Had any more thoughts about what you'll do over the last couple of weeks?
Not much, haha. Still got a thousand possibilities, and still keeping my options open!
Update #6: 17-06-2019AN: Yo buddy, you sure you don't want to make a new thread?
Me: Wha— surely not…
*Peeks at time of last update*
Me: *shocked Pokémon face*I'VE FINISHED ALL MY EXAMS!
AssignmentsThe most noteworthy is history: the only one I put effort into — starting the day it came out, rewriting draft after draft, proofreading times and times again, even asking my high school history teacher for feedback. Imagine my utter dismay upon getting back a lousy score of 68!
68!! For all my efforts and research and late nights in the library,
this was my reward??
I had instantly emailed my tutor, who kindly went over it in detail with me. He gave me a much needed wake-up call on the difference between VCE and uni, namely, that
the standards are much higher.Example
In high school, we were taught that the differences between a primary and secondary source is the date it was written. But in uni, instead of the date, you look at the context.
Eg: say we're talking about the Russian Revolution: a scholarly article published in 1917 by someone with a PhD in the US would be considered a primary source in high school, but a secondary source in uni. Meanwhile, a book written in 1967 by someone recounting his experience during the revolution is secondary in high school, but primary in uni.
I still thought a 68 was harsh though, and after talking to my tutor about it, he raised it to a 75!
.Moral of story: have a good relationship with your teachers If you think you've been marked unfairly, challenge it.ExamsI know it's still in the early stages of the exam period, but I had one exam per day from Tuesday to Friday, and I'm now free!
History consisted of 2 essays (1500 words) on the
2 most important events since 1945. I wrote on:
1. Fall of the Berlin Wall
shout out to the fatherland 2. The Nixon Shock
Arts Foundation was a 1500-word essay on
power and the state. The problem? We had
less than 2 days to write it, and I had exams on those days. So I went "Screw this" and proceeded to compose the worst essay in the history of bad essays.
Economics was an actual exam. I had spent hours before revising Game Theory, as my tutor said it'll be an extended response question worth 30 marks.
Plot twist: It came up only ONCE, as multiple choice.
Stats just finished a few hours ago. It wasn't bad, I even finished with 20 minutes to spare, though I don't want to sound too confident before results come out lol. There was
one question regarding p-values which had me stumped, but other than that I thought it was reasonable.
Predictions on final results:History: H2A (75-79)
Statistics: H2B (70-74)
Microeconomics: H3 (65-69)
Foundation: H3 (65-69)
Subject ReviewsFor anyone thinking of doing Arts (or Commerce lol) at UoM in the future, I’ll write up full reviews in the UoM thread soon. In the meantime, here’s the TL;DR version:
HIST10012: The World Since World War IIRating: 6/5Hands down my favourite. This subject looks at events from 1945 (VE/VJ) to 2001 (9/11), focusing on political, economic, social, & cultural aspects. Chronologically, it falls between VCE Revs and Global Politics. Incredibly content-heavy, but very rewarding.
MULT10018: Power (Arts Foundation)Rating: 4/5Highly philosophical, political, and intellectually stimulating, albeit somewhat questionable in content. I'll let the subject guide speak for itself:
ECON10005: Quantitative Methods 1Rating: 3.5/5Maths, maths, and more maths. The content is useful, especially regarding excel functions. Topics include statistical inference, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and regression. Despite being a humanities/arts student, I enjoyed it.
ECON10004: Introductory MicroeconomicsRating: –1/5 Yes, it's a negative sign.Nothing against the content, but the subject is badly organised: In tutes, you'd either get too many or too little questions, there's no in-between. Tute answers are never uploaded, not even before exams. Irrelevant Qs are commonly given out. Definitions of key terms keep getting changed around. Even assignments were changed mid-way. But the factor which earned this subject the negative sign?
TOPHAT. It's an online platform for doing pre-tute tasks and for marking attendance. You either pay the overpriced subscription fee,
or you only get access from specific locations on campus
which makes pre-tute tasks and exam revision a pain in the ass.Content-wise though, I'd give it a 3/5.
Semester 1: A ReflectionThings I'm proud of: • Handing up all assignments a day early.
• Not failing a single assignment
though I did come close for a few • Getting my shout out to Professor Andrew Dawson published on UniMelb Love Letters.
• Getting the prestigious Top Fan Badge on UniMelb Love Letters
Thing's I'm not proud of: • Overdosing on Grattan Street's KFC
• Using 'The Spot' and 'FBE Building' interchangeably for a month before realising they were different buildings.
• Seeing my high school friends getting ready for (or are
already in) the workforce, having
a lot of second thoughts about uni, and wishing to drop out.
• Not putting in as much effort as I would've liked.
Life updateThere will soon be one more driver on the road!!
I'm turning 18 next month - you know what that means? I can get my P's!
I’ve got Hazard Perception booked for tomorrow, and the road test on my birthday. I'll be borrowing a mate's car as I don't have my own. Let's hope I return it in one piece.
I'll try to update once results come out. If I don't, it'll either be because I died or I failed. The two terms seem rather synonymous right now.
Good luck to everyone who still have exams! Hope you all smash them!