Questions about Chemistry and Physics

[Stuart]

Thank you, @Blueglacier .

I stand corrected. 250 for Health Science and 280 for Biomedical Science.
https://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/en/faculty/for/future-undergraduates/admission-criteria/admission-criteria-for-school-leavers.html

 

[Stuart]

Seriously? Didn't they used to let like, 1400 people into their first year?

I suppose that means that a higher proportion get into med, but the competition is presumably pretty darn stiff.

Were you wondering about the number of students they take in? I was talking about the points you need.

 

[frootloop]

OH. Right. Ignore me, my Sunday brain is jammed in neutral.

 

[Blueglacier]

I need to stop reading threads on MSO because most of them are making me doubt whether I actually need physics or not! Anyway, that's all from me!

 

[Stuart]

I need to stop reading threads on MSO because most of them are making me doubt whether I actually need physics or not! Anyway, that's all from me!

I am fairly sure about 80-90% of them says that Level-3 is not essential. I am one of the few people who would suggest to take Level-3 for the reasons I stated in the other thread.

 

[rustyedges]

I know a lot of people who didn't get over the 70% threshold for physics (probably a similar number to chemistry) and while your school marks don't really matter once you're in uni, and at the risk of conflicting advice, I would highly recommend taking level 3 physics and trying to do well. Even though physics has plussage/a cheat sheet/mulitchoice etc. it's still a tough paper for your first semester at uni. Phsi191 probably isn't as conceptually difficult as level 3, but it has more content that does come in quite thick and fast, and to do well you'll need to know how to do all the calculations/know quite a few concepts. If you don't do level 3, you'll be competing against hundreds who did, and who have had an extra year of calculating things and "thinking" physics. So I would always recommend a year 13 to do physics, but ultimately, it's your choice

 

[Stuart]

I know a lot of people who didn't get over the 70% threshold for physics (probably a similar number to chemistry) and while your school marks don't really matter once you're in uni, and at the risk of conflicting advice, I would highly recommend taking level 3 physics and trying to do well. Even though physics has plussage/a cheat sheet/mulitchoice etc. it's still a tough paper for your first semester at uni. Phsi191 probably isn't as conceptually difficult as level 3, but it has more content that does come in quite thick and fast, and to do well you'll need to know how to do all the calculations/know quite a few concepts. If you don't do level 3, you'll be competing against hundreds who did, and who have had an extra year of calculating things and "thinking" physics. So I would always recommend a year 13 to do physics, but ultimately, it's your choice

Thank you. I am glad you agree with me.

 

[Mandem]

What is the content for CHEM191 like? How similar is it to Ncea level 3 chem?

 

[tomleegolf]

What is the content for CHEM191 like? How similar is it to Ncea level 3 chem?

It's a lot different. There's no spectroscopy and you don't need to worry about IUPAC naming for organic, but you do need to know about all the functional groups and their reactivity. Similar content covered includes solubility and equilibria, acid-base (especially buffers), redox reactions, and stoichiometry.

I didn't do all of the NCEA L3 chem standards but things in CHEM191 not covered in NCEA was:
Hybrid orbitals
Rate laws
Mechanisms
Carbohydrate chemistry (glycosidic bonds, anomeric carbons etc)
Additional functional groups in organic chem like anhydrides, ethers and hemiacetals

I found it the hardest paper out of the 7

 

[Stuart]

Hi,

I never did NCEA chemistry. I heard it's similar to level three in difficulty of concepts. I wouldn't stress too much about not having the background but you will need to work hard once it all begins. CHEM191 is one of the biggest killers in HSFY!

 

[rustyedges]

Hi,

I never did NCEA chemistry. I heard it's similar to level three in difficulty of concepts. I wouldn't stress too much about not having the background but you will need to work hard once it all begins. CHEM191 is one of the biggest killers in HSFY!

I'd probably disagree and say that CHEM191 is a lot more conceptually difficult than NCEA, and in my opinion is the most difficult hsfy paper.

 

[Stuart]

I'd probably disagree and say that CHEM191 is a lot more conceptually difficult than NCEA, and in my opinion is the most difficult hsfy paper.

Hi,

You are obviously a better source of information than I am in this regard. I thought you did Cambridge. Do most people around you also believe the same?

 

[Bunny-Hop]

New member here =)

I did not do chem, physics or biology in high school; and I've seen several posts that it is difficult but not impossible to do well in HSFY if I put effort into it.

