B MedSci or BSci, also post grad??Q's?? (1 Viewer)

[DraconisV]

Hello everyone, its been a while since I last posted. I have built up a series of questions so get ready to give a hand to someone in need.

I have BSci of molecular biotch as my 1st pref and BSci at USYD as my second.
I don't know how I can structure the next 3. They are at the moment
3. B MedSci MAQ
4. BSci MAQ
5. BSci UNSW
I don't know about the medsci and whether the UNSW should be above or below the MAQ equivalent.

I'll tell you a bit about me. I loved HSC biology, absolutely was getting hihg 90s but i absolutely ruined the final exam and got 79(just got results), but I still have a passion for something bio. With chem I like it but my teacher made me not love it, but without that dumbass I would love chem aswell, I find it easier to understand and remember than bio.
Also I would like to major in something like microbiology or molecular biology or something kinda similar.
And I am planning when I finish the 3 year degree(as they all are 3 year) to go inot the usual research role with 40K pay, but also do post grad study part time and over a few years aquire a masters and the like to push me up the pay ladder to about 60-70K.
I would like to know about post grad work, If i choose the majors that i have listed above can i study them post grad and achieve a masters after around 4 years of part time study. I just want to know that the course that I choose and the majors I choose will lead me to be able to study post grad of that same major, and also how far i can go?.
What marks do you have to have for each course to be able to be accepted into post grad?

I know this thread Is full of many questions but once answered I will be much more prepared and will make the correct decision and not just rely on gut feeling.
Thank you in advance.

Yours sincerely Christopher Fife.

 

[ari89]

I had a passion for bio too lol...so one of my top preferences is Med Sci at UNSW because the major studies look interesting for me: Anatomy, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology.

So yeah...im interested in your question so this should bump it...

I've heard theres not much work opportunities for med sci graduates? (Unless they've done post grad work)...is that true?

 

[Survivor39]

I think I might be able to help. But before I do so, can I comment on your preference? Since you have an interest in both Bio and chem, why are you restricting yourself by going for such a restricted degree (your first pref)? I think for that degree they have picked your major already so you have flexibility.

**note I have telling you stuff that Uni and the UAC book won;t tell you. All of the named Science degree are the same as the generic science degree, i.e. Bachelor of Science, except in those named degrees they already picked the major for you, whereas in B Sc you can CHOOSE what your major is. So for you I think a BSc or B MedSc are a better option. However, if you are 100% confident that you want to graduate with a major in Molecular Biotech, then go for it.

For me, I picked Med Sc because I knew I wanted to major in an area covered by the medical sciences. I wasn't interested in physics or chemistry so I know that my major would be in the life sciences. So it made sense for me to pick this degree. The difference is that MedSc is more restricted than BSc but more flexible than the named degrees with a bracket following B Science. e.g. B Science (Biotechnology), B Science (Environmental Science or Marine Science) etc etc. You get the point.

Med Sc offer majors in microbiology, genetics, biochem, anatomy, phsyiology etc etc. so the choices are greater.

Since you are interested in microbiology and molecular biology, I can give you some insights but only through the UNSW's perspective. Initially in 2nd year I didn't know I wanted to major in micro but the lecturers and the course MICR2201 (the first micro subject there is to do) was so fanatastic that I have to major in it. Nevermind genetics or molecular biology! Micro was the best! hahaha. so that was my little story. Good luck to you.

 

[Survivor39]

I would like to know about post grad work

The way postgraduate study work in science is that once you finish you 3 year science degree, you an opt to do a Masters by Research course, then a PhD.

Alternatively, you can do what I am doing, whcih is do a 4th additional year called Honours, so that when you graduate you can go straight into a PhD. Usually you would aim for a scholarship in PhD to cover living expenses so you usually need a First class honours to get that.

If i choose the majors that i have listed above can i study them post grad and achieve a masters after around 4 years of part time study.

