Getting 70-80's in Uni

[mark_alec]

What i want to know is what to expect on the first day/week of uni. Assignments already?

Nah, the first week should be really relaxed. The lecturers will introduce the courses, probably supply you with a timetable, tell you what books you need to read/buy. Use the first week to find people who share subjects with you, and make a point of sitting next to them and introducing yourself, you are sure to make some good friends that way.

[Odette.]

Is there anyway to start your subjects now? (ie. find out the text books for them, or find out the bloody assignments or something. I just wanna fucken start something!)

Hmm bookshop online? VU has one online, so you know what books you need for every subject... that way you can at least read the textbook! Not sure if you'll get subject guides til you enrol... and access them via WebCT (or Blackboard, or whatever it's called now)

[humph]

God no. It's usually just revising stuff you've learnt at high school (as in they cover everything you did in yr12 in a week or two).

do they cover the concepts or give notes with formulas etc.
isnt it impossible to cover year 12 in only two weeks?

They just run through the main concepts, mention the important formulae etc. It's basically to remind you of what foundations you'll need for the course and if you need to brush up on anything.

Is there anyway to start your subjects now? (ie. find out the text books for them, or find out the bloody assignments or something. I just wanna fucken start something!)

Well if you know what subjects you're doing then you can look up their subject description on the university's website. At ANU this includes things like the syllabus, the assessment structure, and even sometimes what the textbook is. You could also try to find someone who's done the subjects you're doing before and ask what the textbook is, what might be viable to try to learn over the holidays, and so on. I basically just read stuff on wikipedia and download ebooks on my subjects (e.g. I'm doing a subject next semester called Differential Geometry Honours, so I look up the wiki page for differential geometry, and download any ebooks called Introduction to Differential Geometry or anything along those lines). Of course I don't understand half the stuff, but it gives me a general flavour of the subject so it's not too foreign to me when I actually start it.

[costargh]

Oh ok. yeh iv looked up the  subject descriptions. it doesnt tell me the books though. and i dont know anyone who has done these subjects. i will def be doing an acc and mgmt subject in sem1. i want to learn!

[Odette.]

Oh ok. yeh iv looked up the  subject descriptions. it doesnt tell me the books though. and i dont know anyone who has done these subjects. i will def be doing an acc and mgmt subject in sem1. i want to learn!

You don't know the subject code?

Hmm I could give you some of my old notes on management if that would help?

[costargh]

this is the management one
http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/MGF1010.html

Is the synopsis and learning objectives similar?

[lacoste]

which uni are you going to costa?

monash? since ur post

[costargh]

yes monash university, at least for semester 1. After that its either continue in course or tranfer to UoM for semester 2.

[lacoste]

which uni are you going to costa?

monash? since ur post

yes monash university, at least for semester 1. After that its either continue in course or tranfer to UoM for semester 2.

You legend Costa. You made it to Monash, the interview must have been great. Feels good!
How did you get the spot?

[Odette.]

this is the management one
http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/MGF1010.html

Is the synopsis and learning objectives similar?

o_O whoa! That's like almost identical... *whispers* I'll give you the lecture notes .... muhahahahaha ! (only if you want to take a look)

[costargh]

Yes please. That will be greatly appreciated. (PM me your msn. I deleted a lot of VN people off MSN when I was clearing my contact list months ago. Nothing personal, just wanted to simplify my contact list)

[Odette.]

Yes please. That will be greatly appreciated. (PM me your msn. I deleted a lot of VN people off MSN when I was clearing my contact list months ago. Nothing personal, just wanted to simplify my contact list)

Will do... ^^ Oh just pm your msn, and I'll send them to you.

[Eriny]

This is in my case only, obviously different universities will have different marking schemes with different meanings and so on. Also some people will find that they don't have to work as hard at, say, an 80, as others do.

I find that if work I hand in gets an 80, I really deserved it. As in, I put in an enormous amount of effort. Above 70 isn't too hard provided that you apply yourself and do all the assigned readings and stuff. The real difference, I think, between a 75 and an 80 seems to be more about writing quality than about quality of research. Grades above about 78 are also given for fairly creative work unless it isn't so creative but extremely well executed. If you get a 78 or 79 instead of an 80 (has happened to me twice!) it's usually just one problem with it and the assessor feels that the presence of this problem renders the essay 'unworthy' of a high distinction.

This is for Arts though, some subjects are much easier. I got an 84 for psychology in my first semester with very little trouble. All I did was go over my lecture notes and write summaries for the little topic quizzes. And my research report just followed the guidelines which were very clearly set out.

I personally haven't dreamed of getting a 90 in an arts subject this year (even though I got an 89 for my second semester of UMEP, go figure), but people do! Usually it comes as a surprise.

[TrueLight]

well for me doing science ive got around 78 avg over the yr ... and comon its me lol but yeah if you do all ur assignments and quizes and study for the exam (the day before) lol and yeah just read over the notes and the books then you'll do well to get over 70 ... my assignments/tests/quizes in science really helps to actually study for the exam so yeah goodluck

[excal]

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/assessment-of-coursework-procedures.html

Unofficially, they aim to get ~19% of (undergraduate) students in to the HD range of marks. However, they don't tend to 'scale' marks as such (they will review the marking procedures / assessment difficulty for future groups).

Of course, the figure was hearsay from a lecturer that had a big mouth .

As for personal experience, I never really had to try *ludicrously* hard to get the marks that I did - but this was mainly because I'm studying a field that I've been passionate about since I was a child (and thus already have a lot of the knowledge already). That being said, for the (elective) subjects that I took on like management and contract/tort/company law, I really did have to work my butt off to get a HD and C in the respective subjects.

I would say a mix of your ENTER, the subject area's study scores, your prior knowledge and personal interests are the best indicator of what you may get at University (there are, of course, other variables involved in this such as events that happen during the course of your story).