distinction courses (2 Viewers)

[webby234]

Based on 2006, a good band 6 in 2U Maths can be enough. I accelerated in physics and maths, but a friend who also got in only accelerated in 2U Maths and scored 95.

The residentials are amazing experiences - you get to meet people with similar interests and ways of thinking and the friendships forged there often continue on to uni (of course studying maths and physics at usyd, there are quite a few cosmology alumni in my classes and i see others around as well. hi gabriel :wave

Overall it's an awesome experience. It's tough work, it may not help your hsc (it doesn't scale as well as it should for reasons i can expand on if anyone's interested), but it will help you gain the learning skills required for uni as well as being interesting in its own right. So possibly treating it as something you're not doing for your hsc, but rather for your interest and further education would be helpful. Then just work at it as hard as you can and if it counts it's a bonus.

Summary:
- wonderful times had at residentials, awesome friends made
- coursework is interesting, but workload is challenging
- do it because you're interested, not because you think it will help your hsc

 

[lyounamu]

Based on 2006, a good band 6 in 2U Maths can be enough. I accelerated in physics and maths, but a friend who also got in only accelerated in 2U Maths and scored 95.

The residentials are amazing experiences - you get to meet people with similar interests and ways of thinking and the friendships forged there often continue on to uni (of course studying maths and physics at usyd, there are quite a few cosmology alumni in my classes and i see others around as well. hi gabriel :wave

Overall it's an awesome experience. It's tough work, it may not help your hsc (it doesn't scale as well as it should for reasons i can expand on if anyone's interested), but it will help you gain the learning skills required for uni as well as being interesting in its own right. So possibly treating it as something you're not doing for your hsc, but rather for your interest and further education would be helpful. Then just work at it as hard as you can and if it counts it's a bonus.

Summary:
- wonderful times had at residentials, awesome friends made
- coursework is interesting, but workload is challenging
- do it because you're interested, not because you think it will help your hsc

Your post just makes me want to do it more!

But I am not really sure. I will have 13 Units next year if I do Cosmology (considering that I will drop Chemistry). But my year adviser told me that it is an unwise decision because I am doing really well in Chemistry at the moment. He also stressed that it will be a hard work and not worth risking...

What is your opinion on that? Because if I decide to drop Chemistry for Cosmology I will have to work hard to make sure I get good marks in Cosmology to make it count towards my UAI. In a practical sense, I have got no idea what Cosmology would be like. I am not even sure I will be good at it or not. Only thing I have got is determination to work hard.

How did you find it when you started the course? Was it better than you expected (sorely on the course itself)? Or did you find it challenging? What about the UAI-wise? Did it count towards your UAI? I am sorry for all the questions. But I really don't want to make a mistake in regards to the subject selection. I have already made some stupid subject selection prior to this. I don't want to repeat that shameful action.

 

[webby234]

Your post just makes me want to do it more!

But I am not really sure. I will have 13 Units next year if I do Cosmology (considering that I will drop Chemistry). But my year adviser told me that it is an unwise decision because I am doing really well in Chemistry at the moment. He also stressed that it will be a hard work and not worth risking...

What is your opinion on that? Because if I decide to drop Chemistry for Cosmology I will have to work hard to make sure I get good marks in Cosmology to make it count towards my UAI. In a practical sense, I have got no idea what Cosmology would be like. I am not even sure I will be good at it or not. Only thing I have got is determination to work hard.

How did you find it when you started the course? Was it better than you expected (sorely on the course itself)? Or did you find it challenging? What about the UAI-wise? Did it count towards your UAI? I am sorry for all the questions. But I really don't want to make a mistake in regards to the subject selection. I have already made some stupid subject selection prior to this. I don't want to repeat that shameful action.

