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Single or combined commerce? In need of advice please :) ~ (1 Viewer)

lau101

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I could either do 3 year single commerce degrees
Or a combined degree with science (I would love to get into med postgrad but i don't think its possible)
Its 4 years but is it a waste of time and a WAM killer if I fail to get into med at notre dame?
Also I only did chem in year 11 and for year 12 it was all business subjects.
I do love bio tho and don't mind chem.
Thanks :)
 

Crobat

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It'll depend on what you want to do - with the huge generalist degree that Commerce is now and the currently oversaturated market of grads, it'd be unwise to do a single Commerce degree with the intention of making it in Business. Not saying that it's impossible, but considering that your competition will be thousands of double degree holders who have made the time for relevant work experience (this is something that I think pretty much every half decent student has made time for) and extra-curriculars, you will need to prove that your experience is somehow better than these students who have an entire other degree (and an entire line of skills, capabilities and knowledge) on top of you, likely with similar work experience as you.

But if you want to get into Post-grad med, I can't really comment much on this since it's outside of my area of knowledge, but wouldn't a Medical Science degree be a good lead up for that?

I can't seem to find anything on Medical Science at Notre Dame, but from what I can gather from the other unis that offer it is that it's a 3 year undergraduate related to Medicine which you can do in turn with the GAMSAT I suppose to apply for post-grad Med.

B Medical Science, USYD.
B Medical Science, UNSW.
B Medical Science, UTS.
B Medical Science, UWS. (UWS has a fantastic Med department from what I've heard)
B Medical Science, MQ.

Notre Dame seems to have a Pre-Medicine Certificate which I'm gathering is some sort of accreditation you do during your undergraduate in any degree if you intend to apply for post-graduate medicine. You could do it with the Biomedical Science degree at ND which I think should be relevant (but again, not really sure, "physio" is in the link so it might not be directly related to medical science like that).

Anyway it looks like you have quite a lot of options so I guess it just depends on whatever you really want to follow.
 
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lau101

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It'll depend on what you want to do - with the huge generalist degree that Commerce is now and the currently oversaturated market of grads, it'd be unwise to do a single Commerce degree with the intention of making it in Business. Not saying that it's impossible, but considering that your competition will be thousands of double degree holders who have made the time for relevant work experience (this is something that I think pretty much every half decent student has made time for) and extra-curriculars, you will need to prove that your experience is somehow better than these students who have an entire other degree (and an entire line of skills, capabilities and knowledge) on top of you, likely with similar work experience as you.

But if you want to get into Post-grad med, I can't really comment much on this since it's outside of my area of knowledge, but wouldn't a Medical Science degree be a good lead up for that?

I can't seem to find anything on Medical Science at Notre Dame, but from what I can gather from the other unis that offer it is that it's a 3 year undergraduate related to Medicine which you can do in turn with the GAMSAT I suppose to apply for post-grad Med.

B Medical Science, USYD.
B Medical Science, UNSW.
B Medical Science, UTS.
B Medical Science, UWS. (UWS has a fantastic Med department from what I've heard)
B Medical Science, MQ.

Notre Dame seems to have a Pre-Medicine Certificate which I'm gathering is some sort of accreditation you do during your undergraduate in any degree if you intend to apply for post-graduate medicine. You could do it with the Biomedical Science degree at ND which I think should be relevant (but again, not really sure, "physio" is in the link so it might not be directly related to medical science like that).

Anyway it looks like you have quite a lot of options so I guess it just depends on whatever you really want to follow.


wow interesting! thanks for that :) It is only offered in Fremantle though, the premed certificate so I am not too sure whether to move.

I don't really have extra stuff, apart from my law internship I am doing now (due to my current path of study) Most say I am crazy trying to get out of law when everyone else is trying to get in, but it is just not for me.
 

Crobat

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I don't really have extra stuff, apart from my law internship I am doing now (due to my current path of study) Most say I am crazy trying to get out of law when everyone else is trying to get in, but it is just not for me.
(Insert obligatory "no use staying in it if you don't actually enjoy it" comment here), but especially for something like Law which demands so much of your time and energy - the solicitors at my firm work from 7:00am to 8:00pm on a good day, most even later, so it's not like you can have much of a personal life on the side :haha:
 

lau101

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(Insert obligatory "no use staying in it if you don't actually enjoy it" comment here), but especially for something like Law which demands so much of your time and energy - the solicitors at my firm work from 7:00am to 8:00pm on a good day, most even later, so it's not like you can have much of a personal life on the side :haha:
haha
touche!
my friends are all graduating next year (3 year comm degrees) and i just feel so behind already cause already had a gap year :/
 

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haha
touche!
my friends are all graduating next year (3 year comm degrees) and i just feel so behind already cause already had a gap year :/
Yeah I feel yah but then I think about how they have to take on so much responsibility for their lives now and that kind of freaks me out tbh - we're still so young (20 this year pretty much). Plus I absolutely love my uni so I'm in no hurry to graduate :haha:

Besides, if you're doing something different to them it shouldn't really matter. My Med friends are going to be studying for a loooooooooooooooong time, but they're happy with that because Med is what they want to do.
 

lau101

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true :) thanks for that

so your studying business/law???
 

lau101

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and do you think a commerce degree combined with science major in like food technology could take me anywhere?
 

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and do you think a commerce degree combined with science major in like food technology could take me anywhere?
I don't see why not. It's really just about getting the marks and experience so that you can get into that interview. Once you're in that interview, that's where you can really distinguish yourself from the other candidates and once you get employed, the relevance of your degree wanes as you advance throughout your career anyway.
 

lau101

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what r the chances of getting into med /dentistry tho?
 

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Not really sure - you'd have to talk to someone at your uni's Med faculty about that.
 

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I could either do 3 year single commerce degrees
Or a combined degree with science (I would love to get into med postgrad but i don't think its possible)
Its 4 years but is it a waste of time and a WAM killer if I fail to get into med at notre dame?
Also I only did chem in year 11 and for year 12 it was all business subjects.
I do love bio tho and don't mind chem.
Thanks :)
If post-grad medicine is your aim, then you really need to be doing a science related degree to prepare for the GAMSAT. Furthermore, you also need to do a combination which allows you to get the best possible GPA - from what I understand, Med schools only care about the GPA, not the actual degree. So all things considered, a combined Comm/Sci degree sounds like a good idea - you will get the necessary science background, plus a good career backup with commerce.

It'll depend on what you want to do - with the huge generalist degree that Commerce is now and the currently oversaturated market of grads, it'd be unwise to do a single Commerce degree with the intention of making it in Business. Not saying that it's impossible, but considering that your competition will be thousands of double degree holders who have made the time for relevant work experience (this is something that I think pretty much every half decent student has made time for) and extra-curriculars, you will need to prove that your experience is somehow better than these students who have an entire other degree (and an entire line of skills, capabilities and knowledge) on top of you, likely with similar work experience as you.
A double major can be helpful as well - I have heard of some graduate programs culling those with a single degree and major. Then again, it depends on the field. I have a single degree in HR and my education hasnt really limited me - but I have complimented it with 1.5 years worth of industry experience and strong marks. However, most entry/junior level HR positions dont really care about your degree beyond you having one - a double degree/major would only be a small advantage.

I can't seem to find anything on Medical Science at Notre Dame, but from what I can gather from the other unis that offer it is that it's a 3 year undergraduate related to Medicine which you can do in turn with the GAMSAT I suppose to apply for post-grad Med.
Notre Dame in Sydney doesnt offer MedSci or even a proper BSc (they only offer majors in Behavioural Science and Psych I think). You would be better off doing your undergrad elsewhere I think.
 

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