Do honours.
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Advance science at UNSW or USYD (1 Viewer)
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Tim035
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After 3 years you have a decent amount of knowledge, but realistically, not much in the way of lab skills, nor a real area of expertise. You may be able to find a really basic entry level lab assistant job, but otherwise you'll be applying for jobs in and outside of science based on the 'soft skills' you achieved as an undergrad; e.g. Team-work, ability to solve complex problems, ability to focus and work towards achieving outcomes etc... Which in my opinion aren't really worth 3 years and a $20'000 hecs debt to acquire.
Honors allows you to call yourself a scientist, as apposed to a 'person who knows a whole lot about science'
Honors allows you to call yourself a scientist, as apposed to a 'person who knows a whole lot about science'
whatrandom
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i've been wondering the same thing. usyd or unsw??
i'm interested in studying psychology and neuroscience... and i like how unsw's neuroscience study plan has subjects from psych and neuroscience nicely fitted together
but not sure about usyd... doesnt really say much on the website ... but usyd defs does have "reputation" i rkn.
i'm interested in studying psychology and neuroscience... and i like how unsw's neuroscience study plan has subjects from psych and neuroscience nicely fitted together
but not sure about usyd... doesnt really say much on the website ... but usyd defs does have "reputation" i rkn.
watsthebuzz
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Well I haven't been to UNSW, but I go to Sydney and do an BSc (adv). I chose Sydney because of its reputation and also because of the courses it offers. In terms of honours at Sydney, you will need to have a credit average, but to stay in the BSc (adv), you will also need to maintain a credit average. So basically, if you want to be a "scientist" honours is a must, but you can do that at both universities.
Hope that helps.
tmahendradatta
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I do med sci at UNSW; but seriously people:
"B advanced sci= B science" in real life
Advanced bit is like a freaking marketing gimmick. For those that say 'but USYD says its 3 years!'; I'm pretty sure it would be 4 years with honours. It takes about 3 years to get a fist year student from knowing shit all about science; to knowing where the most cutting edge research is. (Yup; highschool science is bs). Besides; you realy only should be considering adanced science if you're looking to get into research; anyway. Tim nailed it; honours makes you real scientist.
About honours. Everyone gets in. If your dog could maintain a 65 (prolly as low as 60) WAM -> it would get in. Honours is about hooking yourself up with the right supervisor. The reason why its easy because NO SANE scientist is going to reject an extra worker in the lab.... for free of charge.
/rant
tmahendradatta
Member
either or. If neuro is your thing; go unsw. They just spent like a couple of million revamping the whole neuro labs (whilst hey were building the lowy cancer centre). They look pretty sick; and the neuro gys are cool, friendly scientist as well (pascal, richard vickery = v.cool).i've been wondering the same thing. usyd or unsw??
i'm interested in studying psychology and neuroscience... and i like how unsw's neuroscience study plan has subjects from psych and neuroscience nicely fitted together
but not sure about usyd... doesnt really say much on the website ... but usyd defs does have "reputation" i rkn.
tmahendradatta
Member
It'd be similar. Its hard to say which is better though... It depends how good the teaching is in in each subject. I haven't been to UOW; so I can't comment on it. Most of the subjects taught in UNSW are pretty solid.
USYD's science research is ranked higher than UNSW.
USYD:
- Prestige
- Sandstone buildings
- Better known internationally
- Higher ranking in the world (research)
UNSW: (I can't say much about this, I've only been to USYD)
- Extra 15 minute bus ride if you don't live in the area
- Asian-fest
Anyway I wouldn't choose to do science unless I want to be a bus driver when I graduate.
USYD:
- Prestige
- Sandstone buildings
- Better known internationally
- Higher ranking in the world (research)
UNSW: (I can't say much about this, I've only been to USYD)
- Extra 15 minute bus ride if you don't live in the area
- Asian-fest
Anyway I wouldn't choose to do science unless I want to be a bus driver when I graduate.
ilikebeeef
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I personally prefer new-looking buildings to old-looking buildings lol.
Lol is it that bad?
hey guys
i do biomedical engineering/medical science at usyd but i have tonnes of classes with the adv science guys so here is my input/opinions.
generally, B Science (Adv) is better than B Science, no matter what you might think. it's because you are enforced to take a certain number of adv science subjects (maths counts as science). these adv science courses are not only more difficult but also encourage different methods of thinking to get through and, in the long run, this helps develops skills for when you are working in lab environments etc. not only that but employers will tend to give preference to adv science over normal science, or even medical science for that matter (irrespective of how much prejudice is frowned upon).
in terms of the TSP program, i can't really say much for the unsw TSP because i'm not enrolled there but here is some inside infor for usyd TSP.
the TSP program was first started at usyd, and only after a couple of years did other organisations (including unsw) catch on. the usyd TSP program basically connects you up with a mentor, usually a professor in a specific science faculty (mine is from biological sciences), and with that you are able to do many extra curricular events, attend seminars, accelerate your courses, do independent research, link up with other professors from different faculties etc. for example, last year (my 1st year in uni) i was doing real research as part of my mentor's lab team - real as in experimenting and gathering results nobody else has done before. i was told that if i continue the project, it will probably get published in a couple of years time. of course the details are irrelevent but it just shows the extent of the opportunities you get from the TSP. other events during the year included a seminar with the head of engineering australia and, most importantly, stagefront seats to dr karl
i can't really pass judgment on unsw TSP so it's up to you to make the comparison.
