Otago HSFY chat - archive

[greenglacier]

You could sell copies of that exam greenglacier haha. Is the pre-released question in it? If so maybe thats why they removed it

Ha, now there's an idea... (nah, seriously, don't want things to get unfair and the HSFYers are better off trying to deal with the epi staff themselves).

Yeah, the pre-released question is in it. I'll laugh if that's the reason considering that all of us have copies of it floating around (including some with our answers!).

 

[SASOL]

Haha oh yeah we do too! I found a copy yesterday when I was cleaning my room. Some people will try and sell it. Bet thats why they took the exam down. But knowing them they just want to be difficult.

 

[ChickenPie]

I won't even bother asking for a copy eh

What are your opinions on textbooks? Willing to sell me some for this year, or are they, as some others seem to think, "useless"? (in which case, if I were in your position, I'd sell them anyway to make a quick buck)

Personally I find it hard to believe some of them are required, surely all the required material is covered in lectures?

 

[SASOL]

Yeah most stuff is covered in lectures, but HUBS sometimes asks questions on stuff that is only covered in readings.

Some are useless, but definitely get the HUBS book. I also found physics and epi textbooks kinda useful too. CHEM, BIOC and CELS were pretty useless, so I'd say dont get them.

I have a CHEM and maori text book for sale still

 

[skyglow1]

I won't even bother asking for a copy eh

What are your opinions on textbooks? Willing to sell me some for this year, or are they, as some others seem to think, "useless"? (in which case, if I were in your position, I'd sell them anyway to make a quick buck)

Personally I find it hard to believe some of them are required, surely all the required material is covered in lectures?

It depends on how much background you have in each of the papers. For instance, having done A level bio and chem, and AS physics, if I could go back in time to the start of HSFY, the only textbook I would've gotten was the one for HEAL. I found all of the papers except for HEAL192 straightforward enough that the slides were sufficient. HEAL192 I needed the textbook to know what the hell was going on lol.

And if you're at a hall too then it's easy to borrow your friends' textbooks. They won't mind You see them lying around unused anyway I only rarely the textbooks apart from the HEAL to look up some minor things, which I could've easily done by borrowing someone else's book.

Yeah most stuff is covered in lectures, but HUBS sometimes asks questions on stuff that is only covered in readings.

Some are useless, but definitely get the HUBS book. I also found physics and epi textbooks kinda useful too. CHEM, BIOC and CELS were pretty useless, so I'd say dont get them.

I have a CHEM and maori text book for sale still

Luckily in my year they didn't test stuff from the HUBS book. I didn't bother to do the HUBS readings. Are you 100% sure the material was exclusive to the readings and was not on the lecture slides and not mentioned by the lecturer? It seems slightly unfair to test on something in the textbook.

 

[lock_on]

ill give you healthscis a tip for hubs. its called aptitute (a book for hubs). it comprehensively covers each of the lectures and their objectives (about 3 pages of reading per lecture) all for $35. this is a lot better than hte weirdos you see around campus selling their photocopied notes for like $80. Its written by a group of med students so its quite high quality although you will find a mistake or two every few lectures. Its nothing major if you check what they write with your own notes/lecture slides.

The guys that make it have a useful site aptitute.co.nz where they give their opinions on the umat and each of the healthsci papers. no doubt u will see this book around campus a lot. you can get at the uni book store. but dont use this is your only source for info, use the lecture slides as well and the occasional podcast for the tougher lectures. For the exams go over ur glms - i didnt and that probably cost me a couple of %'s.

 

[Deleted member 4350]

Which reminds me, I still have your HEAL text book skyglow! It's in a storage unit in Dunners. xD

 

[greenglacier]

I think most people sell their textbooks because for the most part they're only really relevant to HSFY.

