First year maths elective (1 Viewer)

[creamandcookies]

hi guys,

i received guaranteed entry to b psych and according to the course structure, i'm allowed to take 2 free electives in my first sem, one of which i have already decided on (a language), and the last i am still undecided about. because for honours only the wam for psychology subjects count, i was hoping to do an easier subject with little to no essay writing (to balance the type of work i'm doing out).

i did hsc ext 1, with a combined mark of 144 (97 47). i have been looking at math1031 and 1131, i'm not sure whether i want to do 1031 and just take it really easy or challenge myself a bit with 1131. 1141 is too much effort so it's out of the question haha. does 1031 scale very badly? (i am aware of the scaling on 1131 compared to 1041). and will 1031 prevent me from doing many other subjects?

also, if you think doing maths as an elective is really stupid, i would love getting some recommendations about other electives i could do. thanks!

 

[Squar3root]

1131 is pretty alright 1031 is really easy idk about scaling but you got pretty good hsc marks so 1131 wouldn't be too hard for you

 

[RenegadeMx]

1131 scales down badly tbh, not sure about 1031, if u want good grades and can handle proofy maths go 1141

 

[fizzbylightning]

I was tossing up between 1011 (lol) and 1131 as electives, having done 3 unit maths in high school. What made me choose 1131 in the end was when I reminded myself that I wanted to go to uni to learn new things (surprise!) Although WAM boosting is an appealing thought, I would personally feel uncomfortable paying some thousands of dollars to re-learn things.

1131 is enjoyable, especially if you get boss lecturers like PAHOR!

 

[youngsky]

Do 1031 if you want to get easy marks/easy HD or do 1131 if you're genuinely interested in learning new (and more interesting imo) maths. I did 1131 last year (146 combined) cause it was more interesting but regretted not taking 1141 because 1131 in fact has negative scaling because it's compared to 1141. A friend of mine (who did 4U btw) took 1031 and it absolutely brought his wam up.

In the end it all depends what you want out of doing maths.

 

[creamandcookies]

i think i'll take 1031 for the hd, i would love to take 1131 but the scaling sounds pretty bad and as much as i would like to challenge myself and learn new things my psych wam will probably take priority...

thanks for all the opinions and advice! ^^

 

[plutonium-238]

Hey I was in your shoes 3 years ago! Had absolutely no idea what other 2 electives to pick after PSYC1001 and PSYC1021 so I took MATH1031 and Philosophy.

Maths was incredibly easy, you get unlimited chances for MAPLE tests (until you get 100%) and the concepts are very straightforward. Pretty much slept through all my tutes and made it through the semester losing 3 marks in total. At most, I touched upon the content before the two class tests and the final exam. The matrices component will be semi-useful if you decide to undertake multivariate statistics in 3rd year. It'll help you understand MANOVA procedure calculations but the lecturer will touch on it briefly and this procedure is rarely used (unless you have multivariate data). However, be mindful that there's 4 hours of lectures and 2 hours of tutes per week (which will put some students off) and the final exam is worth 70% of your mark. You won't need MATH1131 in psych, however MATH1041 (statistics) may help with the 2nd year research methods course as Psych is heavily centred on statistical procedures.

I turned up and paid attention to 3 weeks of philosophy lectures. After that, I turned up to the lectures just to sleep (the lecturers voice and tone had a soothing and tranquillising effect). I did not like the course since it was heavily based on political morality and what not, but if you're into philosophy, do pick a course that interests you! (since you're looking for a course with minimal writing, do not take philosophy D

Language is definitely a good choice as an elective. All my friends who have taken French, Italian, Chinese and Japanese at UNSW reported that it was a deeply enriching experience and have continued to follow up their studies by undertaking 2nd and 3rd year language electives.

I picked up both 1st year criminology subjects in 2nd semester since CRIM1001 was online (less hours at uni ). The content is pretty interesting albeit dry, both are very straightforward courses and provides a broad insight into the Australian criminal justice system. If you do enjoy it, you'll probably want to pick up Psych and Law in 3rd year, or conduct forensic experiments during your honours year.

Some general tips:
- do something that interests you (read through the UNSW handbook)
Most people I knew chose BABS (biology), CHEM, MATH, CRIM and PHIL subjects to fill up free electives. also make sure that you pick the right number of 1st and 2nd year electives. the school allows a student to take up to a maximum number of 1st year electives. so plan your courses carefully and get multiple opinions from students regarding the coursework for certain subjects.