Earlier in this thread someone suggested doing a Foundation year before HSFY. Does anyone know if the grades for Foundation year is also used as part of the scores for entry to med?

 

[JemJems]

New member here =)

I did not do chem, physics or biology in high school; and I've seen several posts that it is difficult but not impossible to do well in HSFY if I put effort into it.

Earlier in this thread someone suggested doing a Foundation year before HSFY. Does anyone know if the grades for Foundation year is also used as part of the scores for entry to med?

Welcome Bunny-Hop!
The grades are not used as part of the scores.

 

[tomleegolf]

I would recommend the foundation year. Alternatively, you can study the subjects by correspondence through Te Kura correspondence school which is what I did, if you don't want to 'waste' a year at uni. I studied NCEA Level 2 and 3 physics, chem, biology, stats and calculus through them while working full time (I left school at 16). Its only $100 per subject and you can choose which standards you want to do.

HSFY is hard enough even with a solid high school background in physics, chemistry and biology. If you are wanting to get into med, then you want to be as ready as possible for it. And they only use HSFY grades plus UMAT for calculating rank score

 

[dogkennel33]

I did foundation year, it was good for Chem and physics as I had never done that stuff before. Also, I only had level one math and let me tell you. Health science isn't actually that difficult. I thought I was going to walk into a mathematical nightmare, then crash and burn. The concepts aren't hard to grasp across all 7 papers (although people tend to be either better chemistry or physics in that regard). For me the hardest thing was the amount of work. You've got to really push everything aside and get your work done. The biggest and best thing is to utilize the help available. I've seen many people just leave because things piled up, or they just didn't ask for help with learning the content.

I got told by the foundation staff that if you're on the cusp of med entry (like waitlist etc) they do tend to look at your foundation grades.

 

[nanep31]

New member here =)

I did not do chem, physics or biology in high school; and I've seen several posts that it is difficult but not impossible to do well in HSFY if I put effort into it.

Earlier in this thread someone suggested doing a Foundation year before HSFY. Does anyone know if the grades for Foundation year is also used as part of the scores for entry to med?

I did very poorly in chemistry and physics throughout high school (which was about 7 seven years ago) especially physics as I’m bad with calculations and how to manipulate formulas etc. I had a conditional offer for medicine and had to sit some of the papers incl chem and physics. All I can say is with hard work, you can def get those high grades. Make sure you attend all lectures and attempt as much practice/past exam papers as possible esp for physics. I never really felt physics lectures were that helpful though and at times left even more confused but I attended anyways and printed a lot of past exam papers. You’ll find that the questions they ask are very similar.

 

[starlightj]

I did foundation year, it was good for Chem and physics as I had never done that stuff before. Also, I only had level one math and let me tell you. Health science isn't actually that difficult. I thought I was going to walk into a mathematical nightmare, then crash and burn. The concepts aren't hard to grasp across all 7 papers (although people tend to be either better chemistry or physics in that regard). For me the hardest thing was the amount of work. You've got to really push everything aside and get your work done. The biggest and best thing is to utilize the help available. I've seen many people just leave because things piled up, or they just didn't ask for help with learning the content.

I got told by the foundation staff that if you're on the cusp of med entry (like waitlist etc) they do tend to look at your foundation grades.

Hey, just finished doing foundation year myself, if you don't mind sharing I wanted to know how much more difficult is HSFY compared to foundation? I finished with an average of ~90% and really hope into getting into medicine... as you said is it more about the heavier work load than actual difficulty that people struggle with? Thanks in advance!

 

[dogkennel33]

HSFY is defs more difficult, not by a huge amount though. If you got a 90% ave in foundation, I'd take that to mean you're committed and won't really face any issues learning wise. Having said that, there are so many avenues for help, so you may come across a certain concept and go ''ohhhh crap'', but this is the time to ask for help and the teaching staff are always available to help and explain things in detail. Yes, the workload is massive compared to foundation year. Hubs191 was 50 lectures alone, compared to foundation year bio paper which was less than half that from what I remember from my stint there. So just manage your time wisely and get it done and you should be absolutely fine! At the end of the day, give this year your best shot, give it all you've got and I'm sure you'll get into med! Good luck! )

 

[cereal]

Hey everyone!
I'm seeing a lot of you saying that HSFY physics is a lot like level 2 and not level 3? I didn't do level 2 physics but I picked up level 3 physics this year by studying level 2 mechanics over summer and taking an entry test, so that means I haven't done any radiation or level 2 electricity. Should I be worried about this?