Otago HSFY chat - archive

[bobby190]

^^ I agree with greenglacier. The way you make your notes/study might need you to do a lot less printing than you think. In my first year I did not even spend 20 dollers on printing (very few written assignments and rewrote most of my notes etc). A new printer is usually $100+ so you could save a lot of money. FYI if you are going for a printer i would recommend brother laser printer cheap and quality is good enough.

 

[frootloop]

As per Bobby, you really don't print as much as you'd think you're going to (unless you're cathay ). I printed: My MAOR102 essays, and my UMAT candidate slip. That is all. All year.

 

[bobby190]

As per Bobby, you really don't print as much as you'd think you're going to (unless you're cathay ). I printed: My MAOR102 essays, and my UMAT candidate slip. That is all. All year.

Thats pretty dam eco friendly. Did you retype your notes or rewrite everything?

 

[frootloop]

[offtopic]Handwritten. So much handwritten. All the handwritten! My typing is far too slow for computerised nonsense [/offtopic]

 

[Cathay]

[offtopic]On the contrary, my writing's far slower than typing, so I feel inefficient and get bored with writing long stretches of stuff...[/offtopic]

 

[Crucible]

Do some of the textbooks have new editions every year?- like the Biological Physics one for example?
I'm not thinking of getting all of them but I'm contemplating getting mine 2nd hand.

 

[greenglacier]

Textbooks don't generally get new editions every year, so you should be fine. Even if your textbook is one edition out it doesn't really matter too much in HSFY (although the page references will no longer match up). It's an easy matter to check the official UBS textbook list to see what the latest editions are, and compare this to whatever's on offer second hand.

 

[Cathay]

Do some of the textbooks have new editions every year?- like the Biological Physics one for example?
I'm not thinking of getting all of them but I'm contemplating getting mine 2nd hand.

Not at all. CELS and HUBS ones get a new edition every 3 years, and the latest ones were adopted in 2011 and 2010 respectively so you're fine with those. CHEM book hasn't had any revisions (despite a differently-coloured piece of card wrapped in front of the same textbook every year to trick you). BIOC textbook - don't even bother. HEAL textbook had one single edition right up until late 2010, so a new one was used in 2011.

Now PHSI is a special one. They used to have a textbook that everyone, including staff, hated. So in 2009 they wrote an in-house textbook and printed just enough for the cohort, in 2010 printed a second batch (with minor amendments) for the 2010 cohort, and in late 2010 they managed to get it published officially with a publisher, so in 2011 we had a shiny new textbook that costed us $30 more. So you see it's not that the Physics book keeps changing editions, it's just that they wrote their own and had to print them in-house for 2 cohorts until they could get it published.

EDIT: Just read this list here. Looks like a certain author (*ahem* lecturer) made a second edition of the CHEM textbook to squeeze a little more money out of you guys...

 

[Crucible]

Awesome! So that means I can basically get the textbooks second hand. But for CELS the lists says something about an "access kit". What exactly is that?

:blink:Is the guy who wrote the CHEM textbook going to be lecturing the HSFYers???

 

[Cathay]

Awesome! So that means I can basically get the textbooks second hand. But for CELS the lists says something about an "access kit". What exactly is that?

Gives you access to online resources. If you get the book brand new then you get given one anyway, but if you get the book second hand you have to buy the access kit to get the online resources which I hardly ever used anyway.

:blink:Is the guy who wrote the CHEM textbook going to be lecturing the HSFYers???

The principal author is one of the CHEM191 lecturers.

 

[frootloop]

Awesome! So that means I can basically get the textbooks second hand. But for CELS the lists says something about an "access kit". What exactly is that?

:blink:Is the guy who wrote the CHEM textbook going to be lecturing the HSFYers???

I barely used the CELS textbook, and didn't even think about using the 'access kit'. And, as per Cath, yes, the CHEM textbook's lead author will be lecturing half of you during the first part of the CHEM191 course. (And before anyone asks, my views on the CHEM textbook have been well made, so no, I would not advise buying the latest edition of it).
Just like to add:
You will be given everything you need in order to ace HSFY, by the uni (except the textbooks, but even those are in the library...). 'Access kits', past students' notes, 'aptitute' books, and all that crap.... Will not help you in the least (in fact the uni advises against using the latter two, for good reason). So I shall be your hitch-hiker's guide to HSFY, and simply say 'Don't panic'.

