General Tips & Advice for FY Biomed
This was the sentence that I found myself repetitively googling countless times not only before the semester started, but also during to reassure myself I was doing things in the most efficient manner and using all the resources I had available to me.
So this post is dedicated to those who are in the same position as I was last year and hopefully you feel like you’re in a better position to tackle this year afterwards.
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I’ll try to make this post as concise as possible but please do take my advice with a grain of salt as it is just one person’s (mine) opinion. Each tip will labelled numerically (though not in any specific order) with following arrows for a short anecdote/explanation.
- During the holidays, before the semester starts you must mentally prepare yourself to do the most work you’ve ever done in one year.
→ The workload is immense and nine times out of ten, you’ll feel overwhelmed with everything going on. I still remember my first BIOSCI 107 lecture with Prof. Anthony Philips on cells and tissues like it was yesterday, believe me when I say it was painful. - Don’t be pressured into buying (all) the textbooks for your courses
→ I succumbed to this pressure before the semester started because all my friends who were doing biomed were purchasing their textbooks left and right. Naturally, I felt like I was going to be giving up an “upper edge” if I didn’t get the textbooks at the time and this was completely irrational thinking.
→ The only textbook you need is the Principles of Anatomy by Totora & Derrickson (and if you really want to, Pearson’s Campbell Biology). If eye fatigue isn’t an issue for you then the pdf versions are just as good (if not better because of the annotating capabilities and the accessibility of not needing to carry around the books).
→ Finally, you don’t have to purchase the latest edition of the textbooks, editions that are 1–2 generations behind will work perfectly fine as well — usually lecturers will be considerate about this and give you pages for those books too. - Prepare a designated study space where you’ll be comfortable sitting for hours each day
→ I can’t stress this enough, you need to have a space where you can be at ease and free from distractions to study. Whether it be a space in the library/starbucks/at home, you want a place where you can reliably settle down and get stuff done. Constantly changing up the study space also works for some people but it’s always nice to have a default spot like a nice desk at home. - Prepare to make new friends
→ Although you’re going into the year thinking that you have to study and study to get the grades you want, you don’t want to close yourself off to the people around you going through the same thing. There is no better time to make friends and connections than your first year at university — the compulsory labs and workshops for the courses really help with this!
→ Don’t feel pressured to make new friends however, quality over quantity always. When you have people to talk to during tough times over the course of your degree it is truly a blessing. - Make sure you don’t sacrifice everything just to get in
→ I mean this literally, you have more in life going for you than just your desired degree. If you don’t get in despite you giving it your best shot then consider it as an opportunity for you to pursue something even greater.
→ Family, friends, relationships and hobbies should be put first because these are the cores of your health and well-being. You won’t be any happier if you’ve had to sacrifice all of this just to get in. - Please do not try verbatim notetaking
→ You will be very tempted to during the first few lectures (if not weeks). You’ll be overloaded with content and by default your brain will just switch off and want you to get everything down in the most simplest way. This actually won’t help you take in the content, it is better if you stop to listen instead of completely focusing on taking down notes. You want to get something out of the lecture (even if its minuscule) rather than nothing. - Experiment and figure out your learning style as soon as possible.
→ It’s a bit hard to do this during the holidays but you want to get this lock down early on in the semester. Figure out how you get the most out of lectures, what makes the content stick and your go to method of dissecting something you don’t understand. After you figure this out, make a routine out of it and stick to it, consistency is key.
→ Rule of thumb for learning content; Generation/Elaboration/Reflection
→ Rule of thumb for remembering content;
Active Recall/Spaced Repetition/Interleaved Practice
I’ll make a separate post of these strategies in the future, however these models are directly from the book, “Make it Stick” in case you wanted to check it out for yourself
8. Be kind, work hard (but smartly) and the results will show.
→ Work to improve yourself, don’t be distracted by what everyone else is doing (easier said than done but its true).
→ Don’t be cut-throat to others just to put yourself on the top, be better and reach the top with others.
Good luck future FY biomedders :)
