Ask The University of Melbourne

[uservvv]

Hi, just wondering if it is possible to do two breadths in one semester?
I am a 1st yr commerce student, and right now my sem 2 subjects are: intro macro, principles of management, principles of marketing, and French 2. I would like to change principles of management to business law.. Can I do that?

[bts]

Jut wondering can I do a level one subject in year 3 biomed course?

[Wackky]

Hey everyone! First year at UoM here.
I'm just wondering, since the timetables and subjects are already out and I know what subjects I'm doing for Semester 1, should I be buying my textbooks now? I've already done my research and I know which books are required and which ones I don't really need. I just wanted to know if it would be best to wait until O-week and the orientation starts before purchasing or whether I should just buy them now (Especially since some I've found are really cheap)
Thanks!

[alchemy]

Hey everyone! First year at UoM here.
I'm just wondering, since the timetables and subjects are already out and I know what subjects I'm doing for Semester 1, should I be buying my textbooks now? I've already done my research and I know which books are required and which ones I don't really need. I just wanted to know if it would be best to wait until O-week and the orientation starts before purchasing or whether I should just buy them now (Especially since some I've found are really cheap)
Thanks!

Was wondering this as well! My friends going to Monash have already been told what books to purchase, but we haven't?

[khimberleigh]

My advice based on 2 years of experience: wait until the first week of uni at least to get an idea of whether or not you're really going to use it. Unless, you find it cheap on ebay etc, (i.e. cheap enough that it won't matter if you don't use it much), in which case order it sooner to account for postage times.

However, things like subject readers, maths lecture notes or prac/lab books you should start to buy now, because the co-op will sell out fast and be very crowded during O-week and the first few weeks of semester. And you will definitely use these.

Check the handbook or co-op website for information on what you need to buy, or the LMS page for your subject when it becomes available. 

[Wackky]

My advice based on 2 years of experience: wait until the first week of uni at least to get an idea of whether or not you're really going to use it. Unless, you find it cheap on ebay etc, (i.e. cheap enough that it won't matter if you don't use it much), in which case order it sooner to account for postage times.

However, things like subject readers, maths lecture notes or prac/lab books you should start to buy now, because the co-op will sell out fast and be very crowded during O-week and the first few weeks of semester. And you will definitely use these.

Check the handbook or co-op website for information on what you need to buy, or the LMS page for your subject when it becomes available.

Thanks for the information! I've read all the subject reviews and information on this forum so I think I have a pretty good idea of what textbooks I'll be using and which ones I don't need. I'm assuming the Lecture Notes are bought from LMS or are they just sold by students from previous years? I'm doing Calculus 1 in Semester 1 and based on what I've read, the Lecture Notes are more than sufficient and the textbook is not needed.

[Auralee]

I don't really understand what the prac/lab books are. In high school, our teachers "wrote up" our pracs and we just filled in the spaces/lines that there were. Could someone please explain what the idea is behind those prac/lab books and briefly the whole prac report thing? Do we hand the lab books in? Are there templates in this lab book? Idk... clueless.

[cooldude123]

I don't really understand what the prac/lab books are. In high school, our teachers "wrote up" our pracs and we just filled in the spaces/lines that there were. Could someone please explain what the idea is behind those prac/lab books and briefly the whole prac report thing? Do we hand the lab books in? Are there templates in this lab book? Idk... clueless.

At least for physics labs, you're given a lab manual which has guidelines for the pracs but otherwise the lab notebook is for writing down everything that happens during the lab - so you need to write up Aim, Hypothesis, Method, Observations etc. Most people also add a small section of context or theory as well.

It's very much self directed, and there's no set format or template. The demonstrators are just there to (demonstrate experiments) and also ensure you're not doing something really wrong.

You usually have to do everything during the lab session and hand the book in after it ends where it's assessed and returned to you next session.

[Auralee]

Thanks cooldude123 :-)

Are you allowed to write stuff up then bring it in? (e.g. write your aim, hypothesis etc beforehand)

[Stevensmay]

Thanks cooldude123 :-)

Are you allowed to write stuff up then bring it in? (e.g. write your aim, hypothesis etc beforehand)

In Physics at least the lab books must remain inside the lab, you can't take it home. I'm pretty sure this applies to the other subjects as well. Realistically you should be able to complete each prac entirely within the allotted time.