 

[bobby190]

Ok otago may recommend against Aptitute books. BUT they are not crap. Me and others I know have gotten A+ relying purely from them. Its good to think critically when buying those books but also to be critical of what otago says. Yes some stuff will be missed out on the aptitute books as HUBS will update their slides and so it would be essential to fill those gaps in by yourself. I relied 100% on attending lecture and only Aptitute books for HUBS192 and managed A+.

 

[frootloop]

Ok otago may recommend against Aptitute books. BUT they are not crap. Me and others I know have gotten A+ relying purely from them. Its good to think critically when buying those books but also to be critical of what otago says. Yes some stuff will be missed out on the aptitute books as HUBS will update their slides and so it would be essential to fill those gaps in by yourself. I relied 100% on attending lecture and only Aptitute books for HUBS192 and managed A+.

And I relied on fairies and puppy-dog tail potions for my A+s, doesn't mean they work. Those books are advised against, and I've seen a lecturer's copy of one with all the numerous mistakes highlighted. You getting an A+ is not, I repeat: NOT, grounds to advise people to waste money on books which have been found, by lecturers (ie: people with PhD's, who write your exams (as opposed to people on the internet...)) to be total rubbish. Do. Not. Buy. Them.
The HUBS textbook+lecture slides+what the lecturer says= All you need to get 100% in HUBS.
As per my above post, anything else is superfluous, and may even be detrimental.
ETA:
Just to restate this very clearly: The university will give you what you need (except textbooks). You do NOT need to pay for extra resources. In HSFY you will be short of *time*, not resources. You will have resources (the official, from the uni (who write your exams) variety) coming out your ears.
Thus buying extra stuff (eg: aptitute books) is a waste of money, and may only serve to steer you wrong.

 

[Crucible]

Oh, right.
Thanks guys! I'm not going to be worrying about the "access kit"- it seems unncessary now that I know it's online resources.

Woot. 2nd Hand textbooks

Edit/

When you guys were in HSFY did you join extra-curriculars like sports/language clubs? Or do those collide with lab times?

 

[frootloop]

Crucible: I didn't (far too lazy ), but I'm sure it's possible. Late-night (6pm-9pm) labs would be, at absolute worst (I personally had no night labs), once a week, so I'd imagine you'd be able to find clubs which didn't clash with those.
Also, you know that study group you lot are organising? Yeah, you should both use, and add to, this.

 

[Crucible]

I hope I don't get too many late night labs then. Squash and German both start at 6PM and I really want to join those two.
Brilliant! Thanks for the link!

 

[epikness]

You'll have time for those so long as you plan your work out accordingly.

If you do happen to get late night labs, it is possible to change them around. The University will usually demand a valid reason, but no harm trying. From my experience they're pretty accommodating.

I had one in the 6-9pm slot but they usually didn't run the entire duration. Everyone wants to get home.

 

[Wongtong]

Not sure if this is related but.... Has anyone tried signing up for the fresher comp? I've been waiting for a reply but havent received one in a while, so I'm not sure if I've signed up successfully.

 

[Crucible]

[MENTION=12630]epikness[/MENTION]
Cool!
If I get some late night labs (which I'm hoping I won't *fingers crossed*) it won't hurt to ask then hahaha and if they say no D: it won't matter that much anyway, I guess.

@Wongtong
LOL no way. D: I'm scared about what they'll make the competitors do hahahh You must be really courageous.
Maybe try contacting them again?- since it does say at the back of that Orientadium pamphlet that they'll "be in touch".

 

[Nimbus2000]

Not sure if this is related but.... Has anyone tried signing up for the fresher comp? I've been waiting for a reply but havent received one in a while, so I'm not sure if I've signed up successfully.

nope, what's fresher's comp? :S