Otago HSFY chat - archive

[patkirtan]

Ah, i think i would do the Maori paper, I don't know why but i perform better when i'm assessed internally with assignments.

Does anyone know how many people were accepted as HSFY for Medicine last year, i know the official numbers aren't accurate because they tend to accept more students.

 

[greenglacier]

Does anyone know how many people were accepted as HSFY for Medicine last year, i know the official numbers aren't accurate because they tend to accept more students.

234 domestic students were accepted, along with 16 internationals.

Out of the total 250 students, 180 were from HSFY.

 

[SASOL]

Make sure you know crap like electron transport chain, mitochondria/chloroplasts. Last year I got screwed cos I didnt know them indepth (wasnt that much on e- transport in lectures). In saying that, that probably wont come up but you get my point.

Maori only had 2 lectures per week with little content and they told us the questions that were going to be in the exam! Cant get much easier than that. And the main lecturer Suzanne was pretty cool

 

[ChickenPie]

Looks like I'm in for a busy week of study! Good to get away from Dunedin though, change of scene might help a bit.

Anyone here stay for the hols?

 

[SASOL]

Yeah I find studying at home helped me more. Im going home on Monday, cant wait

 

[ChickenPie]

[offtopic]When abouts does the ski season start in Otago, and what field do you go to SASOL? Treble cone I guess, or do you go back up to ChCh when you ski most of the time?[/offtopic]

 

[greenglacier]

Maori only had 2 lectures per week with little content and they told us the questions that were going to be in the exam! Cant get much easier than that.

BSNS104 had 3 lectures a week, and also told us the questions in the exam.

I'm pretty sure MAOR102 is the easier paper, it's just in general I think people got a lot more out of BSNS104 than out of MAOR102 (with the exception of the few who were taking MAOR102 because they were genuinely interested in it), and still got very high marks.

Personally I wouldn't be able to stand it if my eighth paper was something that I was disinterested in, especially with the 3 boring HEAL192 lectures each week.



Yeah, last year there was a fairly difficult question on the electron transport chain/mitochondria/chloroplasts in the CELS mid-semester exam. It was only worth 2 marks, so you really didn't have to write much, and the effect of that question on your final grade was quite minor, but I think it was an example of the way that many questions required more in depth revision than some people were expecting. At the same time I think that most of the people caught out by that question would have just panicked - it would've been possible to bluff 1 - 1.5 marks in it without much study, but the way it was asked was a little unexpected, meaning that the answer wasn't immediately apparent.

 

[ChickenPie]

BSNS104 had 3 lectures a week, and also told us the questions in the exam.

I'm pretty sure MAOR102 is the easier paper, it's just in general I think people got a lot more out of BSNS104 than out of MAOR102 (with the exception of the few who were taking MAOR102 because they were genuinely interested in it), and still got very high marks.

Personally I wouldn't be able to stand it if my eighth paper was something that I was disinterested in, especially with the 3 boring HEAL192 lectures each week.
.

Enough of this "this paper is better for this reason!" (joking!)

I think Maori is more along my idea of an interesting 8th paper. I enjoyed studying Maori culture as part of Level 3 History, and as a Maori student myself I suppose it has some personal meaning as well. Considering our differing opinions regarding that EPI question you showed me the other day greenglacier I can see how others might feel differently! (for the record I thought that was a good question, not just because I knew the answer, but because it's important, at least in the North Island (yy), to make such a distinction!)

Economics has never been much to me, I took Accounting at school briefly and I was very good at it (A* in IGCSE) but science and history were totally my thing... (yes, I understand that Accounting and Economics are totally different, but they're all number and trend games!)

 

[greenglacier]

In your case ChickenPie, MAOR102 definately sounds like a good paper to take. I just got sick of people taking that paper last year with absolutely no interest in it, and gaining absolutely nothing from it. The point of the 8th paper is so that people enter the professional programmes with a somewhat broadened mind (that's why all the options are in the humanities).

In my case I did BSNS104 and as a result went from understanding absolutely no economics (I had never studied it before) to understanding all the economics in the news, being introduced to a completely new field (that I really enjoyed), and being able to apply economics to the world around me (and to my medical studies). Oh, and the 98% I got for that paper was a nice bonus.

That's the reason I'm pushing BSNS104 - as I said, in many cases MAOR102 is the best paper, and it does serve a purpose of bumping up your average, but I reckon most people who take it could get so much more out of the eighth paper (while still increasing their average) if they did a different paper. In the context of the health science professional programmes, the opportunity to explore a new area of interest in this way is rare, and I felt quite strongly that I would be wasting it by doing MAOR102 just because "it's a really easy A+".

The best paper to take varies by person - I just think everyone should think more carefully about what paper to take than just sticking to "I'll take MAOR102 because I hear that people always get really good marks without much work".

 

[SASOL]

[OFFTOPIC]
I usually go to treble cone, cardrona, coronet peak....any of those lol
[/OFFTOPIC]

 

[ChickenPie]

That's an attitude I can understand completely! I haven't met many people willing to broaden their horizons with their 8th paper- this isn't a criticism of anyone on here either.

Another negative to such an attitude is that most students (that I've talked to anyway) inevitably lose interest in taking such a paper - it is evident already in first semester with the folk who hate certain papers such as CELS - as far as I know, they didn't perform remarkably in the GLM, most likely because they refused to open the booklet..