I really enjoyed the course, but equally it was very challenging. A 2000-word essay each month means that you must keep up with your reading. And the major project (10-15000 words) is due a week before the beginning of the hsc (or it was for us, anyway), so it is important to get ahead with that. Yes this course ended up counting towards my UAI (I got an HD, but they don't give you a numerical mark) but i don't think it helped my UAI (not doing it i would have had more time to focus on other subjects - esp. english, the four units of subjects that didn't count were 90 and 89 anyway, and i may not have dropped extension history/SDD, which could potentially have been higher marks)

I know that the UAI is what's in the short term at the moment and it's hard to look past that, but this course will help you gain the skills that are important for university study, (it's one of the few HSC subjects that actually rewards you for thinking for yourself rather than just memorising and regurgitating) so it will definitely help you in the future. Even if you don't end up doing a science related course, the research skills learnt will still be useful. And if you really enjoy it, then you'll be willing to spend your free time, rather than your study time on it.

Oh and i'm pretty sure it was a significant reason i got my scholarship. Cosmology/astrophysics is my passion, and i think that i was able to convince the interview panel that i was on the path to eventually go into research in that area (hopefully i still am ), and my results in the cosmology distinction course certainly helped in that regard. But that's more of a personal thing - i'm not sure where you want to go after school. And I guess that it connects you with people, both students and researchers (one of the lecturers at the residentials ended up being my supervisor for a TSP project i did last year, and it links you with some of the top students and those who you could end up working with at university) and that it could open some doors for you.

So in my opinion, the positive impacts will largely be for university rather than the HSC. And it is a lot of work, but I enjoyed it and believe that it was definitely worth it for me. At least go to the open day for it (is it in november?) and talk to people then. You will then be better placed to form your decision.

 

[blackglitter]

I'd love to do one of these courses, but i can't decide between comp lit and philosophy. btw, thanks for all the advice guys =]

 

[webby234]

I'd love to do one of these courses, but i can't decide between comp lit and philosophy. btw, thanks for all the advice guys =]

Lol people always seem to be tossing up between cosmology and philosophy or philosophy and comparative literature, never between cosmo and clit.

I can't really comment having not done either of the courses, but one thing i will mention is that if you do comparative literature you'll be in a group of about 10 students, while philosophy it's more like 60.

But again, go to the open day in november and you'll find out a lot more about the courses.

 

[blackglitter]

Lol people always seem to be tossing up between cosmology and philosophy or philosophy and comparative literature, never between cosmo and clit.

I can't really comment having not done either of the courses, but one thing i will mention is that if you do comparative literature you'll be in a group of about 10 students, while philosophy it's more like 60.

But again, go to the open day in november and you'll find out a lot more about the courses.

Lol, yeah, maybe it's because comp. lit sounds so english based whereas cosmology is so much more science/maths related philosophy is just the midpoint i guess. Being in a smaller group does sound better in some ways but still, i think i'll wait till the open day to decide

 

[the-derivative]

Lol, yeah, maybe it's because comp. lit sounds so english based whereas cosmology is so much more science/maths related philosophy is just the midpoint i guess. Being in a smaller group does sound better in some ways but still, i think i'll wait till the open day to decide

Yeah, there's still plenty of time to make up your mind.

 

[blackglitter]

Yeah, there's still plenty of time to make up your mind.

I love having heaps of time

 

[lyounamu]

I really enjoyed the course, but equally it was very challenging. A 2000-word essay each month means that you must keep up with your reading. And the major project (10-15000 words) is due a week before the beginning of the hsc (or it was for us, anyway), so it is important to get ahead with that. Yes this course ended up counting towards my UAI (I got an HD, but they don't give you a numerical mark) but i don't think it helped my UAI (not doing it i would have had more time to focus on other subjects - esp. english, the four units of subjects that didn't count were 90 and 89 anyway, and i may not have dropped extension history/SDD, which could potentially have been higher marks)

I know that the UAI is what's in the short term at the moment and it's hard to look past that, but this course will help you gain the skills that are important for university study, (it's one of the few HSC subjects that actually rewards you for thinking for yourself rather than just memorising and regurgitating) so it will definitely help you in the future. Even if you don't end up doing a science related course, the research skills learnt will still be useful. And if you really enjoy it, then you'll be willing to spend your free time, rather than your study time on it.

Oh and i'm pretty sure it was a significant reason i got my scholarship. Cosmology/astrophysics is my passion, and i think that i was able to convince the interview panel that i was on the path to eventually go into research in that area (hopefully i still am ), and my results in the cosmology distinction course certainly helped in that regard. But that's more of a personal thing - i'm not sure where you want to go after school. And I guess that it connects you with people, both students and researchers (one of the lecturers at the residentials ended up being my supervisor for a TSP project i did last year, and it links you with some of the top students and those who you could end up working with at university) and that it could open some doors for you.