[khimberleigh]

I'm assuming the Lecture Notes are bought from LMS or are they just sold by students from previous years? I'm doing Calculus 1 in Semester 1 and based on what I've read, the Lecture Notes are more than sufficient and the textbook is not needed.

You buy the calculus 1 lecture notes from the co-op. Yeah, I bought the calculus textbook back in first year and opened it maybe once. The lecture notes are sufficient. The lecture notes for calculus 1 are all the power point slides for the semester printed and bound into a book with blank spaces for you to fill in worked examples during lectures. I recommend you buy your own copy rather than get it second hand (they're only $20) because you'll remember the content more if you have to physically write it down yourself.

[Wackky]

You buy the calculus 1 lecture notes from the co-op. Yeah, I bought the calculus textbook back in first year and opened it maybe once. The lecture notes are sufficient. The lecture notes for calculus 1 are all the power point slides for the semester printed and bound into a book with blank spaces for you to fill in worked examples during lectures. I recommend you buy your own copy rather than get it second hand (they're only $20) because you'll remember the content more if you have to physically write it down yourself.

Thanks for that clarification, it's much appreciated! I will definitely be purchasing the lecture notes once they are made available 

[Calculus]

Hi,

I was wondering how a Dean's award works when you are completing a concurrent diploma alongside a bachelor of science. Are your first 100 credit points a combination of both diploma and bachelor if you have completed a mixture? And if you reach 100 credit points during a semester (say you have completed 125 credit points by the end of semester 1) which subjects count?

If you complete 100 credit points in this year's semester one, can you still be considered for the presentation in July?

Also, does anyone know approximately what the WAM cut-off was last year for a Dean's award?

If someone could explain the process to me I would really appreciate it! Sorry about all the questions.

Thanks! 

[stolenclay]

I was wondering how a Dean's award works when you are completing a concurrent diploma alongside a bachelor of science.

It looks like the official UoM ATARNotes account has stopped attending to these queries, which is unfortunate because no student really knows the answer to this one.

The Dean's Honours List process for students with a concurrent diploma isn't all that clear; even for normal students undertaking a single bachelor's degree it's confusing. All we can do is read their policy and look for various anecdotal evidence from old students.

Are your first 100 credit points a combination of both diploma and bachelor if you have completed a mixture? And if you reach 100 credit points during a semester (say you have completed 125 credit points by the end of semester 1) which subjects count?

My understanding is this: your Dean's Honours List eligibility will remain the same if you exclude all your diploma-only subjects. If another student in your course

• does all your subjects in the same years and semesters as you, except for the diploma-only ones;
• doesn't do any subject which you don't do;
• receives the same grades as you for all their subjects;

your eligibilities for the Dean's Honours List are exactly the same.

If you complete 100 credit points in this year's semester one, can you still be considered for the presentation in July?

Short answer: no.

Every time you pass another 100 credit points of subjects in your bachelor's degree (which may include subjects cross-credited with the diploma but will certainly not include subjects which were credited towards the diploma only) you are considered for the Dean's Honours List of the year in which you passed the last of those 100 points of subjects, and the presentation occurs in the following year (if there is a presentation at all).

For example, to be considered for the 2015 Level 1 BSc Dean's Honours List (which is presented during the 2016 calendar year), you must have completed the last of the first 100 points of your BSc some time by the end of 2015 Semester 2 but also strictly after the end of 2014 Semester 2.

Lots of things can happen with these. Some examples:

Total BSc points completed by the end of	Example 1	Example 2	Example 3	Example 4
2014 Semester 2	100	87.5	112.5	Hadn't begun degree.
2015 Summer Semester	100	100	112.5	Hadn't begun degree.
2015 Semester 1	150	150	162.5	50
2015 Semester 2	200	200	212.5	100
Year considered for BSc Level 1 Dean's Honours List	2014 or earlier	2015	2014 or earlier	2015
Year considered for BSc Level 2 Dean's Honours List	2015	2015	2015	2016 or later

There are also some other requirements listed in the policy document mentioned above.

More ambiguities surface when you start considering things like the intensive subjects that run in a certain month which may start before an academic semester but finish during an academic semester.

Also, does anyone know approximately what the WAM cut-off was last year for a Dean's award?

Differs wildly from course to course, level to level, and year to year (although it should remain fairly stable within a particular level of a particular course across different years). I can't even guess for BSc, but for BCom it was around 86 for 2014 Level 1. For BBmed it was high as the mid-90s for 2014 Level 1 from what I can recall here on AN.

