Help with my course structure (Bachelor of Science)

[Targor]

Hi guys, I'm a first year starting up soon, I'm still undecided with some of my units.

My plan: to do well in first year so I can transfer into Bachelor of Radiography.

I need help picking some units, what are your recommendations?

Note: I dislike chemistry and plain suck at it and will avoid it like the plague.

So far my units are as follows:
Sem 1: BIO1011, PHYS1011,______,_______
Sem 2: BIO1022, PHYS2022, STA1010,______

I've just got 3 units to fill.
My areas of interest thusfar are physics and mathematics.
I'm trying to find units which are either easy to do well in (I know every unit requires a lot of work, but there are no doubt some that are relatively easier), or units that I can use as a fallback if I somehow cannot get into Radiography. (i.e. probably majoring in Physics)

My background knowledge from VCE is Methods/Specialist/Physics/Bio/Chem/English

Thanks for your time and assistance! I appreciate people's personal opinions and experiences that may help me decide in this important year ahead of me.

[keltingmeith]

I have many many suggestions, so:

1. I HATED chemistry after year 12 - in fact, the only reason I did it at all was because, like you, I couldn't find anything to put into my degree. I decided to do it because everyone was telling me chem was a good idea - and I'm so glad I did it. Compared to (what I found to be) the horrible 3/4 curriculum, chemistry at Monash is not only excellently taught (Chris + Mary-Rose make the ultimate chemistry teaching team), but it is incredibly fun. Definitely consider doing chemistry, still. (also, my chem marks were not that good in year 12, despite what my degree/current marks reflect)

2. If you want to do third year physics, you HAVE to do the following three units:
MTH1030/MTH1040
MTH2010
MTH2032
AND second semester second year (to memory) has either a co-req of 2010, or it's highly recommended. So, if you think you'll continue into physics after first year (assuming you can't transfer over), do those units. Note, MTH2010 is not hard to score well in if you do it this year - think of it like doing methods again, but without the fucked up questions.

Conversely, physics is incredibly hard to do well in, so you might want to consider doing another set of units over them.

3. At this point, you've played your hand in all the three main areas of science - but not much else. Why not try something different, such as ASP1011/ASP1022 (astronomy), or ESC1011/ESC1022 (geoscience). Both combinations aren't too hard to do well in as long as you put in the effort, although I think most people say ASP1011/1022 are easier than ESC1011/1022.

4. You don't HAVE to do all science units. If you can't find something else from science to put in, but like analysing literature/films, why not take up an arts unit on literature or film studies?

[alondouek]

So far my units are as follows:
Sem 1: BIO1011, PHYS1011,______,_______
Sem 2: BIO1022, PHYS2022, STA1010,______

Sem 1: BIO1011, PHYS1011,PSY1011,MTH1030/1035
Sem 2: BIO1022, PHYS2022, STA1010,PSY1022

First year psychology is reportedly rather easy - if unexciting - and MTH1030 or MTH1035 is a good level for you to get some maths units under your belt given that you've done specialist. MTH1035 is the "advanced" version of MTH1030.

Some other common first-year science units include:

- ASP1010 and ASP1022
- ENV1011 and ENV1022
- ESC1011 and ESC1022
- MON1001

Of course, if you are in a single degree then you can take an elective from any other faculty (with some exceptions - e.g. you cannot take biomed (BMS-prefixed) units, nor law units, nor medicine units). You may like to take an arts unit of some description given the massive amount to choose from; you could also take an elective from engineering or commerce.