So in my opinion, the positive impacts will largely be for university rather than the HSC. And it is a lot of work, but I enjoyed it and believe that it was definitely worth it for me. At least go to the open day for it (is it in november?) and talk to people then. You will then be better placed to form your decision.

AWE~~~~SOME!

I wholeheartedly appreciate your extermely detailed reply. I am already aware of how challenging this would be and how much work I am expected to put in, so I am not concerned about that stage. I am just worried that whether I would be motivated enough to continue this course for the rest of my HSC year. HSC year will be stressful and I am a little bit concerned that if I have that capacity to handle this demanding course.

Do you think it would be wise to choose this course when you are already performing extremely well in other subjects? There are several reasons why I would like to go with this course. As already mentioned, I see this course being a highly regarded course that would allow me to be more prepared for my future university studies. That's one of my reason why I would like to pursue this course. I also think that this course will contribute postively on my chance towards Co-op Scholarship that I will apply next year. What if I end up hating this course. Is is possible to drop this course?

I am a type of person who always enjoys being challenged. If it's worth it, I am determiend to work as if I put my life on to it. However, if it's something I do not enjoy, I would cease to keep my motivation ablaze and instantly drop it. I am just worried that I fail to keep this course under control and pathetically drop this course (resulting in a significant waste of my HSC time).

What kept you motivated?

 

[eliseliselise]

i'm terribly sorry, but... more questions!!

how many people try to get in each year? have there ever been any tragic cases where people have been denied even if they received a band 6/e4 in a certain course? what do they go on other than ur accelerated subject mark? extra-curricular activities?

i think, in the end if i were to do philo the my hsc mark for that would be better than my chem mark.. i think naturally, i'd be better at philo... and it'd be incredibly interesting!!

thankyou, ex-distinction course students!

 

[blackglitter]

i'm terribly sorry, but... more questions!!

how many people try to get in each year? have there ever been any tragic cases where people have been denied even if they received a band 6/e4 in a certain course? what do they go on other than ur accelerated subject mark? extra-curricular activities?

i think, in the end if i were to do philo the my hsc mark for that would be better than my chem mark.. i think naturally, i'd be better at philo... and it'd be incredibly interesting!!

thankyou, ex-distinction course students!

A 100 people get in each year, but there's no set allocation students/subject.

 

[webby234]

AWE~~~~SOME!

I wholeheartedly appreciate your extermely detailed reply. I am already aware of how challenging this would be and how much work I am expected to put in, so I am not concerned about that stage. I am just worried that whether I would be motivated enough to continue this course for the rest of my HSC year. HSC year will be stressful and I am a little bit concerned that if I have that capacity to handle this demanding course.

Do you think it would be wise to choose this course when you are already performing extremely well in other subjects? There are several reasons why I would like to go with this course. As already mentioned, I see this course being a highly regarded course that would allow me to be more prepared for my future university studies. That's one of my reason why I would like to pursue this course. I also think that this course will contribute postively on my chance towards Co-op Scholarship that I will apply next year. What if I end up hating this course. Is is possible to drop this course?

It is highly discouraged to drop this course, because the Board of Studies pays for everything. So firstly they've given you all the reading material, then they've paid for your trip to coonabarrabran for a week. Having said that, there have been cases of people dropping it.

I am a type of person who always enjoys being challenged. If it's worth it, I am determiend to work as if I put my life on to it. However, if it's something I do not enjoy, I would cease to keep my motivation ablaze and instantly drop it. I am just worried that I fail to keep this course under control and pathetically drop this course (resulting in a significant waste of my HSC time).

What kept you motivated?

How about you do some background reading on cosmology in general? I can look up some of the references if you would like, but just from memory, one of the authors i liked in this field (and i went to see a public lecture from him last year) is Joseph Silk. So do some reading and see if it's your thing. The topics covered in the course: (i gave this information in a PM to soulsearcher, a student who did and enjoyed the course last year)

Module 1 - The Scale of the known universe - what is cosmology, the basic ways of measuring the properties and distances of objects ie parallax, gravitational influence of other objects - that sort of thing. You also need to be able to distinguish between and give an approximation for the size of different objects, ranging from particles to the universe.

