How to Uni [guide]

[EEEEEEP]

Part 1

University vs HIgh school
This is the one thing everyone is wondering about  or needs to know, prior to entering uni... what is the difference?!?!?!

If you are finishing high school, it can be difficult to transition into university. There are many differences between the two, but you are treated as adults and are expected to care care of your learning.

Here is a table that outlines the differences.

Topic	High School	University
Attendance	Compulsory. You are warned if you miss out on classes.	Mostly Optional. It is up to you if you want to attend classes (not recommended). Though, some academic staff do take attendance (course/subject dependence). Important note. Check your subject outline, which will outline attendance requirements.
Contact Hours	Set hours for high school	Varies depending on your course. Longer hours for medicine,engineering, law and higher ATAR courses. Business, IT, communications etc have lower numbers of hours for classes
Assignments	Quite short and limited. Low word limits.	Larger assessments with many sections. Reports can reach up to 60 pages and word requirements can reach 3000. Honours  and thesis's exceed 10,000 words.
Class sizes	30	Can be quite large. 15 - 30 for tutes and pracs. 100 - 200 for lectures.
Scheduling	Set hours	You determine the timetable that suits you. Classes have multiple streams.
Support	Free counsellors in schools  that provide support	Free counselling, disability, academic and legal services. They can be found via the university site.
Amount of contact with teaching staff	Frequent easy access	Less frequent and limited
Learning Styles	Spoonfeeding. Information is given to you by teachers.	Independent and critical. You must find information on your own and do your own research for your assessments. Lots of study (2 hours - 4 hours) are spent for each subject outside class.

Good luck with it!

P.s. Feel free to ask some questions if you need clarification on anything =), (or want to find out more things)

Part 2 is GPA / WAM - explanation / guide

[RuiAce]

I guess you could say topic attendance is mostly optional.

Put engineering with med and law for the contact hours

[EEEEEEP]

I guess you could say topic attendance is mostly optional.

Put engineering with med and law for the contact hours

Depends on the subject + uni , defs.

[RuiAce]

Depends on the subject + uni , defs.

UNSW business school and their 80% compulsory attendance for tutorials... aiya

(Not that I care since under normal circumstances I go to 100% of my tutorials but still, ya know)

[EEEEEEP]

If there are anymore things that people would like to know or if they want elaboration, feel free to ask some questions =)

[EEEEEEP]

Part 2 - GPA VS WAM

As results come out  soon, people may be applying for jobs that will ask for grades. It may ask for a GPA or WAM!

WAM is the better one, and I will explain why! (also some first years, might want to understand their grades)
............
GPA
GPA (or the grade point average) is the average grade that you have in the GPA scale.

Different universities, may have different values for distinction or credits, as well as scales but it still works in the same way. Some universities use the 4 point scale, some use the 7 point scale.

GPA = Sum of (grade value × unit credit points) / Sum of unit credit points
- Grade values are obtained via your mark (and the grade that it corresponds to)
- Mark grades can be obtained via your university website
- Credit points are how much credit points that are gained upon completion  (usually 6 per subject).
- At the completion of a subject, a grade value is multiplied by the credit points and an average of the multiplication result, is divided by the total credit points.   

lets take the monash system, which has a 4 point scale
.

Let's say a student has completed the following subjects, which will be tabulated.   

First bolded column = the total amount of credits.
Second bolded column = the total amount of grade points (grade value x unit credit points)
The student's GPA = 133.8/54 = 2.4887

(( student got a credit)) - 2<GPA<3

!! As displayed by before ... one fail can ruin your gpa by an significant amount. !!   
!! A subject mark that does not reach a band can ruin your gpa too !!

WAM
The WAM (weighted average mark) is the average of all your marks. Subjects have no weighing.

Lets say a student achieved the marks of 80, 80, 90, 90.
WAM =  Sum of(80, 80, 90, 90 ) / 4 = 85 (high distinction)
..............................................................

CONCLUSION
WAM is no doubt the superior system (if asked to provide marks for internships or grad jobs).

Under the WAM system, you would just get a lower average, if you did not make the mark that you wanted to reach the next band. As the  WAM system does not round up/down, borderline grade bands will not affect your average significantly.
UNDER the GPA system, your GPA will get affected significantly, if you failed or did not make the band that you wanted.

This can be seen in the hypothetical situation that I pose below.

Let's call this student Jason.


If he got 4 distinctions, instead of 4 High Distinctions in the 1st four units, he loses 0.46 GPA. In regards to WAM, he only loses 0.875. It looks better for one to lose a WAM of around 0.9 or 1, rather than losing 0.455 gpa!
...................
**Refer to your own university site for more specific information, as it may vary depending on uni to uni.**

[vox nihili]

Just to add, GEMSAS (the medical school application mabob) has some good guides on how to calculate GPA at heaps of different unis

http://www.gemsas.edu.au/gpa-calculations/

[RuiAce]

WAM does get 'weighted' when some universities offer both 6 UoC and 3 UoC courses.

i.e. it depends on your UoC as well, not necessarily just that formula

[EEEEEEP]

WAM does get 'weighted' when some universities offer both 6 UoC and 3 UoC courses.

i.e. it depends on your UoC as well, not necessarily just that formula

Yeah, I know haha. It was as general as I could get.

[jamonwindeyer]

WAM does get 'weighted' when some universities offer both 6 UoC and 3 UoC courses.

i.e. it depends on your UoC as well, not necessarily just that formula

I await your clarifying reply on all of EEEEEEP's longer posts now

[RuiAce]

I await your clarifying reply on all of EEEEEEP's longer posts now

...Really now Jamon

[Litigator]

If possible, could someone translate a 4 GPA system into a 7 GPA system??

That is, if my GPA is 3.5/4.. what would it be in the 7 GPA system?

[RuiAce]

If possible, could someone translate a 4 GPA system into a 7 GPA system??

That is, if my GPA is 3.5/4.. what would it be in the 7 GPA system?

Wouldn't you just open up a 7 GPA scale and list down how many HDs, DNs, CRs, etc. that you received?

[EEEEEEP]

Wouldn't you just open up a 7 GPA scale and list down how many HDs, DNs, CRs, etc. that you received?

That is correct =)