UoM General Chat

[golden]

I PROMISE to stop asking questions after this one, but I'm having a minor obsessiveness-related crisis. Do the things in Dawn's recommended textbook readings come up in assessments or is it all derived from ILTs/pracs/lectures?
(I'm sorry to keep bothering you all like this.)

Levi, there is absolutely nothing with what you are doing.

Anyway, assuming the first year biology requirements are the same for Dawn's lectures across her main subjects, the readings are there only to reinforce your learning, and are therefore not completely examinable. She usually tells you what you need to know or eventually will do so in a very transparent manner.

The ILTs I do not remember if are examinable, but I don't think it will be too tested on.
The practicals probably not, but the main point is important, which will be in the lectures anyway.
In other words, the lectures along with the tutorials are practically complete coverage.

[pink0829]

I didn't read the textbook for this subject at all. And I didn't look at the ILTs when preparing for the exam. I think you have to know stuff from the practicals though. But don't worry because the practicals are basically working out the pattern of inheritance or gene interaction in an organism or something which is already covered in lectures anyway. Dawn is usually pretty clear on what she expects you to know but if you are unsure just ask her after the lecture or email her. She'll talk to you about what you would need to know and why you need to know... she is so cute!!

[Gekko]

When applying for law school in the US you put an international application through LSAC and they assess your grades. They don't give you an equivalent GPA though- they just look at your transcript and summarise it and give to the law schools to whom you apply. So I wouldn't worry about whether your GPA is a 3.9, 4.0 etc.

Having a GPA over 85% will help you get in- but the emphasis is placed on the LSAT score which you get because everyone applying has good grades. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for your reply - that really helps. I actually want to go to HLS so that is quite reassuring. I'll just try to maintain an average of above 85. I'm sure they wouldn't place very much emphasis on first semester of first year marks at all so I really need to ensure I do very well in second/third year subjects as I'm sure more weighting will be put on them?

I'm going to start doing some preparation for the LSAT over the summer holidays. If I feel really comfortable then I may sit it towards the middle of next year or if not I'll just consistently devote just a few hours a week to it during the academic periods and more on holidays and do it in my 3rd year. HLS does not just look at your highest LSAT mark but averages them all so I need to be careful.

Thanks for your help!

[Greatness]

>> week 3 begins tomorrow..... wow.

[charmanderp]

You need pretty considerable extra-curriculars for American post-grad entry too, I've heard.

With your average, is it true that only the last three years of your academic participation are taken into account? Or does that only apply to GPA?

[Gekko]

You're welcome! I'm kind of in the same boat as you except aiming for Stanford/Columbia instead. Also if you're looking for good LSAT resources I recommend the official LSAT prep tests (found in the other co-op bookstore) but not the mcgraw hill books which can also be found there because they're either full of mistakes or aren't that applicable to the real thing. And then when you get through these tests I recommend ordering the 'Powerscore logic games' bibles online- they're really good to use

Thanks for your advice. I actually sourced a lot of those materials on the day of my last VCE exam when I got home and I thought to myself: "Wow - I literally have nothing to do until I get my results" and this terrible weight was on my shoulders. I never actually made much of a start though, I just did some light reading.

[charmanderp]

Does anyone know if it's possible to overload while on exchange?

[ieatcrayons]

I'm an arts students, with no exams this semester, just four final essays, each worth between 50-70% of my marks. Annoyingly, ALL four of them are due on the one day, November 4th, right at the start of the exam period. Normally I can deal with multiple things due on the same day or within a week, but having ALL of my final assessment due on one day is a little insane.
If I was living in college or at home I could deal with it fine, but I work 30 hours a week on top of full time study to support myself, and as I'm only a casual, taking time off will mean not being able to pay rent.
I've spoken to my tutors but they all basically just said I can't get an extension because of the University Special Consideration policy. Any advice on what I could do? Would it be worth considering taking out an interest free student support loan so that I can afford to work less hours?

[Russ]

I think student services will loan you $600 unsecured/interest free, which seems like a good deal if you need the time off.
Can you just do the exams over time, earlier? Or are they take home essays?

[simpak]

I would either try to get a loan off the student services people or potentially ask somebody else if they might loan you the extra money you would need (a significant other, a parent) if you feel comfortable asking and you think you'd be able to pay them back quite efficiently after exams are done and you could potentially pick up some more shifts or whatever to make up the difference.

[werdna]

Is anyone going to tomorrow's Internship Fair? Is it good to go to?

[Sinner]

Is anyone going to tomorrow's Internship Fair? Is it good to go to?

Probably. For a commerce student like you, you should. Work Experience matters highly in your future and CV, but probably most in commerce more than that of other disciplines.

[lavalamp123]

The awkward moment when a few days ago, your Semester One subjects were taken off the LMS. The awkward moment when today, one of them comes back.

[vox nihili]

The awkward moment when a few days ago, your Semester One subjects were taken off the LMS. The awkward moment when today, one of them comes back.

It's just like it's playing peek-a-boo!

[simpak]

That's what happens when they're deciding whether to retract your Pass mark in that subject and whether to fail you instead :3

In other news, WEHI has released it's 2014 Honours projects today which adds to the Burnet Institute projects if anyone else is thinking of doing Honours next year with me!  JUST AN ALERT FOR U.