[Targor]

I have many many suggestions, so:

1. I HATED chemistry after year 12 - in fact, the only reason I did it at all was because, like you, I couldn't find anything to put into my degree. I decided to do it because everyone was telling me chem was a good idea - and I'm so glad I did it. Compared to (what I found to be) the horrible 3/4 curriculum, chemistry at Monash is not only excellently taught (Chris + Mary-Rose make the ultimate chemistry teaching team), but it is incredibly fun. Definitely consider doing chemistry, still. (also, my chem marks were not that good in year 12, despite what my degree/current marks reflect)

2. If you want to do third year physics, you HAVE to do the following three units:
MTH1030/MTH1040
MTH2010
MTH2032
AND second semester second year (to memory) has either a co-req of 2010, or it's highly recommended. So, if you think you'll continue into physics after first year (assuming you can't transfer over), do those units. Note, MTH2010 is not hard to score well in if you do it this year - think of it like doing methods again, but without the fucked up questions.

Conversely, physics is incredibly hard to do well in, so you might want to consider doing another set of units over them.

3. At this point, you've played your hand in all the three main areas of science - but not much else. Why not try something different, such as ASP1011/ASP1022 (astronomy), or ESC1011/ESC1022 (geoscience). Both combinations aren't too hard to do well in as long as you put in the effort, although I think most people say ASP1011/1022 are easier than ESC1011/1022.

4. You don't HAVE to do all science units. If you can't find something else from science to put in, but like analysing literature/films, why not take up an arts unit on literature or film studies?

Thanks for your time in writing that elaborate piece.

I am wondering how you so drastically changed your perspective on Chemistry. For me, I did both chemistry 1/2 and 3/4. It was an excruciating two years. I dreaded going to Chemistry classes because I simply did not enjoy the subject. After having completed year 11 I considered dropping Chemistry, but my brother encouraged me to go on and do 3/4 aswell as it would "open up opportunities". I don't think he or anyone else understood how bad I was at Chemistry. I failed miserably and It wasn't because I slacked off and ignored the subject, I tried to learn, tried to understand the content but I lacked the fundamentals and basics to excel. It was horrible, I felt like a Further Student (with this as his only mathematics subject) thrown into a Specialist Maths class. I am afraid that if I choose Chemistry units for my first year I will fall flat on my face as I did the past two years.

I am very keen on transferring into Radiography and I understand that it is no easy task. I had a talk to the Radiography Faculty some time ago and asked them, "What does it take to transfer from Science into Radiography?" They replied "Well, this year 35 people applied for the transfer. 20 had the pre-requisites (70% average or higher), 10 were invited to an interview and only 5 were successful." Obviously, they take transfers very seriously and prioritise grades over interviews. So this year I'm looking to put all my energy into getting high scores and to do that I must pick the right units.

It pains me to hear that physics is hard to do well in, because that is one subject that I genuinely enjoy learning. Mathematics however, I am able to do well in but I don't find it as interesting as physics. What do you think about the unit STA1010? How hard is it to receive high scores in statistics?

Apologies if I sound like a total newbie, because well, I am and I am quite confused at this point in time.

Thank you for your time sir.

[Conic]

My areas of interest thusfar are physics and mathematics.

If you feel like you would do well in Maths, it might be worth having a look at Discrete Maths. It's different to the maths you would have done in high school, but I found the La Trobe equivalent of this subject to be one of the most interesting subjects I did in first year. There is a review of this subject in the Monash Subject Reviews thread that you could check out.

[alondouek]

What do you think about the unit STA1010? How hard is it to receive high scores in statistics?

It's hardly the most interesting unit but it does give you a good start in statistical reasoning and hypothesis testing etc., all of which are critical in scientific research and practice. Scoring highly in STA1010 is not hard, I was quite shit up until the exam and I managed a HD.

The Monash subject reviews thread has a couple of reviews of STA1010 if you'd like some in-depth perspective by b^3 and myself.

I'd say that in the grand scheme of things you're better off academically by doing STA1010 over the slightly more basic SCI1020, but if you really wanted a serious stats then you're better off seeing if you can get access into MTH2232 - Mathematical Statistics which requires you to have done MTH1030/1035 and to be doing at least one of MTH2010, MTH2015, MTH2021 or MTH2025 concurrently.

[keltingmeith]

Thanks for your time in writing that elaborate piece.