My opinion:

HUBS textbook - very good to get, especially for HUBS191 where they follow through on a policy of assessing stuff if it is in the pre-readings but not in the lecture. Probably should buy this one new as HUBS are going to use the 7th edition this year (and that'll be near-impossible to get 2nd hand).
CELS textbook - alright to get, but far from necessary. You do occasionally need a copy of the latest edition, but you could always just borrow from someone on your floor.
CHEM textbook - only get this if you want LOTS of practice questions (and you get a fair few of these from the chem department/old exams anyway). The content in the textbook isn't necessary to read.
PHSI textbook - definately get this one, and new. It's only $40, and written especially for the course. This years one will be a lot better than last years (e.g. minor errors and typos removed, practice questions included).
HEAL textbook - most reckon this is indispensable but I'm not so sure. The way I used it was I read it in the mid-year break (it's really short as far as textbooks go). This was good as I had some sense of where the course was going throughout semester 2 (when you experience the disorganisation of the course you'll appreciate the advantage of this), and I honestly think it helped for UMAT (seriously, one of the questions in UMAT section 1 was almost identical to an example in the HEAL textbook). Throughout the semester though I barely used it at all, though it was occasionally useful for presenting the content from a really badly delivered lecture in a more organised manner. You are not expected to know stuff from the textbook though that isn't presented in lectures.
BIOC textbook - you don't need this. I was enticed into buying it because the lecturer we had for the enzymes module kept talking about how the relevant chapters would be really good to read to further understanding. I read them and they were pretty cool. That was the only use for this textbook.


I completely disagree with lock_on regarding aptitute (and the two of us have had our debates on this matter). It's a book produced by students, not academics. It may have a pretty cover, but it is unreferenced, unreliable, and has no guarantee of lining up with the course (which may lead to you learning stuff you didn't need to, and not learning stuff you should have). In any environment apart from the paranoid one of HSFY such a source would not survive. If you take good notes throughout the semester that's all you need, while paying for someone elses notes (that's essentially what aptitute is) will not compensate for this.


I still have CELS, CHEM and BIOC textbooks to sell, but don't worry about any of this until you get to Dunedin (and it isn't difficult to find textbooks there!).

 

[skyglow1]

Which reminds me, I still have your HEAL text book skyglow! It's in a storage unit in Dunners. xD

Haha I totally forgot about it. Will have to grab it back from you some time.

ill give you healthscis a tip for hubs. its called aptitute (a book for hubs). it comprehensively covers each of the lectures and their objectives (about 3 pages of reading per lecture) all for $35. this is a lot better than hte weirdos you see around campus selling their photocopied notes for like $80. Its written by a group of med students so its quite high quality although you will find a mistake or two every few lectures. Its nothing major if you check what they write with your own notes/lecture slides.

The guys that make it have a useful site aptitute.co.nz where they give their opinions on the umat and each of the healthsci papers. no doubt u will see this book around campus a lot. you can get at the uni book store. but dont use this is your only source for info, use the lecture slides as well and the occasional podcast for the tougher lectures. For the exams go over ur glms - i didnt and that probably cost me a couple of %'s.

I have to say I am very against using resources from second years or the like. Students already have all the resources they need with the lecture slides, podcasts, and the textbook. Sure, the aptitute book may provide you with some tiny little details you may have missed, and that's how I would have used it if I had it.

More often than not though, I see students using it in a much poorer way. For example, they concentrate on it when they should be concentrating on lecture slides instead. They might even use them as replacements for notes of their own. Some develop a false sense of security because have this book, and end up being woefully prepared for the exam. It's just too easy for students to fall into the tempting trap, and very few students will actually benefit from having the book in my opinion.

 

[SASOL]

It depends on how much background you have in each of the papers. For instance, having done A level bio and chem, and AS physics, if I could go back in time to the start of HSFY, the only textbook I would've gotten was the one for HEAL. I found all of the papers except for HEAL192 straightforward enough that the slides were sufficient. HEAL192 I needed the textbook to know what the hell was going on lol.