Don't get confused with your degree name with the major. In a B Science, you can major in microbiology, genetics anatmoy etc etc... So you really haven't declared your major.

But say you pick microbiology as your major and completed your 3 year BSc, you can do a 2 year full time or 4 year part time Masters Research degree in Microbiology. So the answer is "yes"

I just want to know that the course that I choose and the majors I choose will lead me to be able to study post grad of that same major, and also how far i can go?.

Usually people do research in postgrad in the same area as their undergrad major anyway. How far can you go? As far as you like. You can even get a PhD if you wish to do so.

What marks do you have to have for each course to be able to be accepted into post grad?

generally in sicence, it is not difficult to get into postgraduate research. But most people doing a PhD, like I've mentioned, holds a scholarship to cover expenses. A PhD is a lot of work and you need to live as well. . You need to obtain a first class Honours (85+) to get the scholarship. But even without a scholarship you can still do a PhD provided that your supervsor wants you in his/her lab.

 

[Survivor39]

I had a passion for bio too lol...so one of my top preferences is Med Sci at UNSW...

Welcome to UNSW Science!

I hope you'll enjoy the new medical sicence program at UNSW. Please remember that first year is always boring so please don't let that put you off. I can't emphasise this enough!

When you get to 2nd and 3rd year you will truly appreciate your study because you are finally doing something relevant to your interest.

I've heard theres not much work opportunities for med sci graduates? (Unless they've done post grad work)...is that true?

Generally it is competitive to get a job with a bachelor science degree because the employer will prefer a student with Honours (3 years + 1 year research) than just a student without Honours. And you can understand why because the Honours students would have more experience in the lab.

When you think about it, science, differ from commerce, law, or the Arts, is a dynamic field with so much to learn. For a person to carry out original research, they have to have not only textbook knowledge but also extensive research experience to originate novel ideas for a research topic. A simple bachelor degree, unfortunately, doesn't provide you with that. So you can understand why a science student graduating with an undergraduate degree would have a different employment opportunity than others.

Ok.. enough of my lecturing...

With a B MedSc (Hon) you can find jobs in the hospital doing diagnostics tests. Or you can become a research assistant for a research lab. But for me, I want to carry out original research so I'm aiming to do a PhD after my Honours.

Good luck for 2007.

 

[mitch_f1]

Hey, i've just been looking through the handbook (http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/programs/2006/3991.html), and the UAC book. I have a couple of questions as a result; 1) is it possible to do 2 majors, just because a couple of them sound really cool, and it would be so hard to decide between them. Secondly, in the UAC bok it says: "Note: The Medical Science degree is currently under review." What does this mean? Is it a problem or anything?

 

[DraconisV]

Thank you survivor39, your info was extremely helpful. Though I won't be doing MedSci at UNSW as my uai is way to low, mine is 79.15, too low. Though I have applied for the maquarie unis med sci, which is 80, so it may go down(also I have a disadvantaged schools thing in the eas scheme) so that might help me.


Also why is the uai cutoff for B Sci lower in UNSW than MAQ, i thought that UNSW was better, why is this?

Should I choose MAQ or UNSW for B Sci, and if its UNSW, should I choose MAQ MedSci over UNSW BSci. With the knowledge that I will be doing microbiology and love alot of the options in med sci better than BSci, what should I do. UNSW has better postgrad stuff.

Would I be able to do MedSci at MAQ and then transfer to UNSW for the honours or the PhD????

Also should I scrap the Molecular biotech course, as it is pretty much giving me my major, which is alright but there are a few out there that are better.

Also to me liking microbiology and do like immunology. The decisions??

Thanks again Survivor your help is very much appreciated.

Sincerely Christopher Fife.