- check PSYC course prerequisites
If you have completed PSYC1001, you can do PSYC2101 during 1st year of semester 1 to cut down on stress in 3rd year. Same goes for some 3rd year subjects, as long as you have completed PSYC2081 or PSYC2061 in 2nd year, you can do some 3rd year psych subjects during 2nd year semester 2. This cuts down a lot of stress in 3rd year as you have 1 less elective to worry about (some students burnt out doing 4 3rd year psych subjects and I can tell you it's not fun).

- complete WAM boosters for gen ed subjects
astronomy and everyday physics is pretty popular and most people end up with D and HD grades, pretty much any online course is a WAM booster.

- don't be afraid to ask around, join psychsoc and sign up for peer mentoring
there's a PsychSoc (Psychology society) stall during o-week and they're usually manned by 2nd and 3rd year psych students. they don't bite and you can join in on the amazing social events they hold and make friends that will last a lifetime. signing up for peer mentoring is also important, so long as you have good mentors (usually 3rd year psych students), they'll help you integrate into uni life more easily and help you balance both social and academic life. you'll also meet new people and there's always free lollies

- embrace uni life
because you get much more freedom compared to high school. join a sports club, actively participate in volunteering and leadership opportunities, join multiple societies or even start your own society. the more you get involved, the more experience you will gain and it'll shine in the portfolio you will need to complete in 3rd year.

feel free to leave further questions below, i'll be more than happy to answer them

 

[creamandcookies]

omg thank you so much, this advice is spot on what i was looking for! ^^ babs and chem are also electives i'm considering right now, probably won't go the arts route (minus languages) since science is more my thing i will definitely be taking 1041 for the stats as well

the tip about prerequisites and taking 3rd year subjects earlier will prove to be very helpful i think, since this is the first time i've ever heard about this!

yes i have heard all about psychsoc (already in the group actually haha) and peer mentoring and will definitely utilise the opportunity, and since i kind of regret not doing that much during high school i will definitely join clubs and involve myself ^^

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i actually wanted to ask a bit about going on exchange. i have already heard from faculty staff that the best time would be 2nd sem 2nd year and that you should try to match up courses as much as possible, and i'd like to know more about it. what are some of the popular unis that people go to? on the psychsoc page i see people mostly mention european/north american unis but im personally interested in going to asia so i would love to get some advice on what unis are good etc. but since you were talking about 3rd year being very intense now i'm thinking perhaps i shouldnt go on exchange at all? what do u think about it? thanks

 

[plutonium-238]

I have a mate who went on exchange and he couldn't get credit transfers for the subjects he completed overseas. For example, if you miss PSYC2071 and PSYC2101 in 2nd year semester 2 due to exchange, you will need to take them during the 2nd semester in your 3rd year to make up for it, delaying your degree and pushing back your honours year. However, since you need to take an extra semester to fulfil the requirements, you'll be able to underload (take less subjects per semester) throughout the remainder of your degree.

You probably don't need to take MATH1041 since the PSYC1111 course teaches you all the basic psychological stats, methodology and procedures you need before 2nd year. We didn't have this luxury back a few years ago but I guess it's a blessing since stats is horrible overall.

Psychsoc meetings would be a great place to ask around. The office ladies on level 15/16 know jack. If you really want to go on exchange and have your units count towards your course progression, I'd shoot the course coordinators an email and ask them about institutions where you match up the courses. You can find the course coordinators by getting the course outlines for specific psych courses. However, it would be better to complete the core units back at UNSW as other overseas institutions rarely hold courses that align with the core psych subjects. Most people who do go on exchange are BPsychsci students who have another major to fulfil. Other schools such as criminology or arts may be more relaxed compared to psychology and will count subjects completed on exchange.

If you do wish to go on exchange, you can complete your undergraduate degree (plus or minus honours) first and then complete a masters overseas (although this wouldn't be called an exchange, it would still be a great learning experience!).

 

[creamandcookies]

thanks so much! i will definitely try to find out, i have looked up a few unis and found some similar sounding courses to the 2 cores but i'll have to go and find out whether they will really match it's just that going on exchange is something that has kept me looking forward to uni for like the whole of 2015 and realising that there's a big chance i won't get to do it just crushes me a bit haha, doing masters overseas is definitely something i am keeping in mind too! (esp if i don't make it into masters/combined masters and phd at unsw...which i know is very hard to get into)