I am wondering how you so drastically changed your perspective on Chemistry. For me, I did both chemistry 1/2 and 3/4. It was an excruciating two years. I dreaded going to Chemistry classes because I simply did not enjoy the subject. After having completed year 11 I considered dropping Chemistry, but my brother encouraged me to go on and do 3/4 aswell as it would "open up opportunities". I don't think he or anyone else understood how bad I was at Chemistry. I failed miserably and It wasn't because I slacked off and ignored the subject, I tried to learn, tried to understand the content but I lacked the fundamentals and basics to excel. It was horrible, I felt like a Further Student (with this as his only mathematics subject) thrown into a Specialist Maths class. I am afraid that if I choose Chemistry units for my first year I will fall flat on my face as I did the past two years.

Honestly? Just the education for first year Chemistry is that good. It took away all the dirt and grime that VCE shoved into my eyes, and left a hidden beauty that I admired. After your experiences, it could very well be that you won't have a turn-around like I did (I liked chemistry in 1/2, it's only in 3/4 that I started to hate it). Of course, if you can't find anything to fill the space, chemistry works, and you CAN transfer out within the first two/three weeks, so that gives you enough time to do a tutorial and try out the questions you'd have to do. I also have a friend who hated chemistry throughout VCE, but did it because he wanted to give it a second chance - he'll probably be majoring in it with me, now, so this chemistry course is quite legendary.

It pains me to hear that physics is hard to do well in, because that is one subject that I genuinely enjoy learning. Mathematics however, I am able to do well in but I don't find it as interesting as physics. What do you think about the unit STA1010? How hard is it to receive high scores in statistics?

I think alondouek said everything perfectly (plus there's the upside that he's done STA1010, I haven't. You don't need it for a stats major). The problem with stats is that the less of a mathematical treatment it has, the drier it seems - the more mathematical treatment it has, the more interesting it seems, but also the harder it gets. MTH2232 is, without a doubt, the hardest unit I've done so far - however, it is also the most interesting unit I've done, the most fun, and has my highest grade on my transcript.

You might also find that maths becomes more interesting for you in university - pretty much all of the STEM education in high school is pretty uninspiring, but this tends to get fixed at university. (a common trend/thought is that the higher up in STEM education you go, the better it gets. )

[slothpomba]

Hi guys, I'm a first year starting up soon, I'm still undecided with some of my units.

Welcome to our Monash family! It's like a gang, once you're in, you're in for life. We're probably the nerdiest gang out there though...

Please also refer to our jaffy tips and questions thread - Monash 2015 Jaffy Tips & Questions Thread

My plan: to do well in first year so I can transfer into Bachelor of Radiography.

Noble plan. I am ancient, this is my 5th year believe it or not. I've seen many people attempt this and fail or change their minds. I am not trying to dishearten you but please please do not ignore this advice. I also wished to transfer to UoM but then i fell in love with Monash and my friends there and never left. I based many of my first year subjects around transferring and now i have many regrets (and some fails).

If you structure your degree in such a way to transfer, structure it in a way that is tolerable if you decide to or have to stay in the degree.

I need help picking some units, what are your recommendations?

Pick the easiest ones that will satisfy the structure of your degree if you have to stay in it. In reality, you could pick all arts units if WES (the computer system) allows you to. If you do not plan to stay in the degree, it hardly matters what you choose but heed my above warning. I would pick subjects you are interested in because you will excel. Following this, i would pick easy subjects that you have some interest in. I can provide some recommendations on request.

One personal "top pick" for first year is ASP1022. It's astrobiology. You look at the possibility of life existing on other planets. Very interesting. It's about 40% biology, 40% astronomy, 10% mathematics & computer science, 10% other (geology, etc). It's really a tour de force of the major sciences. It's very interesting as well. You look at how planets are comprised (geology), things like how life emerges in the first place (aka evolution - biology), all about planets (astronomy), artifical intelligence and life (computer science). The list goes on. It's very fascinating. I wouldn't say its the absolute easiest unit but it is not hard.