And if you're at a hall too then it's easy to borrow your friends' textbooks. They won't mind You see them lying around unused anyway I only rarely the textbooks apart from the HEAL to look up some minor things, which I could've easily done by borrowing someone else's book.



Luckily in my year they didn't test stuff from the HUBS book. I didn't bother to do the HUBS readings. Are you 100% sure the material was exclusive to the readings and was not on the lecture slides and not mentioned by the lecturer? It seems slightly unfair to test on something in the textbook.

Yup pretty sure. There was a neuro question and the answer was cerebral aqueduct, this was def not in lectures. Possibly labs? Swear I never saw it in the lab though. I remembered reading about it in the textbook. I think there may have been a couple of others that weren't from the lectures. Plus they always said the readind are examinable.

Yeah get the aptitute books, they are awesome. Basically the lecture notes in an organised layout. Yeah don't waste money on other peoples notes, you basically end up with similar notes from your own study I assume.

 

[greenglacier]

Luckily in my year they didn't test stuff from the HUBS book. I didn't bother to do the HUBS readings. Are you 100% sure the material was exclusive to the readings and was not on the lecture slides and not mentioned by the lecturer? It seems slightly unfair to test on something in the textbook.

There was a particular question in the 2nd HUBS191 terms test where you really had to have read the textbook. Only 34% got it right, and the feedback we got on that question said:

This was NOT designed to trick people out but exemplifies that material listed as essential in the readings does not have to be explicitly presented in a lecture setting to be examinable

 

[SASOL]

There was a particular question in the 2nd HUBS191 terms test where you really had to have read the textbook. Only 34% got it right, and the feedback we got on that question said:

Yeah I think thats the one I'm talking about. I remember getting it right and my mates were like how the hell?!! Lol it's because I did the reading (nerd huh)

 

[greenglacier]

Yup pretty sure. There was a ______ question and the answer was _____________, this was def not in lectures.

You sure you want to give out details like that to the HSFYers?

 

[skyglow1]

Urgh I think that's incredibly lame that they did that :/

 

[SASOL]

You sure you want to give out details like that to the HSFYers?

meh its one question, and there are plenty of other q's and a's on this thread!

 

[ChickenPie]

Thanks for the advice guys!

From your advice, I'll probably just wait off getting the HEAL and CELS textbooks, as I'm sure I can just wait and see how I find them (from borrowing etc) before dumping money into them.

While I can see the benefit from using a student-produced resource, I must say that I'd rather pay three times the amount that it costs for a resource created by those who have actually gained a degree..

SASOL, you have a PM.

 

[greenglacier]

Urgh I think that's incredibly lame that they did that :/

I dunno, I mean for the area in which the question was asked they did specify the pre-readings down to individual sentences, and quite explicitly told us that all they would do in lectures would be to integrate together some of relevant facts/give them a meaningful context/explain the more difficult parts, with the expectation that most learning would come from reading the textbook beforehand.

Also, I still remember the exact question and possible answers, and it was done so that making an informed guess would have been really easy anyway. I think it was more in there to remind people (in a relatively kind way) that learning at university should consist of more than remembering what the lecturer said word for word.

meh its one question, and there are plenty of other q's and a's on this thread!

Fair enough, as long as you're comfortable with it.

 

[Public Liability]

Whoa, whoa guys, lets not be critical of the HSFY textbooks here, if a new HSFY student reads it then we could lose a potential customer lol

EDIT: too late i just read the above posts..

 

[Public Liability]

Oh and about the Aptitute books, they themselves say it should never be a replacement for course given handouts, notes, and essential textbooks. It however was an excellent supplement (well at least the 191 on was)

 

[SASOL]

Also, I still remember the exact question and possible answers, and it was done so that making an informed guess would have been really easy anyway. I think it was more in there to remind people (in a relatively kind way) that learning at university should consist of more than remembering what the lecturer said word for word

I agree, the other answers were pretty absurd anyway, so it wouldn't have been too hard to eliminate the wrong ones to get the correct one.