 

[ari89]

Thanks Survivor39, I think I'll be going with the B Med Sci @ UNSW (not just becoz i didn't make the USYD cut-off). Even if first year is boring I'll deal with it...I enjoyed biology at the risk of being the outcast of my grade.
I am more so interested in the course as off today after hearing about graduate entry stream into MBBS through B Med Sci Honours at UNSW. That course would provide me with a stepping stone into medicine - either first year transfer, after 2nd year if marks are good you are offered a provisional place into the MBBS after u complete Med Sci(hons). If i don't get selected for that stream i can finish my Med Sci and try graduate entry into medicine ...

 

[Survivor39]

1) is it possible to do 2 majors, just because a couple of them sound really cool, and it would be so hard to decide between them.

Yes you can. In general, you need to do at least 3 third year subjects to form 1 major in Medical Science. e.g. if you want to major in medical micrbiology you need to do 3 MICR3XXX subjects. Then since you still have 4 subjects left to choose, you can do a second major like biochemistry, so you do a further another 3 subjects with code BIOC3XXX to form a second major.

You can do just 1 major and pick everything MICR3XXX if you wish.

It's flexible.

Secondly, in the UAC bok it says: "Note: The Medical Science degree is currently under review." What does this mean? Is it a problem or anything?

Oh. It means now both Faculty of Science and Faculty of Medicine is running the course instead of just Faculty of Science. From 2007, the top 15 students may be invited to do medicine straight after their B MedSc (Honours) into the Medical program. Now, it's just mean that there is more options for MedSc students!

 

[Survivor39]

Thank you survivor39, your info was extremely helpful. Though I won't be doing MedSci at UNSW as my uai is way to low, mine is 79.15, too low. Though I have applied for the maquarie unis med sci, which is 80, so it may go down(also I have a disadvantaged schools thing in the eas scheme) so that might help me.

That's OK Christopher. I think it will be unlikely that MedSc at UNSW will decrease because they introduced a MBBS entry scheme in MedSc where top students int he course get invited to do medicine after their MedSc degree. However, since you have the EAS scheme, you may still have a shot so there is no harm in putting UNSW first (sometimes they award more than 5 UAI points), unless you really like the Macquaire campus.

Also why is the uai cutoff for B Sci lower in UNSW than MAQ, i thought that UNSW was better, why is this?

The UAI cut off depends on how many students each uni accepts. UNSW accept much more sicence students than MQ. So if we accept more students, students with lower UAIs are also accepted. We have over 600 first year biology students at UNSW each year, which tells you how many science students we accept each year. So of course the cut off will be lower. Say suddenly we only accept 10 people for B Science (which I don't think we will), the UAI would be in the 99s since the top 10 students would be accepted, not the top 600.

**note the cut-off you see is the UAI of the last student who got accepted.**

MQ accept less students than UNSW for B Science so it has a higher cut-off.

Should I choose MAQ or UNSW for B Sci, and if its UNSW, should I choose MAQ MedSci over UNSW BSci. With the knowledge that I will be doing microbiology and love alot of the options in med sci better than BSci, what should I do. UNSW has better postgrad stuff.

hmm.. it's a difficult question... do you prefer the UNSW campus or the MQ campus? I guess if you choose MQ you can always do a PhD at UNSW. If you choose BSc at UNSW, you can transfer to MedSc in second year.

I think you just have to look at what Microbiology courses are available from both uni and decide for yourself. I don't know how many Micro courses they have in MQ but we have 9 courses plus advanced courses to choose from so that's plenty.

Would I be able to do MedSci at MAQ and then transfer to UNSW for the honours or the PhD????

yes and yes

Also should I scrap the Molecular biotech course, as it is pretty much giving me my major, which is alright but there are a few out there that are better.

I feel the same way. That course lack flexibility.

Also to me liking microbiology and do like immunology. The decisions??

Yeah I don't think you can do much micro and immuno in a molecular biotech course.

Good luck!

 

[DraconisV]

Thanks again Survivor your continued help is just destroying all of my questions and is going to give me more information when choosing the courses, then my decisions will be information rich and not information poor.

