distinction courses (1 Viewer)

[lyounamu]

Why do I find it hard? Try and answer some of the questions they throw in your face
- What are the attractions on the dissolution of self?
- Is changing the past contradictory?
- Can an atheist be moral?

The readings are difficult to comprehend. I have come across single sentences which go on for just about half the page.

That said, the course scales well, and HD is 85+. Residential you will meet some nice people (but some wanks too), and in all, the course itself I find is a load of semantic wank.

Philosophy (Disticntion) is quite different from what you would perceive it. A lot of it is formulating valid premises, and expressing yourself in a CLEAR and logical manner. If you're one of those flowery English Esshay type people- then your bullshit here doesn't work.

Well, I just hope that Cosmology is different from what Philosophy is.

EDIT: by the way, where did you accelerate and what did you get???

 

[lolokay]

Why do I find it hard? Try and answer some of the questions they throw in your face
- What are the attractions on the dissolution of self?
- Is changing the past contradictory?
- Can an atheist be moral?

haha, the philosophy course sounds so stupid. I'd say you'd probably be better off just learning the more interesting stuff on your own rather than taking an extra course with apparently heaps of work and pointless topics

 

[SoulSearcher]

Cosmology= heaps of maths. the fact that u r accelerating in 3 units of maths should be great, u should be right

To be honest, from what I can remember about doing the Cosmology course last year that there isn't actually that much maths involved, not as much as people think there is. Although, yes, there is a lot of maths compared to Philosophy/Comparitive Literature, there really isn't that much that is present in the course, and the only way to really fill it up with maths is to base your major work on a concept in Cosmology that has a lot of maths in it, e.g. the mathematics behind General Relativity.

 

[SoulSearcher]

I cant speak for the other courses, but the outline of philosophy is like this. There are 4 core modules - time and cause, self-concept, morality religion and happiness and finally reality and credibility. All are very applicable in daily life. Each of these modules has its own course material booklet, with readings from philosophers and exaplanations. U have bout 6 weeks, sometimes longer, to read over the modules a few times. This is all done in ur own time - frees, at home, woteva. Then each of the 4 modules have a 750 word essay which u send to the university by a due date. (The fourth is done at the last residential school like an exam). U get to choose ur question from 4 possible questions. They r extremely flexible with the due dates- if ur having trouble or ur really busy with otehr school work, they will give u an extension as long as u call them. There is an exam in about june which tests all four modules - u hav to write an essay on each one and u choose each question. The exam is done at ur school. There are also 4 option modules after u've done the core modules. Each of the options is based on one of the cores, and u choose 2 of these options to write two 2000 word essays.

There are 3 compulsory residential schools which have been held in chatswood this yr. They are held over w/ends and they are about 3 months apart. The first deals with the first 2 modules, the second with the second 2 and the last with the option modules. U have lectures and discussion groups over the two days. Otherwise, everything is done in ur own time. U need to be kinda organised and make sure u know whats goin on.

Hope that helps again. I just think its nice to hear from someone who actually does it rather than someone who runs the course or whatever.

I'm happy to answer any other questions u can think of if i can.

Sam

Ok, I'm going to use this structure to try and give out some general information for the Cosmology Distinction Course, I completed the course last year and hopefully I remember enough to actually answer all these points. Of course, if there are further questions and I pass through this thread again I'll answer them

Outline of Cosmology:
There are 9 modules in total in Cosmology, each dealing with certain cosmological topics (I don't remember them, but I'll dig up my module booklets later if someone's interested) You get through them at your own pace, but there are 6 essays (only 3 of them will count towards your assessment marks, each worth 10% and around 2000 words for each assessable assignment) spread throughout the year, then two exams, one in early May worth 10% and one usually in early August worth 30%. The first exam covers Modules 1-3 and the first residential and the second exam covers Modules 4-7 and the second residential (so you do actually need to pay attention during the lectures that are organised to happen then ) and they are 1 and 2 horus in length respectively. In each exam you can choose the particular questions that you want to do i nthe first couple of sections, while the last question(s) are compulsory and worth the most to the exam.

That is only 70% of the course assessment. The last 30% is made up of a major work on any particular area of Cosmology you want to write about that is covered through the modules/approved by those who run the course. You choose the topic during the second residential, then you have the time form then up until the week before the HSC exams to research, draft, write and submit in a 10,000 word major work which is the accumulation of the work you have done on that topic during the 3 or so months you should have been doing it (although I did the majority of mine in 2 weeks, so it wasn't really that good ) The course is very self-motivated, there isn't going to be someone to continually pester you about finishing an assignment or working through a module, you have to undertake that responsibility yourself. Self-motivation is key in Cosmology, especially since there is a quite a bit of work involved in it. But seriously, even though it may seem like a lot of work, it is generally an incredibly interesting course and is definitely worth the effort put into it if you like the concepts

