MedSci 09 (1 Viewer)

[Survivor39]

are there any differences between Medical Science at UNSW and USYD?
what's good and bad (eg. fun and boring) about Medical Science?
where can a degree in Med Science take you? ie career options, post grad studies

thanks

There are no major differences between all Medical Science programs. Just pick the uni/campus you like the best.

Good: You do it because you are passionate about it, that is you want to know more about the human body, how diseases come about, how do you design drugs to cure important diseases etc.

Bad: Too much stuff to learn. Lots of assignments. Longer contact hours than Arts/COmmerce people.

As to career options, I'll leave that for you to search around this forum because I'm pretty sure I've answered it 20 times. As to what I'm doing, please take a look at my sig. below.

 

[fayad158]

ive also applied for this but its my second preference to B oral health, both at usyd

 

[MizuMizu]

hi could someone help me out.
In the med sci course do you have to specialise in an area of study or is specialisation only required for students who want to do honours?

 

[deadfishlol]

hi could someone help me out.
In the med sci course do you have to specialise in an area of study or is specialisation only required for students who want to do honours?

All med sci students have to specialise in third year, regardless of honours.

 

[tmahendradatta]

I disagree with Fish. fwiw, I'm pretty sure there were a couple of third years who did one subject per unit school (for e.g; they did anatomy, a bit of path a bit of pharm) and who are graduating with a plain bachelor of third year degree.

So mizu, In a nutshell, you generally do have to 'specialise' in an area for (for example, pharm, anatomy, pathology, neuroscience or physiology) in the School of Medica Sciences. But I attended an academic forum where they are trying to push so that if you specialise in an area (say anatomy), you can apply to anywhere in the school for honours. This is mainly because todays research uses very similar techniques to one another; and also there is alot of cross over between the schools 'areas'.

 

[budi tan]

I am doing my online acceptance for medical science (I got an early offer btw). I am so keen to start the course and to go on my first day! Anyway, how hard is it to get to do honours? Any specific requirements like a certain marks for your GPA?

 

[Tim035]

Requirements are a minimum weighted average mark (WAM) of 65 (although I hear it may be bumped up to 70). This in itself isn't terribly difficult to achieve, however if there is competition between who gets to do honors with a certain professor, it will usually go to the person with the highest WAM.

 

[Survivor39]

I am doing my online acceptance for medical science (I got an early offer btw). I am so keen to start the course and to go on my first day! Anyway, how hard is it to get to do honours? Any specific requirements like a certain marks for your GPA?

Well done on getting an offer. I really hope you will enjoy the course. Do take most of the opportunities that will be presented to you - always apply for summer research opportunities, participate in those extra voluntary activities and get involved with the university and what it has to offer. All of these activities together with your MedSc degree will make you a better graduate after 3 or 4 years.

Looking back, I was very lucky to have many of the opportunities that I've had. I was offered multiple summer research scholarships, I travelled interstate and overseas to conferences to present my work, I had my work published in international journals during my Honours, I got to teach undergraduates, had a great peer mentoring experience, both as a mentor and a mentee. I am grateful for the education that I have received from UNSW and I hope you will find the next 3-4 years as enriching as I did when I was at UNSW.

Good luck!

 

[tmahendradatta]

I am doing my online acceptance for medical science (I got an early offer btw). I am so keen to start the course and to go on my first day! Anyway, how hard is it to get to do honours? Any specific requirements like a certain marks for your GPA?

boo-yah! Congrats man. Tim & survivor more or less answered your question. To bypass the competition for honour supervisors; start looking for lab experience early. I wrote a shit load here why/how you should: http://community.boredofstudies.org...al-science-society-any-questions-you-got.html

Now; I got a question fo you though.

We're (or thats the students of medical science(SMSSOC)) are trying to organise a camp for first years/rest of medical science (including science majoring in med).

If you were to go, what would you expect from it?

 

[budi tan]

Since I will be a new student, I would expect to get an overview of the society living in medical science, you know, what the fellows are like, how the majority of people socialise etc etc. I pretty much know nothing about uni life despite having been listening to people's stories about their first year in uni. So I would say I would also like to get as many friends and connections as possible to go to lectures with, to hang out with, yadda yadda yadda. That's pretty much all.

By the way, thanks for your "shit whole loads" of writing about the lab experience thing!

 

[budi tan]

Well done on getting an offer. I really hope you will enjoy the course. Do take most of the opportunities that will be presented to you - always apply for summer research opportunities, participate in those extra voluntary activities and get involved with the university and what it has to offer. All of these activities together with your MedSc degree will make you a better graduate after 3 or 4 years.

Looking back, I was very lucky to have many of the opportunities that I've had. I was offered multiple summer research scholarships, I travelled interstate and overseas to conferences to present my work, I had my work published in international journals during my Honours, I got to teach undergraduates, had a great peer mentoring experience, both as a mentor and a mentee. I am grateful for the education that I have received from UNSW and I hope you will find the next 3-4 years as enriching as I did when I was at UNSW.

Good luck!

Thank you heaps for your advice. You have such an experience! I will try to take as many opportunities offered and will not hopefully miss out any chances that would make me a better graduate student!

 

[tmahendradatta]

Since I will be a new student, I would expect to get an overview of the society living in medical science, you know, what the fellows are like, how the majority of people socialise etc etc. I pretty much know nothing about uni life despite having been listening to people's stories about their first year in uni. So I would say I would also like to get as many friends and connections as possible to go to lectures with, to hang out with, yadda yadda yadda. That's pretty much all.

By the way, thanks for your "shit whole loads" of writing about the lab experience thing!

Yeah with the social life thing... your first friends are usually those that you first meet in your labs. My first uni buddies were those that were in the same lab as me. Obviously (like from year 7-11); your group of friends; and you generally have your 'clique' (or 'main-group-of-uni-friends' for want of a better term) by the time you get to end of 2nd year-3rd year. This is assuming you aren't one of those study ghost that go in and go out of uni without talking to anyone.

Oh - and medical science will be competitive. There will be people there that do just go in and go out and never talk to you; or try to show you how smart they are by saying 'no --> methaproxidase's formula is x' (i just made that chemical up), or jocks/super nerds who look down/won't talk to you... but most of the ego thing goes by the way side by 2nd year (particurlarly the 1st two I found; there is maybea couple from various other courses who have their heads up their arses still ). So --> its important to find friends who study hard, will share notes, will talk about concepts of chemistry/biology/SCIF with you; and won't blow you off or 'backstab' you by telling you wrong info (not that that has ever happened to me). Na --> you'll enjoy it if you keep your mind open + get involved + grabbing any oppurtunity with two hands. The time's you probably won't enjoy is if you're 'doing it wrong'. Come down to O-week and introduce yourself to us. We've got a stall and blah.

 

[Tim035]

methaproxidase

I spent a minute trying to think wtf that is before continuing to read your post

 

[budi tan]

I spent a minute trying to think wtf that is before continuing to read your post

I didn't bother trying to find out what it is, I just thought it is something I will learn later in the course.