Ok, so Molecular Biotech is gone, done!!.

So my prefs have changed again here they are;
1.MedSci at UNSW-85
2.MedSci at UNSW(DFEE)-80, this preference may change according to what I find out in my other post on this forum.
3.BSci at UNSW-73
4.BSci at USYD-83.00
5.BSci at MAQ-75.55
6.MedSci at MAQ-80.15
7.BSci at UTS-76.90
8.BSci at UWS-60.00
9.B Business and Commerce at UWS-80.00

I like UNSW better than MAQ, I just keep on getting the idea of if the UAI cutoff is higher than its better, hmm.

I went on a year 12 bio excursion back in may this year and we went to the museum of disease and went around that "small" part of the campus, i like it alot.
So my pref is UNSW over MAQ.

i was also reading hte MAQ course description in the uac book and its really wierd it has major types, like biomedical then has a list in that and then theres some psychomedical(im not sure this is right) and then has a list there, its really wierd and doesnt have all of the right majors, is this a good idea to do even though its medsci.

 

[Survivor39]

Yeah I was trying to find what subjects are available at MQ in microbiology but I couldn't find much on it. And the way they structure their degree is strange as well because it didn't tell me what subjects are needed for what major.


Anyway, I wish you the best of luck for the uni offers. I hope you get your first choice.

Are you going to the UNSW Open Day in January?

 

[DraconisV]

Yep That Maq MedSci degree sounds a bit silly, so its UNSW.

Again my prefs have changed, as the other post has now eliminated my second pref of (DFEE)MedSci at UNSW.
So now its B MedSci at UNSW, hopefully.
Or B Sci at UNSW.
If i don't get medical i'm pretty certain of getting BSci, which isn't that bad, jsut have to transfer and do a few extra subjects.
I will still have my other prefs but I reckon i will be taking one of the top 2 for sure, and you never know I may get a B Med Sci @ UNSW offer. yippie.

Thanks for your help, you have helped me on the way to making the right decisions.

If your talking about the 3rd of Janurary day thing, I'm pretty sure i'm going to go now that i'm quite certain of going there.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yours sincerely Christopher Fife.

 

[mitch_f1]

Ok, stupid question; because I am taking a gap year, if I get into the course this year, will i be guarenteed a place in the course in 2008 (when I plan to start)?

 

[Survivor39]

Ok, stupid question; because I am taking a gap year, if I get into the course this year, will i be guarenteed a place in the course in 2008 (when I plan to start)?

Yes you can defer your place until 2008.

 

[DraconisV]

Mitch why are you defering for one year. i can't wait to get into uni and start. The break from november till practically march is huge. I don't need anymore. So why are you doing it, i'm jsut interested..

 

[adrian_1522]

It's 9:30, change of preferences is going to close in 2.5hours & I still dunno which science I want to do! LOL

Is there much difference between UTS Medical Science @ UNSW Medical Science? cause I can't seem to choose between the two, but i think i'll choose UNSW as they have a better reputation. Also, what kind of jobs can I go into without research? & is the honours course research or coursework?

 

[Survivor39]

With a B MedSc you can find non-research related jobs in the hospital, doing diagnostics tests, specimens processing, lab testing etc.

The Honours year is research.

 

[DraconisV]

With the honours year, what happens, like how many hours per week. Do you get paid? I'm interested in the financial side of doing honours??

 

[Survivor39]

No you don't get paid. It's just an additional year of work so you can graduate with "Honours" instead of a Pass degree. Normally the classes of Honours are determined by your final marks (First class = 85+, Second Class I = 75+ etc)

How many hours you work in the lab is entirely up to you. Normally it's 24 hrs + per week since it's 24 uoc, but most Honours student will go from 9 to 5 Mon-Fri.

You will have a supervisor that will help you with your thesis writing, consultation about your experiments and results.

And what do you mean by the "financial side" of doing Honours?