Residentials
Instead of the 3 residentials that Philosophy has (but they're just weekend deals ) Cosmology only has 2 residentials, one that is held in early February which lasts 5 days and one in late June that is spread over 3 days. The first one is just so that everyone gets to know each other and those who run the course, as well as listen to general lectures about cosmological areas and visit the various observatories we have around that general region (Parkes, Sliding Springs, the one near Narrabri, etc.) The second residential has a few more lectures and is primarily there to help you decide the topic you will complete your major work on (as well as meet up with everybody again ) Both residentials have quite a bit of free time, although you're stuck on the buses half the time in the first residential, but they're both rather fun experiences But you will need to pay attention to the lectures and telescope explorations, because some questions in the exams will deal with content dealt with only through the residentials. Generally, what makes Cosmology worth doing is because of the people in the course and the friendships you make in it, whicih all starts with the first residental and continues onwards :uhhuh:

And I fully endorse this quote below

Just something I want to add. It is totally worth doing this course or any of the others. Like all of ur subjects, there will be times when u regret choosing it, but it is worth it for many reasons. Obviously, scaling is a good reason, but not the only one. It gives u a taste of the more adult life of university with lectures and independent thinking, where everything isnt spoonfed to u. It also allows u to consider things u never usually consider. Also, take the opportunity to have lecturers who are really interested in u - coz once u got to university they most probably just wont give a shit. (excuse my language). I hope I'm helping at least some of u coz i really would have liked someone to explain it like this to me before i chose.

Hope that was a general outline into the Cosmology Distinction Course, I'll answer any other questions people have about the course if they want it [comment]My god that's a lot to read [/comment]

Do ya have to fill out booklets, for example, your read one chapter then you have this booklet that asks you questions related to the chapter, or, do write an essay on each chapter? Whats the work?

Generally, the work encountered when doing a module is that you read the module, then go through the questions they have in the front of the module related to the content you have read through in that module. The 6 assignments cover topics taken from modules 1-7 and generally you have a month inbetween assignments. Only 3 of these assignments actually count towards your assessment marks though (Assignments 2, 4 and 6) and they tend to be 2000 words each while dealing with one question, while the other assignments, although compulsory (although assignment 5 can be skipped if you do well enough in the first two assessable assignments) are of a shorter length and usually have more than one question attached to them. That was what I remember from last year anyway.

 

[lyounamu]

Thanks, Gabriel! By the way, how did you go in Cosmology?

Did it end up being counted as your UAI???

By the way, did any subject help you with Cosmology (e.g. Maths or Physics)?

 

[SoulSearcher]

Thanks, Gabriel! By the way, how did you go in Cosmology?

Did it end up being counted as your UAI???

By the way, did any subject help you with Cosmology (e.g. Maths or Physics)?

I didn't go too badly in Cosmology, got a HD and it counted for 2 units of my UAI (over Physics )

Hmm, from what I remember, a bit of maths knowledge would be useful to know, but there really wasn't any subject that necessarily helped me with Cosmology, in fact module 2 of Cosmology is rather helpful with the Astrophysics option of HSC Physics.

 

[simonloo]

Don't piss McKinnon off.

 

[lyounamu]

Don't piss McKinnon off.

Referring to Gabriel???

 

[SoulSearcher]

Don't piss McKinnon off.

Too late.

 

[Sammi B]

I cannot express my gratitude for your impressive information. I wish you every luck in the upcoming HSC exams.

Noooo problemo!! Glad to help! And thanku for the good wishes.

And let me say something else.... I am not in any way saying u will love it or that it will be the best experience of ur life, but if u work hard enough it will be worth it. I know lots of ppl (and i mean like 30) who have done all 3 courses in the last 3 yrs and not regretted it at all. Don't get too bogged down in the detail of the courses yet like modules or whatever - it will come.

I wish u all the best of luck for next yr, whether u do the distinction courses or not. But please do not write them off just coz ppl are giving u bad testimonies - decide based on urself.

Any other questions are welcome

Good luck!

Sam x

 

[eliseliselise]

so. if i were to do my 3+4unit maths HSC tests this year, but if i were to get an E3 in 4 unit [god forbid], and i have a burning desire for an E4... if i'm accepted into a distinction course [philosophy!!]* will they let me do 4unit again so i can get my beloved E4 and sail off into the sunset with a spectacular UAI [touch wood]??

i've heard that a few people have gotten in with a band 6 in a 2unit course, but has anyone heard/know of anyone who has gotten in on an extension or something? do they lower the standard?? i dont suppose they would though, because its just as hard to get above 90 in 4u math as it is in CAFS... scaling!!

thankyou very very very very much!!!



