Please help me with subject selection and prerequisites.

[user2357]

Hi,
I applied to unimelb through negotiated offer and will be offered a place in science in round 2.
I will attend the academic advice day on the 20th of February, but hopefully you can answer my questions now.
I don't know when I have to do my enrollment since I am accepting round 2 offers and I also don't know when I will be selecting first year subjects.
I read that to get into the unimelb MD, I have to do 2nd year biochemistry, anatomy and physiology so do I do these subjects in second year? Are there any prerequisite subjects that I have to do in first year in order to be able to do biochemistry, anatomy and physiology in second year?
I am also interested in engineering, which is why I did science instead of biomedicine, so I will be doing calculus 2 in first semester and linear algebra in the summer is possible (otherwise in semester 2).
I am not sure what to do in first year, I will do calculus 2 and linear algebra for sure, so there are 6-7 more subjects that I need to do (if I don't do breadth in first year).
I am interested in chemistry and physics so will probably do physics 1 & 2 and/or chemistry 1 & 2. Do I have to do biology in first year in order to do the MD prerequisites in second year?
I am also confused about majoring. Do I have to major in something in second year?

Edit:
I found the MD prerequisites: ANAT20006, BCMB20002 and PHYS20008. So I have to do BIOL10004, BIOL10005, CHEM10003 and CHEM10004 in first year. So this means that I will not be able to do physics in first year, or is it possible to fit it in? Physics was my best subject in high school so it would be nice to be able to fit it in.

[LeviLamp]

From what I've heard, first-year physics at UoM is comparatively poorly taught and fairly difficult (before the upscaling that tends to occur, mercifully, unlike in calculus and chemistry). I reckon you should be able to get Physics in, though; you have 5 spots taken up during first year without Physics (since Linear Algebra is in summer). You could take both Physics 1 and 2 AND get a breadth completed, and after summer semester you'd only have 15 subjects left within your degree. However, for postgraduate engineering, Calc 2 and Linear Algebra are all you need for SOME of the postgraduate engineering courses (they tend to need 2 first-year subjects in a relevant discipline, like physics, computer science etc. but I'm assuming you're not planning on software eng so first-year physics, chem and bio would cover most all of them), so from that point you could focus on your MD prerequisites and whichever major you choose. Your major is completed in 3rd year and is comprised of four subjects out of the degree's twenty-four. However, most subjects involved in your major will have prerequisites. After first year, you will have an idea of your desired major and should then choose appropriate second-year subjects to fulfil third-year prerequisites. Doing life sciences, chemistry, maths and physics in first year opens you up to a lot of majors; aside from earth sciences and geography you can do just about everything!

[user2357]

Thank you very much, really appreciate your help.
I got 96 in HSC physics, which I think is equivalent to 48 in VCE physics so will I be allowed to do physics 1/2 advanced? I also heard that first year physics is not well taught at unimelb which is a shame, even the prescribed textbook is pretty bad. If physics advanced is better taught, is it worth doing it or is it too hard to get good marks in?
I am mainly interested in chemical and mechanical engineering, so I was thinking about taking a lot of subjects in chemistry and physics but I also need to make sure I take subjects I am good at to boost my GPA.
Also, what are some unimelb specific study tips to get the highest marks possible? I would like to start strong and follow good study habits and routines so any advice is appreciated.

Edit:
One other question, is it possible for BSc students to do breadths from biomedicine or does it have to be non-scientific? Is there a list of breadths one can do for BSc?

[LeviLamp]

A list of available breadths is available in the handbook, which I suggest you try and find yourself to get to grips with the system You cannot take biomedicine-exclusive subjects in the BSc, but the majority of subjects from the faculties of Arts and Commerce can be taken as breadth, as well as many Environments subjects and many non-Music-student-tailored Music subjects. The VCA also offers fine arts breadths and the university additionally offers university breadth subjects that can be taken as breadth in any non-Fine Arts undergraduate degree. If you're doing Chemical Engineering you'd need to do Chemistry 1 and 2, and Mechanical Engineering requires two first-year physics subjects, so do Physics 1/2 (Advanced if you like; I think you qualify if you got a study score of 35 in your Specialist Maths equivalent alongside a high mark >35 in Physics) or just plain ol' Physics 1 and 2 (the 2 you select will depend on whether you're more interested in life sciences or the mechanical-type things in engineering) which mostly cover non-VCE material anyway. In second year, depending on what you choose for your major, you may want to do some engineering-type or physics/chemistry subjects to help improve your knowledge, but that is by no means required for your postgraduate degree. Don't worry about your major too much until you're past first year! Study tips are basically just what you'd expect; pay attention to the types of assessment and what they ask of you, study a lot, study in a way that suits you, make sure you understand things, don't fall too far behind, ask people if you need help etc. etc. If you work hard and work smart while being aware of what you need to do you should be fine

(I didn't separate that into paragraphs, I'm so sorry :s)

[user2357]

Thank you so much, you're very helpful. I was really depressed yesterday because I was so confused with the system but I feel really good now that things are much clearer, thank you!
I got an equivalent score of 47 in 3U maths and 43 in 4U but I don't feel too confident with maths but I will most likely do the advanced level of physics, hopefully the teachers are better.
I think physics is always poorly taught, at most universities. I read a book by Feynman called the Feynman Lectures on Physics and he said that the majority of people at Caltech did very poorly on tests, only 12% did well so I think no matter how hard teachers try, they can't do an excellent job.
I am very excited and will do my very best from day 1, in year 12 I noticed that I excelled only in subjects in which I had a strong start, it is like a snowball effect.
Thank you again!

[LeviLamp]

If you have more specific questions or if I've gotten something wrong, remember you can always email subject coordinators for specific information about individual subjects (since I have no idea about the specifics of Physics 1/2 or how they work). In my experience, every email I've sent has gotten a reply and they've usually come quite quickly, so don't hesitate. Good luck this year

[user2357]

Ok, I will contact them regarding physics. Do I find their contact details in the handbook or do I just send an email to [email protected]?

I have one other question regarding majors. How do double majors work? Is it possible to double major considering I am doing MD prerequisites in second year? Is the workload significantly higher with double majors? If so, is it not recommended to double major for people considering getting into medicine?