Module 2 - The Contents of the Universe - more astronomy type things; observations throughout the electromagnetic spectrum - from radio waves to the high energy range and the techniques used. So basically looking at how we know what we know. This module is also the main focus of residential 1.

Assignment 1 - A series of questions - about parallax, different types of stars, a bit on telescopes then a question discussing the big bang theory and the steady state theory.

Module 3 - Development of Cosmological Ideas - Sort of a history of cosmology, with focus on how discoveries were made. Looks at (for example) the early Greek ideas, to the geocentric models of medieval times, to the twentieth century. ONe of the readings is the first chaptrer of Steven Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" Assignment 2 is then a question on this - ours was "Discuss the effects of technological and religous influences on the evolution of humanity's cosmological models"

Exam 1 - The easier of the two exams - look on board of studies for past exam papers. You choose four of the six 2 mark questions, then there are two six mark questions and two 20 mark questions. Note that it is very different from the HSC - it is not just answering every syllabus dot point - you actually need to know your stuff. Seeing as this is about 400 pages in the first few modules, you won't know everything, but the more you know the better mark you get. Top was 50.5/60, I was 6th with 45.75, average was mid thirties.

Module 4 - Space and Time - Focus on Einstein's general relativity, its impacts and the evidence for it. Shorter module, but some difficult concepts here.

Module 5 - Expansion and the Observed Redshifts - looks at the differences between gravitational, Doppler and cosmological redshifts, then how the redshifts are interpreted, how we can figure out the age of the universe and the Hubble constant by them.

Assignment 3 is about general relativity and the Microwave Background Radiation.

Module 6 - Further Key Observations - Mainly looks at further evidence for the big bang - the nucleosynthesis of elements, quasars etc.

Assignment 4 is about methods of measuring the distances to objects.

Module 7 - What are the Models? - Looks at the models of the universe - Friedman, Einstein-de Sitter, Newtonian etc. Also discusses alternative cosmologies (although I am yet to see them examined).

Assignment 5 is about current and future observations and experiments in cosmology.

Exam 2 - Tests Modules 4,5,6,7. You choose five of the seven 5 mark questions, four of the six 10 mark questions and then there are two thirty mark questions. Hard to predict what will be in it - for us it was nucleosynthesis and the large scale structure of the universe for the thirty mark essays. I ended up writing over 20 (HSC booklet) pages in the two hours.

Module 8 - The Big Bang discusses the Big Bang theory and Module 9 - Where to Now? looks at speculative ideas as well as the future of cosmology. They are not examined, but help with assignment six and the major project.

Assignment 6 is about the evidence for and against the inflationary big bang theory.

The Major Project can be about anything you want in cosmology. I had no idea of what I was going to until the second residential, but now I've decided on looking at the theories of the future of the universe ie with big crunch, big rip, heat death etc.

So maybe look at a few of those topics and see if they interest you. The simple answer to the question of what kept me motivated was that i really enjoyed it and found it extremely interesting.

 

[webby234]

i'm terribly sorry, but... more questions!!

how many people try to get in each year? have there ever been any tragic cases where people have been denied even if they received a band 6/e4 in a certain course? what do they go on other than ur accelerated subject mark? extra-curricular activities?

i think, in the end if i were to do philo the my hsc mark for that would be better than my chem mark.. i think naturally, i'd be better at philo... and it'd be incredibly interesting!!

thankyou, ex-distinction course students!

It would probably vary from year to year, but at my school, people got in with the following marks:
1) 92 in Physics, 97 in 2U Maths
2) 89 in Physics, 98 in 2U Maths
3) 94 in SDD
and missed out with
88 in SDD and 89 in 2U Maths

The school adds a statement/puts your current other subjects/marks in. I can't remember what else there was to the selection process :S

 

[shaon0]

lol...in my school they never let people accelerate. I have only heard of one person. He is in my Chemistry class but is in Year 10.