*thats if they will even let me have a whiff of a distinction course with an E3

 

[lyounamu]

so. if i were to do my 3+4unit maths HSC tests this year, but if i were to get an E3 in 4 unit [god forbid], and i have a burning desire for an E4... if i'm accepted into a distinction course [philosophy!!]* will they let me do 4unit again so i can get my beloved E4 and sail off into the sunset with a spectacular UAI [touch wood]??

i've heard that a few people have gotten in with a band 6 in a 2unit course, but has anyone heard/know of anyone who has gotten in on an extension or something? do they lower the standard?? i dont suppose they would though, because its just as hard to get above 90 in 4u math as it is in CAFS... scaling!!

thankyou very very very very much!!!



*thats if they will even let me have a whiff of a distinction course with an E3

Hi, Elise. I am not entirely sure but I will just summarise what I learnt from previous students and what I saw from the following website : http://www.distinction.nsw.edu.au/bwWebsite/followon.aspx?PageID=4077

To do Distinction Course (e.g. Cosmology, Philosophy & Comparative Literature), you must be an accelerant student who completed one or more courses (usually 3 units) a year ahead of your cohort. High achivements in those particular accelerated subjects are required (probably Band 6s). However, you should have a good chance of entering even if you get E3 in Mathematics Extension 2 as they already realise how difficult Mathematics Extension 2. You are also allowed to repeat that subject if you wish to. It doesn't really matter whether you can repeat or not as long as you show them that you completed a subject one year ahead of the cohort.

 

[lyounamu]

i know someone who did philosophy whilst only accelerating a 2u course in physics.....so 2u courses can be used...

I am aware of that. That's why I said "one or more courses". However, it is usually 3 units even though 2 units is absolutely fine.

 

[deliberately]

hot damn i regret dropping bio now.

although 61% in my half-yearly [i hadn't really been awake in any lessons all year nor had i studied cuz i'm a lazy shit] would most probably indicate that i didn't stand a chance in getting into philosophy anyway... oh well there's always uni

 

[eliseliselise]

Hi, Elise. I am not entirely sure but I will just summarise what I learnt from previous students and what I saw from the following website : http://www.distinction.nsw.edu.au/bwWebsite/followon.aspx?PageID=4077

To do Distinction Course (e.g. Cosmology, Philosophy & Comparative Literature), you must be an accelerant student who completed one or more courses (usually 3 units) a year ahead of your cohort. High achivements in those particular accelerated subjects are required (probably Band 6s). However, you should have a good chance of entering even if you get E3 in Mathematics Extension 2 as they already realise how difficult Mathematics Extension 2. You are also allowed to repeat that subject if you wish to. It doesn't really matter whether you can repeat or not as long as you show them that you completed a subject one year ahead of the cohort.

thankyou, lyounamu!! aaah how i yearn to be a semi-qualified philosopher at the tender age of 17.

 

[lyounamu]

thankyou, lyounamu!! aaah how i yearn to be a semi-qualified philosopher at the tender age of 17.

You're welcome.

I wish to be semi-qualified cosmologist by the time I become adult (i.e. 18 = adult, isn't it?).

 

[SoulSearcher]

so. if i were to do my 3+4unit maths HSC tests this year, but if i were to get an E3 in 4 unit [god forbid], and i have a burning desire for an E4... if i'm accepted into a distinction course [philosophy!!]* will they let me do 4unit again so i can get my beloved E4 and sail off into the sunset with a spectacular UAI [touch wood]??

i've heard that a few people have gotten in with a band 6 in a 2unit course, but has anyone heard/know of anyone who has gotten in on an extension or something? do they lower the standard?? i dont suppose they would though, because its just as hard to get above 90 in 4u math as it is in CAFS... scaling!!

thankyou very very very very much!!!



*thats if they will even let me have a whiff of a distinction course with an E3

Yes. I know a few people who got into Cosmology last year with marks in the E3 range for extension courses and even band 5s (albeit high band 5s) in a 2 unit course, so you should be fine there. They should have the same standard for Philosophy, so no issues there.

 

[Sammi B]

Actually. most ppl doing distinction courses have been accelerated in 2 unit subjects. the majority have NOT been accelerated in 3 unit subjects. But claps for being accel. in 4 unit maths!

 

[Sammi B]

good.....that actually just made me feel a whole lot better.....considering I only do 2u phys.....

relax!! i was accelerated in 2 unit chem, and so were the 7 other ppl who got into a course from my school. Ppl in my course were accelerated in legal studies, advanced english, business, physics, 2 unit maths, 3 unit maths, 4 unit maths, ext maths woteva...it is a big range!

 

[VampireGirl]

if you are currently accelerated in a 2 unit course, you are still eligible to apply for a disticntion course. I'm a chemistry accelerant and accelerants before me ( both 2u chemistry and 3u maths) have been accepted into distinction courses.