in terms of some other points i read in this thread -
duration of course - pretty much both usyd and usnw are 4 years. the only difference is that whereas unsw is 4 years with honours included, usyd is 3 years with an optional 4th year honours. most people who get into adv science have the common sense to do that extra 4th year honours anyway.
uai difference - uai is meant to represent the popularity of the course; the higher the uai cut off, the more popular the course. so usyd being 3 higher obviously means more people are trying to get into that course. so you need to ask yourself why so many people are trying to get into usyd.
i also read somewhere that the 3 uai difference is really irrelevent. well yes and no. you need to look at where the 3 uai difference is put. if the uai was something like 60 and 63 then of course it makes hardly any difference. but if it was something like 96 vs 99 then it makes all the difference in the world. generally speaking, the higher the uai is, the harder it is to increase it. and the uai for adv science between unsw and usyd is something like 94 vs 97 (dont quote me please) which is pretty much at the tip. so in this case, yes the 3 uai makes massive difference because it directly represents the quality of the students which, in turn, affects the quality of the teaching. and, just for your information, although the cut off for usyd is something like 96 or 97, a LOT of the adv science cohort have 98+ uai because, to put it bluntly, this is where all the people who want to do science at usyd end up - they really have not much choice in the science area (combined degrees are also considered of course). so, essentially, you will be working at that academic level for the adv courses at usyd. not sure about usnw though.
in addition, each university usually has a degree/area of research that is at its forefront. eg Harvard is known for its medicine/law, MIT known for its engineering. in that sense usyd's forefront is science, whereas unsw is forefronted by engineering. of course that's not to say engineering at usyd or science at unsw is bad; its just saying which area the university will pour more funds into.
anyways this is a HUGE post. hope it helps but sorry to waste your time if it doesnt haha.
i do biomedical engineering/medical science at usyd but i have tonnes of classes with the adv science guys so here is my input/opinions.
generally, B Science (Adv) is better than B Science, no matter what you might think. it's because you are enforced to take a certain number of adv science subjects (maths counts as science). these adv science courses are not only more difficult but also encourage different methods of thinking to get through and, in the long run, this helps develops skills for when you are working in lab environments etc. not only that but employers will tend to give preference to adv science over normal science, or even medical science for that matter (irrespective of how much prejudice is frowned upon).
in terms of the TSP program, i can't really say much for the unsw TSP because i'm not enrolled there but here is some inside infor for usyd TSP.
the TSP program was first started at usyd, and only after a couple of years did other organisations (including unsw) catch on. the usyd TSP program basically connects you up with a mentor, usually a professor in a specific science faculty (mine is from biological sciences), and with that you are able to do many extra curricular events, attend seminars, accelerate your courses, do independent research, link up with other professors from different faculties etc. for example, last year (my 1st year in uni) i was doing real research as part of my mentor's lab team - real as in experimenting and gathering results nobody else has done before. i was told that if i continue the project, it will probably get published in a couple of years time. of course the details are irrelevent but it just shows the extent of the opportunities you get from the TSP. other events during the year included a seminar with the head of engineering australia and, most importantly, stagefront seats to dr karl
i can't really pass judgment on unsw TSP so it's up to you to make the comparison.
in terms of some other points i read in this thread -
duration of course - pretty much both usyd and usnw are 4 years. the only difference is that whereas unsw is 4 years with honours included, usyd is 3 years with an optional 4th year honours. most people who get into adv science have the common sense to do that extra 4th year honours anyway.
uai difference - uai is meant to represent the popularity of the course; the higher the uai cut off, the more popular the course. so usyd being 3 higher obviously means more people are trying to get into that course. so you need to ask yourself why so many people are trying to get into usyd.
i also read somewhere that the 3 uai difference is really irrelevent. well yes and no. you need to look at where the 3 uai difference is put. if the uai was something like 60 and 63 then of course it makes hardly any difference. but if it was something like 96 vs 99 then it makes all the difference in the world. generally speaking, the higher the uai is, the harder it is to increase it. and the uai for adv science between unsw and usyd is something like 94 vs 97 (dont quote me please) which is pretty much at the tip. so in this case, yes the 3 uai makes massive difference because it directly represents the quality of the students which, in turn, affects the quality of the teaching. and, just for your information, although the cut off for usyd is something like 96 or 97, a LOT of the adv science cohort have 98+ uai because, to put it bluntly, this is where all the people who want to do science at usyd end up - they really have not much choice in the science area (combined degrees are also considered of course). so, essentially, you will be working at that academic level for the adv courses at usyd. not sure about usnw though.
in addition, each university usually has a degree/area of research that is at its forefront. eg Harvard is known for its medicine/law, MIT known for its engineering. in that sense usyd's forefront is science, whereas unsw is forefronted by engineering. of course that's not to say engineering at usyd or science at unsw is bad; its just saying which area the university will pour more funds into.
anyways this is a HUGE post. hope it helps but sorry to waste your time if it doesnt haha.
Last edited:
Studentleader
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whatever is closer /USYD
Studentleader
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Depends if you are doing physical sciences (physics, maths, chem, geology) or life sciences (bio, hbio.) Physical Sciences you will get a good job quite easily.
B Sci at USYD you can do all the advanced units.
E.g I do the adv bio adv MBLG and with a credit avg you can do all the 2nd year chem units advanced.
Honours is easy to get into and B sci students can do it to, not just the B Sci adv.
Heaps of jobs available just build your connections.
E.g I do the adv bio adv MBLG and with a credit avg you can do all the 2nd year chem units advanced.
Honours is easy to get into and B sci students can do it to, not just the B Sci adv.
Heaps of jobs available just build your connections.