And here again is another ambiguity: which subjects contribute to your ranking among students when it comes to the Dean's Honours List? It will not include any diploma-only subjects, and it would make sense if it was either the WAM across

• the first 100n points for consideration at Level n;
• or the last 100 points of the first 100n points for consideration at Level n.

Another mystery: what if you had completed 187.5 points by the end of 2015 Summer Semester and passed another 50 points by the end of 2015 Semester 1? How many points of the total 237.5 do you take to calculate the ranking for consideration on the 2015 Level 2 Dean's Honours List? Something like "the first 200 points" no longer makes sense, and neither would "the last 100 points of the first 200 points". So in the end everyone is confused.

Hi,

Unfortunately I couldn't get lecture times on my timetable that suit me perfectly, so I was just wondering whether it is possible to go to lectures at different times to what is on your timetable. Obviously you must attend tutorials and pracs as scheduled on your timetable, but given that lectures are recorded online and not everyone attends them, does this mean that you can attend lectures at different times each week (i.e..is the individual timetable flexible or set in stone regarding lectures)?

Thanks in advance 

Lectures are flexible, so yeah you can go to any stream you want. Although you should be polite enough to leave if you somehow take the last empty seat in a lecture theatre and someone else comes in after you looking for a seat (which can happen for big cohorts in small lecture theatres in the early weeks, but you should probably go home and hide under your blanket if your luck is that bad).

[Calculus]

Unfortunately it looks like the official UoM ATARNotes account has stopped attending to these queries, which is unfortunate because no student really knows the answer to this one.

The Dean's Honours List process for students with a concurrent diploma aren't all that clear; even for normal students undertaking a single bachelor's degree it's not that clear. All we can do is read their policy and look for various anecdotal evidence from old students.
My understanding is this: your Dean's Honours List eligibility will remain the same if you exclude all your diploma-only subjects. If another student in your course

• does all your subjects in the same years and semesters as you, except for the diploma-only ones;
• doesn't do any subject which you don't do;
• receives the same grades as you for all their subjects;

your eligibilities for the Dean's Honours List are exactly the same.
Short answer: no.

Every time you pass another 100 credit points of subjects in your bachelor's degree (which may include subjects cross-credited with the diploma but will certainly not include subjects which were credited towards the diploma only) you are considered for the Dean's Honours List of the year in which you passed the last of those 100 points of subjects, and the presentation occurs in the following year (if there is a presentation at all).

For example, to be considered for the 2015 Level 1 BSc Dean's Honours List (which is presented during the 2016 calendar year), you must have completed the last of the first 100 points of your BSc some time by the end of 2015 Semester 2 but also strictly after the end of 2014 Semester 2.

Lots of things can happen with these. Some examples:

Total BSc points completed by the end of	Example 1	Example 2	Example 3	Example 4
2014 Semester 2	100	87.5	112.5	Hadn't begun degree.
2015 Summer Semester	100	100	112.5	Hadn't begun degree.
2015 Semester 1	150	150	162.5	50
2015 Semester 2	200	200	212.5	100
Year considered for BSc Level 1 Dean's Honours List	2014 or earlier	2015	2014 or earlier	2015
Year considered for BSc Level 2 Dean's Honours List	2015	2015	2015	2016 or later

There are also some other requirements listed in the policy document mentioned above.

More ambiguities surface when you start considering things like the intensive subjects that run in a certain month which may start before an academic semester but finish during an academic semester.
Differs wildly from course to course, level to level, and year to year (although it should remain fairly stable within a particular level of a particular course across different years). I can't even guess for BSc, but for BCom it was around 86 for 2014 Level 1. For BBmed it was high as the mid-90s for 2014 Level 1 from what I can recall here on AN.

And here again is another ambiguity: which subjects contribute to your ranking among students when it comes to the Dean's Honours List? It will not include any diploma-only subjects, but aside from that, no one really knows.

Lectures are flexible, so yeah you can go to any stream you want. Although you should be polite enough to leave if you somehow take the last empty seat in a lecture theatre and someone else comes in after you looking for a seat (which can happen for big cohorts in small lecture theatres in the early weeks, but you should probably go home and hide under your blanket if your luck is that bad).

Wow! Thank you so much stolenclay! I really appreciate it!