Hey guys, I have revived once again! Sadly however, I have not come back with a vlog! Due to technical difficulties i.e me being absolutely horrible at using iMovies, I was unable to produce some vloggy goodness. However, I am still going to answer the questions I was given, but instead I’ll do this over my next couple of blogs. #seriesalert

So please enjoy these answers I produced from the comfort of my home in Gisborne and comment any further questions you may have!

Do you think NCEA prepared you for uni?
For me personally, I think that Chemistry from NCEA Level 3 prepared me the most. This is mainly because a lot of the concepts we’ve covered so far in Chem110 are actually mentioned in Level 3. Another aspect of NCEA which preps you for Uni is Level 2 Bio, as the crux of BioSci is about cells gene expression and all that good, core Biology stuff. I sadly didn’t pay much attention in Level 2 Bio, which I deeply regret… so all you year 12’s reading this, focus in on Biology! However one thing that NCEA doesn’t prepare you for, is the huge workload you’re given at University. From your first lecture, you need to hit the ground running and find study techniques that allow you to study as efficiently as possible.

What was the most challenging aspect about adapting to uni life?
One of the more challenging aspects about adapting to uni for me was, and still is, adapting to the large amount of content that you get given at Uni. You literally cover 3 weeks of school work in one 1 hour lecture. The actual things you learn aren’t that much more complex than school, but like I said, trying to find good ways of studying and learning a great deal of stuff in a short space of time is vital, but it is definitely a challenge I’m trying to overcome at the moment.

Why did you choose Health Science instead of Biomed?
I’m someone who loves English and writing, and out of the two different courses, Health Science definitely has the most essay based learning. (i.e in Biomed you don’t write any essays at all) As well as the appeal of being able to relive the good old days of essay writing, the Population Health papers are also extremely interesting and seemed to fit with a lot of things I wanted to learn.

What did you do in High School? For example, prefect, head girl, extracurricular activities or volunteering; and did these things prepare for you the questions you might get asked in the interview for medicine regarding leadership/team work?
In High School I was a Prefect, played a bit of Netball, mentored younger students and did a couple of speeches here and there – however I wouldn’t say that any of these activities prepared me for the Medicine interview. I say this because I have no idea what they’re even going to ask! So for now, my main focus is my grades and just trying to get an interview at the end of the year. Don’t get me wrong though, extra-curricular is important, especially if your looking at applying for scholarships. However at both University and High School you’ve got to find a balance, where you’re still able to get those good marks, because GPA’s and rank scores do sadly exist.

How many class hours are there in Health Science?
On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I normally have three 1 hour lectures, unless I have a Chem110 or Biosci107 Lab, which are each 3 hours long – therefore on lab days I have 6 hours of class time and on non-lab days I have 3 hours of class time. Wednesday, however, is a bit different, as I’m at Tamaki Campus and my whole day is dedicated to Poplhlth101. In total, my average Wednesday is characterised by 5 hours worth of lectures and workshops. I also have about 4 hours worth of tutorials in a week. Although your time at Uni in front of a lecturer, tutor or lab assistant, doesn’t seem that long, the rest of the time you’re studying – and with that, your days do seem to be rather huge. 

How are you finding living away from home?
Well, I’m definitely a home girl – as in, I had a huge cry when my parents left me in Auckland. But surprisingly, for someone like me who gets emotional just at the thought of going home – it’s not too bad! I think when you move to Uni, you have this fear that you’re not going to cope being away from your friends and family. BUT, it actually turns out that once you get there, you’re either too busy or just enjoying yourself too much to even freak out about being so far way from home – so in other words – it’s super manageable! For me, having my boyfriend and a good bunch of like-minded friends has also helped a lot!

I hope I’ve managed to give you guys a bit of insight into what University is like! Stay tuned and keep an eye out for my next blog as I shall continue to answer more questions!

Until next time my fellow bloggies! xx

– Rebekah