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Otago HSFY chat - archive
- Thread starter jeavey
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if you get a student allowance you can't get a student loan basically. You can get a maximum of $150 a week from the government. How you split that up (allowance/loan) depends on parental income.
I edited out my thing about Cumberland. I was dumb to try and comment on something I know hardly about.
I don't think anyone applying to college you should worry TOO much about the college they're going to. As long as you're committed to your studies you can get a bunch of really good headphones to block out sound or ear plugs or just camp out at the library. Only once in a while the hall may get a bit noisy and rowdy, and you may find it hard to sleep but it's not really a big deal. There are HSFY students in every hall so it's easy to mix in. Essentially it's your motivation to do well and how you approach study that will be by far the biggest influence on your marks. If you want to have a good time and go out every week, then yes some colleges are different in that respect, but really if you're aiming for a professional course I don't think going out should be anywhere near your top priorities.
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Kiwilander
Regular Member
Wow, what coincidence this all is!
Well, to clear things up a bit...I personally have stayed in Cumberland, and I am doing MED III at Otago...
The way I see it, Cumberland isn't as bad as people make it out to be; just last year, the administration at Cumberland has changed, and WOW...things have been SO different this year then the previous.
To compare the previous years to this year...even before the newer administraion came in (made things far more friendlier, fun, while keeping alcohol to a possible minimum)...I have never in my 3 years had Cumberland come in the way of my studies. Its proximity to everything is actually a good thing (I havn't heard of any cases of bricks coming through students' windows in the last 3 years), where its only 60 seconds to New World, and across the road to the hospital (making my life too easy!).
Comparing to other halls, Cumberland is definitely a hall to not toss off. Most people are not aware of the makeover the place has had enviornmentally over the last year...its friendly, doesn't alienate anyone (you would think this isn't an issue, but St. Mags are pretty strict is several aspects of hall life)...and further more...Cumberland keeps alcohol and noise down at times you would expect it to.
The only other thing I can say, Hayward is probably the only other hall I can see that beats Cumberland in EVERY way (infact, I'd say it's the best hall outright). If you get Hayward, take it...but otherwise, if you are doing HSFY to study, and not be intimidated by freaks who study 25/7 (yes...25/7)...then Cumberland is your choice.
Hope exams went well n have a nice holiday. No more HSFY 
[/offtopic]
There's no magical number or goal that you should be aiming for. Everyone has a different study method and as a result you can't really say that you need to study a minimum of x number of hours. It depends on so many things like how you study, other involvements, your previous knowledge relevant to that paper, which papers are your weakest and strongest etc etc.
You'll need to find a method of studying that works best for you so you're working as efficiently as possible. I hear alot about other students putting in CRAZY hours for studying and so on, and not to brag or anything, but I ended up doing better than alot of them even though I put in nowhere near the number of hours they did. The key is to always be evaluating how you're studying, and thinking "am I doing this efficiently?" and "how could I improve my study techniques?" When you work efficiently, there really is no need to put in crazy hours especially since you really really don't want to burn out. I started to get annoyed at people who automatically assumed from my marks that I must be putting in those crazy hours too and when I told them I was studying only so-so and so hours they'd be like "sure sure". That's not the mentality you should have. More hours of work does not equal better marks if you are working poorly.
You'll be pretty much forced to keep at it because the mid-semester tests are pretty spread out so what happens is you basically have like a test every 1 week or 2 weeks, so in that period you'll end up constantly studying for the next test coming up. But ya if you take the tests very seriously as preparation for the final exam (but make sure you know of the papers that do not test material in the mid-semester test in the final) you'll find your job of preparaing for the final alot easier. Keeping at it every night is obviously better than cramming hard the night before the test (which is what tons of people have to resort to) is obviously better to. The number of hours is not really relevant. You should just plan it out so that you have ample time to prepare for all the tests and all the finals.
