Foundation Science at UEA - Your experience and feedback please

Also how difficult is the chemistry two modules to complete with roughly 70% ....

Reply 103

Jakelee. Someone who has just finished the year would know better as I am trying to remember from 2008/9.
There are 2 hours of lectures for each of the 4 sciences, plus problem classes and lab work. The mornings were pretty full, but the afternoons were pretty free. Wednesday afternoons are always free. After Xmas, you do an extra lecture a week on the 3 remaining subjects.

Ggecko. That depends on your strengths really. I barely scraped 50% in semester 2 chemistry. Others did much better - esp the pharmacists.

Reply 104

mrdoovde1

17

Original post by Matureb

Jakelee. Someone who has just finished the year would know better as I am trying to remember from 2008/9.
There are 2 hours of lectures for each of the 4 sciences, plus problem classes and lab work. The mornings were pretty full, but the afternoons were pretty free. Wednesday afternoons are always free. After Xmas, you do an extra lecture a week on the 3 remaining subjects.

Ggecko. That depends on your strengths really. I barely scraped 50% in semester 2 chemistry. Others did much better - esp the pharmacists.

Ok I'm crapping myself about these maths test you take at the beginning.

I haven't done maths for 2 years and they things I have learned, I have fogotten most of it.

Are these test difficult?

Reply 105

The maths test is an online multiple one. It starts off very easy and the questions get harder later. Don`t worry about it. It is just to decide which module to put you in. If you have done gcse maths with a good grade, you should get into the top group, which is to take you up to A level.
A set book for the other 3 levels is maths-a student`s survival guide by J. Olive. It is recommended for the top group. There are several copies in the library, but you may be able to get a copy on ebay/amazon.

Reply 106

Original post by Matureb

Ggecko. That depends on your strengths really. I barely scraped 50% in semester 2 chemistry. Others did much better - esp the pharmacists.

Appreciate your reply, what did you mean esp the pharmacists, you mean the students who looked towards opting to continue onto the Pharmacy course right? Also, is the difficulty greater than a level, less, or on par if you see where I'm coming from? Many people get greater than 70% ?

Cheers

Reply 107

I got a grade C in A level Nuffield chemistry back in `72, so I remembered none of it.
None of the people I used to hang around with intended to do chemistry or pharmacy and we tended to put more effort into the physics/maths modules. If I had known about the £500 bonus for averaging 80% over the year, I would have tried harder in chemistry (got 78.7% average).
Have you seen that the goalposts have moved? If you have got A level chemistry, you now need 75% in both chem modules to go into pharmacy. Only 1 person I know got remotely near that.
Good luck.

Reply 108

Jakelee

2

Thank you very much for your reply Matureb it's very helpful. :smile:

Reply 109

danyaaaaa

Hey everyone,

I am thinking of applying for the Bsc Foundation course and the MPHARM just incase. I really want to apply for Pharmacy and I'm scared to apply for the foundation course just incase I wont be picked to get into Pharmacy!

I have currently got CCDD at AS and im dropping the D (french). I have CCD and i am hoping to increase my grades but if i dont, ill be happy to start with the Foundation year.

I was just wondering if i should apply to the foundation course with a Pharmacy personal statement? In addition, I am wondering how difficult it is to obtain a 75% to actually enter the pharmacy side. Thanks!

Reply 110

Original post by Matureb

I got a grade C in A level Nuffield chemistry back in `72, so I remembered none of it.
None of the people I used to hang around with intended to do chemistry or pharmacy and we tended to put more effort into the physics/maths modules. If I had known about the £500 bonus for averaging 80% over the year, I would have tried harder in chemistry (got 78.7% average).
Have you seen that the goalposts have moved? If you have got A level chemistry, you now need 75% in both chem modules to go into pharmacy. Only 1 person I know got remotely near that.
Good luck.

Cheers, didn'tdo a level chemistry hence the reason for doing this course, as I now want to go to this route and found this being the best possible avenue to go down.. so will only need 70% in chem, but are you saying even that is exceptionally difficult?

Reply 111

Original post by danyaaaaa

Hey everyone,

I am thinking of applying for the Bsc Foundation course and the MPHARM just incase. I really want to apply for Pharmacy and I'm scared to apply for the foundation course just incase I wont be picked to get into Pharmacy!

I have currently got CCDD at AS and im dropping the D (french). I have CCD and i am hoping to increase my grades but if i dont, ill be happy to start with the Foundation year.

I was just wondering if i should apply to the foundation course with a Pharmacy personal statement? In addition, I am wondering how difficult it is to obtain a 75% to actually enter the pharmacy side. Thanks!

I was in pretty much your situation when i was applying for this year - i wrote a pharmacy type personal statement as i applied to all pharmacy courses plus the science foundation - it'll be obvious to them that you want to do pharmacy, and that you're applying also to the foundation bcoz you want to do pharmacy. :]

Reply 112

^ also, at a different uni, i applied for both pharmacy and their foundation course, and i got offers for both of them, not just one or the other.

Reply 113

Ggecko. I know of one person who went into pharmacy and another who went into MChem, so it is possible. I doubt if I could have done it. I hung around with the mature students mostly and we either stayed on the Bsc with foundation year, went into biology or into Nat Sci.
Hopefully someone from last years course who went into chem/pharm will come along shortly.

As I put before: Find yourself a good lab partner. Again from memory, a large % of the year is based on lab/coursework. For physics, it is possible to pass the course on lab/coursework alone. Not advisable though.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 114

Original post by Matureb

Ggecko. I know of one person who went into pharmacy and another who went into MChem, so it is possible. I doubt if I could have done it. I hung around with the mature students mostly and we either stayed on the Bsc with foundation year, went into biology or into Nat Sci.
Hopefully someone from last years course who went into chem/pharm will come along shortly.

As I put before: Find yourself a good lab partner. Again from memory, a large % of the year is based on lab/coursework. For physics, it is possible to pass the course on lab/coursework alone. Not advisable though.

How do you go about finding yourself a good lab partner when you don't know anyone?! I HATE when you have to choose partners, reminds me of horrible physics days where i never understood the practicals and everyone was already in friendship groups as I had moved to a diff school, a boys one, with mixed 6th form, and the whole physics class seemed to be 'rowdy' type lads who were all doing the subject so they could do racing cars courses :/ and i just stood there like a total dumbass :[
At least everyone will all be in the same boat when we start the course :]
On my 1st day of a-level chem i got sat next to this girl who ended up being 1 of my close friends, but she was hopelessly 'ditzy' and when we worked together it was just like the blind leading the blind!

Reply 115

If you have done A level chemistry, then you ARE the good lab partner that the others will be seeking.

Reply 116

Oh!! haha. oh dear, that would be strange..i'm used to being the person that ALWAYS does the practicals wrong...actually had my teacher stay with me afterschool and help me with my practical coursework which wasn't really allowed but i was so hopeless. But, hopefully, i will be able to use all that experience of a-level practicals for this course :]

Reply 117

Are we supposed to buy textbooks for this course? And if so, is that when we get there?

Reply 118

Jakelee

2

Any one got their timetable online yet? I've just got Bio lessons lol.

Original post by Emma Ramone

Are we supposed to buy textbooks for this course? And if so, is that when we get there?

Supposedly you can get all the books you need in the waterstones on campus.

Reply 119