lol hsc is nothing wait till you see what lies ahead. (1 Viewer)

seanieg89

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I was more mocking the OP, but it kind of is unless you have really specific and really high aims.

Even then, the step up to postgrad is pretty ridic.
 

ManDarren

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I was more mocking the OP, but it kind of is unless you have really specific and really high aims.

Even then, the step up to postgrad is pretty ridic.
what lies ahead...not undergrad brah
 

BlugyBlug

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I was more mocking the OP, but it kind of is unless you have really specific and really high aims.

Even then, the step up to postgrad is pretty ridic.
What's the "style" of work you do in postgrad? When you go from HSC to uni, your learning is basically just a lot more self-directed/aimless, and that's about it. The work itself isn't all that different, you just don't have a clear cut syllabus for you to follow. What about postgrad?
 

anomalousdecay

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Postgrad you can make a syllabus for yourself as long as you meet the award criteria. Though the amount of research is a lot. Expect to make a 300 page refined document on your own research which takes months to perfect in cramming mode for a phd, let alone a few months of testing, research and problem solving. Pretty much the only help you get in postgrad is suggestions how to approach a problem and reminders of your time and submission dates.
 

seanieg89

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What's the "style" of work you do in postgrad? When you go from HSC to uni, your learning is basically just a lot more self-directed/aimless, and that's about it. The work itself isn't all that different, you just don't have a clear cut syllabus for you to follow. What about postgrad?
I would actually say the work is pretty different in undergrad to high school, at least in the case of mathematics where you are finally doing things rigorously and creative approaches are encouraged. First year is super easy though to ease people into it.

As for a PhD, well I read lots of papers and books...my set of mathematical tools grows every larger. I talk to my advisor about open problems in my field that might be interesting, and tractable with the tools/ability I possess. I spitball a lot of ideas with other mathematicians at conferences and such (throwing out 95% of my ideas which dont work out). I give lectures about my research and what I have already proven to various audiences. Eventually, one of these problems will be a little more ambitious than the others, and its solution will comprise my thesis. Typically these are ~50 pages but maths can be written very concisely, so amazing theses have been submitted that are only 10-15 pages.

The whole process is like 4 years of pretty hard work, with surges of very hard work. And I love what I do, and am decent at it. It would be impossible to do something you weren't "into". Also, its really important to get into the mindset of improving yourself and learning efficiently in postgrad as you (at least in my case) are preparing yourself for a career of research. In undergrad you can just view it as a bunch of short term hurdles to pass and then forget about (if your aims aren't lofty).
 

enoilgam

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it will be pain. true bane
Every year we get threads like this going on about how much harder uni is than HS like it's some kind of surprise. I mean, what do people expect? Uni is tertiary education, it wouldn't make sense if it were equal to or easier than HS. Success in HS, uni and even the workplace is all about your soft skills and a lot less about your hard skills. True, HS probably isnt going to give you much in the way of hard skills for uni, because the level is totally different. But things like organisational skills, discipline and good study habits/methods all crossover. If you have mastered the soft skills, then you should be fine. If you've cruised through HS without developing any, then it will be hard.

Stress-wise, uni is lighter on you than the HSC - simply because the consequences of doing bad aren't that hard on you.
Agree with the point, but not the reason. In uni the consequences are way higher - failure in a subject means repeating and forking out another $1,000+ on the course. Moreover, some graduate programs cull all candidates with fails on their transcript. To me, uni was less intense because you have more of a life - you aren't consumed by school as you are in HS. My best semesters at uni were the ones where I had a lot going on non-uni related.
 

4025808

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University is pretty difficult especially if you're going into say, USYD or UNSW, where the competition is a lot greater compared with say, UWS or MACQ. And it would definitely be harder than high school afaik.
 

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