You'll need to find a method of studying that works best for you so you're working as efficiently as possible. I hear alot about other students putting in CRAZY hours for studying and so on, and not to brag or anything, but I ended up doing better than alot of them even though I put in nowhere near the number of hours they did. The key is to always be evaluating how you're studying, and thinking "am I doing this efficiently?" and "how could I improve my study techniques?" When you work efficiently, there really is no need to put in crazy hours especially since you really really don't want to burn out. I started to get annoyed at people who automatically assumed from my marks that I must be putting in those crazy hours too and when I told them I was studying only so-so and so hours they'd be like "sure sure". That's not the mentality you should have. More hours of work does not equal better marks if you are working poorly.
You'll be pretty much forced to keep at it because the mid-semester tests are pretty spread out so what happens is you basically have like a test every 1 week or 2 weeks, so in that period you'll end up constantly studying for the next test coming up. But ya if you take the tests very seriously as preparation for the final exam (but make sure you know of the papers that do not test material in the mid-semester test in the final) you'll find your job of preparaing for the final alot easier. Keeping at it every night is obviously better than cramming hard the night before the test (which is what tons of people have to resort to) is obviously better to. The number of hours is not really relevant. You should just plan it out so that you have ample time to prepare for all the tests and all the finals.
medcraze!!
Lurker
uni entrance
hi.... what if u dont have uni entrance that means 14 credits at 3 diffrent subjects...but good marks in chemistry merits and ecellences according to ncea the highest marks.... u reckin any chance?...if not then is there any other alternative way to get into hsfy..
hi.... what if u dont have uni entrance that means 14 credits at 3 diffrent subjects...but good marks in chemistry merits and ecellences according to ncea the highest marks.... u reckin any chance?...if not then is there any other alternative way to get into hsfy..
hi.... what if u dont have uni entrance that means 14 credits at 3 diffrent subjects...but good marks in chemistry merits and ecellences according to ncea the highest marks.... u reckin any chance?...if not then is there any other alternative way to get into hsfy..
I replied to your question through pm.
You are given a certain class you're supposed to go to. First semester the classes are really full and it's definitely not fair if you are going into a class that you're not meant to be in, and some people who are actually meant to be in that class don't get to attend. They will scan ID cards occassionally if the problem persists.
This used to happen alot with the morning lectures in the first semester because students wanted to do their lectures from 8am to 12pm then be done for the day so they'd just go to these morning lectures even if they weren't meant to. I didn't stick to the classes I was meant to go back I went to the classes in the afternoon which always had at least 100 seats empty so I wasn't putting anyone else a disadvantage. Similarly in second semster when 500 people have dropped out of the course I could go to some morning lectures because there would be empty seats for sure.
I don't see any harm in going to lectures that have empty seats because noone is getting hurt, but definitely do not go to lectures that will be full up because that is plain wrong.
MCQs feature heavily and are done on those sheets very similar to the Australian tests for maths and science and stuff. Short answer questions are usually worth anywhere from 1 to 4 marks (so ya some worth more than others) and requires either like a couple of words or maybe a couple of lines. There also "mini-essays" in HUBS worth from 6 to 8 marks.
CHEM: Mid-semester test is 30 MCQs (multiple choice question) and final exam is 60 MCQ if I remember correctly and alot of SAQs (short answer question)
CELS: Mid-semester test is 15 MCQs and lots of SAQs and final is the same but with more SAQs
PHSI: Mid-semester test is 20 MCQs and final is 55 MCQs
HUBS191 and 192: Mis-semester tests are 25 MCQs each and final is 60 MCQs, SAQs worth 30 marks, then 4 or 5 mini-essays worth a total of 30 marks
BIOC: Mid-semester test is 50 MCQ and final is SAQs only
HEAL: Mid-semester test is like 15 MCQs or something with alot of SAQs and the final is the same but with more MCQs and more SAQs
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If it's anything similar to that of Auckland I would saying a large chunk of level 3 organic chemistry (even better if you did CIE exams). Level 3 biology is worthless, level 2 could be of some benefit I guess
though i would recommend you enjoy your summer haha
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