted to; it's definitely not a recipe for HDs. One thing though, you should definitely make an effort to rock up to your practicals, which marks attendance and are hurdles, and also to your tutorials (15-25 students; classroom setting), where you probably learn more stuff than in lectures themselves. Check the unimelb handbook to identify which things are hurdles or not since they are different across subjects.

As for competition, thus far, it hasn't been as intense as VCE. University is more about yourself and not your peers. You have to make an effort to understand things yourself and not rest upon on how well/bad information is taught. You can have bad lecturers who explain convolutely, and yet you'd be expected to know material that they have mentioned. As for exams, some lecturers say that anything they say is examinable, and this is not just the lecture slides. You have both in semester assessment which accounts for a certain percentage of grades, and then you have the exam, which totals to 100%. The thing is though, not all assessment/exams are scaled. Also, nobody cares if you don't know jack, its just makes attending lectures useless since you are too behind to follow.   

TL:DR - take it easy, you've just finished VCE, plus there's not much you can study anyway. Make the most out of first sem to get a real taste of uni life.

I had a look through your site link, and i've got the calendars up and running, it seems so ambiguous and confusing... eg. I picked Intro Macroeconomics and poof pops up like 25 periods in 5 days...
How am I meant to know which ones are connected and which ones aren't?

[Orson]

My personal views would be that this holiday period is very useful for doing things that you don't get time for during the year. So unless there are some things which you feel like you need to consolidate (i.e. chem), I'd do something else.

I have no real chem background whatsoever, and I'm doing Engineering next year, should I learn basic chem during the break? I'm pretty sure one of my first subjects is going to be foundation chemistry, or whatever its called (Chem I).

[keltingmeith]

I have no real chem background whatsoever, and I'm doing Engineering next year, should I learn basic chem during the break? I'm pretty sure one of my first subjects is going to be foundation chemistry, or whatever its called (Chem I).

Nah, she'll be right, that unit starts from scratch.