Hellloooo there!
1SE is back! Hope you enjoyed that little snippet of what I got up to. I know it featured quite a lot of food shots but hey, I reckon that’s a pretty good representation of my life 🤫😅.
As promised, here is part two of the ‘Could This Be You?’ series, interviewing a biomedical science, computer science/commerce, and engineering/commerce student about their experiences!
Name: Piggyham
Bonus fact: Loves nuggets.
Studying: Biomedical Science
What subjects did you take in high school?
At NCEA level 3 I took: All 3 sciences (chem, bio and physics) Statistics Geography
Why did you choose Biomed?
As corny as it sounds I like helping people. I know there are definitely multiple pathways to do this, but I have always done well in the sciences and the medical world fascinates me. Having gone through some rough patches relating to my health, having the knowledge and ability to help others with their health is something I want to be able to do. Why not health science? Simply because the assignments are similar to doing internals aaaand I still haven’t broken my habit of procrastinating 😛 Internals were the death of me in high school.
How are you finding it so far?
Not as bad as I thought it would be. I get 2 days off during the week that I can use to catch up and I like how (most) lecturers are good at explaining things and get straight to the point.
Highs/lows?
Highs: No one telling you what to do 😀 Lows: No one telling you what to do 😞 It’s a good thing not to have someone nagging you all the time to do this or do that because you get to be more independent. But at the same time it’s a not so good thing. It means you have to always be aware of deadlines, and assessments such as pre-lab quizzes, after lecture quizzes and activities on Mastering Biology for example, and side note: they are all different for each course! I missed the first two after-lecture quizzes for Chem110 because I didn’t know we had to do them. It’s so easy to forget things, and almost everything counts towards your final mark for that course unless your lecturer tells you otherwise.
Any tips for aspiring high school students / high school you?
Pay attention in level 2 bio! Would have made this first half of semester one for Biosci101 and Biosci107 a looot easier. Try find out which way of taking notes and studying works best for you, sooner rather than later as it will make your transition into uni easier if you figured this out earlier.. And enjoy high school!! Take advantage of topic tests and mocks, oops I mean SCHOOL exams, because at uni there are pretty much no second chances, only the mid sem and semester test, both of which count! Do more co-curriculars because you might not have enough time to do the activities of the clubs you join at uni 😞
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Name: Rak
Bonus Fact: Any ToG fans out there get the nickname 😉 ?
Studying: Commerce and Computer Science conjoint.
What subjects did you take in highschool and why Computer Science/Commerce?
In my last year of high school, the subjects I took were digital programming, accounting, calculus, physics and geography. I took these subjects because I wanted to do programming in university, either through the engineering or the comp sci pathway. I ended up taking the bsci route majoring in computer science with a conjoint in business majoring in Information Systems.
How are you finding it so far?
Currently, the university life isn’t too bad. Lots of quizzes and assignments but it’s ok, bearable. (C: Sounding quite grim there Rak… promise it isn’t too bad guys!)
Highs/Lows?
A high point is that you get to meet a lot of new people, there’s so many people in your classes that by the end of the year you still probably won’t have met most of them. A low is the bus ride I need to take to get to university, the 2 hours of commuting drains your energy.
Any tips for aspiring high school students?
A tip for aspiring high school students is to not procrastinate during assignments and study time, I learnt this the hard way and wasted a lot of time. I guess this would also apply to your NCEA internals and externals as well, make use of holiday time to catch up on notes and content that you might not have really grasped.
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Name: Garfunkel
Failed attempt at a balloon animal😢
Studying: Engineering and Commerce Conjoint:
Bonus fact: I struggled more than I should have answering these questions…
What subjects did you take in high school:
Calculus, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Accounting.
Why did you choose Engineering/Commerce Conjoint:
Since I first heard of Engineering (around Year 10) I was pretty sure that was what I was going to do. It involved math. I liked math. Me + Math = Engineering. Simple right? Wrong. As the years went by I got more and more conflicted and by Year 13, thoughts about Med, Optometry and Pharmacy started to invade and break down my equation. It started morph and looked something like Me + Biology + Chemistry + Math = Biomed. Anyways, after a couple of months agonising over it, I realised the freedom of the engineering degree and ability to innovate/be creative was something that I personally quite valued, and so here I am today! As for commerce, I’ve always liked accounting in high school and thought I should expand my horizons a bit, and soo voila!
How are you finding it so far?
Aside the fact that it can be quite overwhelming at times, I can honestly say I am loving my degree. Engineering is without a doubt a difficult degree, however the content we are learning, the maths, physics and (surprisingly) design, I really quite enjoy, making it all worthwhile. Commerce on the other hand is something that I never thought in a million years I would be taking, but surprise, I’m enjoying it quite a lot too!
Highs/lows:
Highs: Great people. University is really the place to meet people, meet new friends, reconnect with old friends etc. there are so many different characters and personalities around university that you are bound to find someone who you click with, join a club, a team, a band, whatever floats your boat (like the rowing club). The lecturers are really great too, funny, punchy and knowledgeable.
Lows: How much content there is. University being a step up from high school is an understatement. You have to stay on top of things as lagging behind on one topic will likely mean you won’t understand the next.
Tips for aspiring high school students:
Don’t procrastinate. Just don’t do it. It’s so hard catching up and you just feel so guilty about it afterwards that you then start to procrastinate again to feel better. A vicious cycle. Also, keep your options open, you may be set on a certain career path right now but keep an open mind so you don’t miss out on other opportunities which may suit you better.
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That’s a wrap folks! Hopefully you enjoyed this mini-series and found it (at least mildly…) helpful. I know I didn’t cover all of the degrees out there, but if there is a specific degree that you would be keen to know more about, comment down below and I’ll see what I can do!
Ciao~
Cecilia