I take pride in the fact that I still enjoy nearly every minute of healthsci - even the physics labs, which apparently I'm doddery for having fun in. We are at uni to enrich our minds, not torture them

[offtopic]

oh ok, thanks... I don't really know southland geography at all... so keeen for snow!

[/offtopic]

 

[SASOL]

Your attitude will take you far chickenpie(yy)
While I did take maori just because it was easy, I think it helped me understand the Maori view on the issues btw them and white people.
Enjoy what you do and you will do well...well it works for me anyway

 

[ericlkh]

anyone know what the psychology 8th paper is like???

 

[patkirtan]

Hey Sasol, i read on your blog that you performed below your expectations in Semester 1 of Healthscience, how'd you manage to get those Crazy grades in Semester 2 ? (i know the obvious answer is through A LOT of hard work and studying, but something specific might be helpful)

Oh.. and thanks for the advice Sasol, it's really helpful ^_^

Chickenpie, how's your study for Cells going? i started on thursday, i really want to focus on cells but i realize physics and chem terms tests are lurking in the corner <_<

Greenglacier, do you think that taking BSNS104 effected your performance for your other semester two papers.. Economics can be tricky :S . Wow 98 percent is amazing!!! I know someone at my hall who did year 13 Eco and got a 95.. so WELL DONE

 

[greenglacier]

Greenglacier, do you think that taking BSNS104 effected your performance for your other semester two papers.. Economics can be tricky :S . Wow 98 percent is amazing!!! I know someone at my hall who did year 13 Eco and got a 95.. so WELL DONE

Thanks . I think a lot of other HSFY students also got some really high marks for BSNS104 - it's definately easier than any of the HSFY papers. In terms of the workload for BSNS104, I'd spend about 2 hours each weekend doing the readings and tutorial problems, and 4 hours each week attending the lectures (3 of them) and tutorial (1x 1 hour tutorial per week). That makes for a total commitment of 6 hours per week (and I think that's more work than most people were doing for that paper). So, I very much doubt that it affected my other semester 2 papers. Maybe it dragged my HEAL192 mark down a bit (though I still got A+), but that's just because taking an 8th paper gave me the freedom to stop caring about HEAL192 - something for which I was very grateful! Certainly I really couldn't have hoped for better marks than I got in BIOC192 and HUBS192 (98 and 97).

 

[SASOL]

Um well to be honest straight after my UMAT result I pretty much gave up hope, but for some reason (which I thought was silly) there was a very small part of me that still thought I had a slim chance. And I still wonder how the hell I got in! But that aside, I owed it to myself to do well in the exams. I wanted to make sure I had given it my all and not be disappointed in myself because failing to get in due to UMAT I felt was a lot easier to deal with as I believed it was bullsh*t exam anyway lol and felt had conditions been better I would have done better (i.e)if it was warmer!) So yeah, I basically just made sure I knew everything. My crap performance in CELS mid sem test made me make sure I remembered everything for BIOC mid sem test and it paid off. To be honest my study techniques weren't really ideal for someone other than me I dont think.....I did an awful lot of procrastination (going downtown for lunch etc), sleeping in far too much (but I guess that helped in a wayeven though I was missing study time). I guess just repeating writing notes over and over and no all nighters worked too. But really to be honest I think it was Gods plan lol, though thats just my thoughts on the matter and I'm sure not everyone wants a religious spiel lol.

 

[ericlkh]

well i guess it goes to show that even though everything seems hopeless we should still keep going and not give up. Sasol I think its awesome that you made it into med. Maybe it is God's plan...but I think a big reason why you made it is because you kept going and did not give up! I will do the same too

 

[patkirtan]

@Greenglacier

Wow those marks are amazing, if i get anything remotely close to it i'd be super excited. Now i just have to put in the work everyday. I guess having this competitive entry into a medicine is a good idea because it helps the University pick the most dedicated and determined students into this profession. The 8th paper and Umat scared me though

@SASOL, God's plan or not, you worked hard for it .

I have to agree about how people have different study techniques for themselves, i'm sure you'd find my study methods weird, i need a small whiteboard and my laptop as well as music on the background :huh: . Some people are h34r: ninja and do heaps of study late at night, there's a few of them in my hall and i'm scared of them. I guess there's always gonna be people who work harder than you... seems to me I just have to work hard enough to be satisfied with my achievements.


So, what did you guys do when you go accepted into Med? [apart from get wasted]:wacko:

 

[I'mOnABoat]

Well after I was accepted into Med, I played God of War with my mates. That was real anticlimatic.

Sounds like you have a great study method. I like yours, Patkirtan!!!

 

[greenglacier]

Yeah your study method sounds good patkirtan. I think the key is in actively doing something with your notes rather than just reading and copying things. Don't worry about the people you think are working harder than you - they may not be, and even if they are, I reckon that taking breaks (rather than continuous study) leads to a better outcome. Besides, it doesn't really help thinking about the competition - I just went into HSFY with the mindset that "it doesn't matter how hard other people are working or how good their marks are - as long as I can get 7 A+ grades then I'll get into med, and that's what matters". I reckon that helped me.

To be honest, in the build up to the release of med offers I was pretty confident that I was going to get in, so my offer didn't come as a surprise. If anything I just felt a bit of relief. Over the next few days it did gradually dawn on me that I was finally an actual med student though, and that gave me a huge rush. As I say though, that feeling wasn't immediate and I didn't really do anything special to celebrate after getting my offer.