Foundation science/biomedical science

Newport81

Hi I'm doing a foundation science course in NUIG so that I can hopefully get to start biomedical science degree next year been 10 yrs out of education failed maths in school and never done chemistry or physics before am I crazy even thinking I will be able for the foundation course? Think ll be ok at the maths as will actualy apply myself. Would love to hear ppls thoughts on this - or anyone ha done foundation science before?

Larianne

I'm not doing science, I'm doing a health science related course. I did do an access course in Science beforehand and it definitely has stood to me. Getting into the habit of studying again, taking down notes and reading up on topics, even on a part time basis, helped me greatly in first year.

I've heard Science is a tough course, especially in 1st year. It's definitely do-able. Once you put your mind to it, study often, ask questions, you'll be grand.

After this year, you'll be surprised at how much you can do and how much you will learn.

Best of luck!

Newport81

Thanks for your positive advice just scared I won't be able for it gonna put the head down big time and hopefully do well! Can I ask what health related course your doing?

Larianne

Fear is good though. Makes you work hard.

I'm doing Physiotherapy. Had Chemistry, Physics, Physiology, Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy in 1st year. I 100% know I would not have passed first year if I hadn't done the access course beforehand. I would have been lost.

KittyeeTrix

Hi OP,

I did the foundation science course at NUIG a few years ago.
Like yourself I'd never done physics or chemistry and had only a D in pass maths in the L.C. which I'd completed almost 20 years ago.

End of story is I've just entered my 3rd year of science undenom in NUIG and have gotten very high results in my 2nd year exams.:)

Don't worry as you will be fine and I found that the maths covered in the foundation course were almost enough to get me thru the 1st year maths of the undenominated Science degree!!!

Best of luck with it......

Newport81

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Hi OP,

I did the foundation science course at NUIG a few years ago.
Like yourself I'd never done physics or chemistry and had only a D in pass maths in the L.C. which I'd completed almost 20 years ago.

End of story is I've just entered my 3rd year of science undenom in NUIG and have gotten very high results in my 2nd year exams.:)

Don't worry as you will be fine and I found that the maths covered in the foundation course were almost enough to get me thru the 1st year maths of the undenominated Science degree!!!

Best of luck with it......

Thanks a mil- so do they start at the basics for chemistry and physics? What kind of maths should I be expecting? 3 hours of maths the first night on timetable!!

Rooneysdaman

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Hi OP,

I did the foundation science course at NUIG a few years ago.
Like yourself I'd never done physics or chemistry and had only a D in pass maths in the L.C. which I'd completed almost 20 years ago.

End of story is I've just entered my 3rd year of science undenom in NUIG and have gotten very high results in my 2nd year exams.:)

Don't worry as you will be fine and I found that the maths covered in the foundation course were almost enough to get me thru the 1st year maths of the undenominated Science degree!!!

Best of luck with it......

Fluffy, what are you specialising in for Year 3? I was accepted to Forensic Science @ GMIT and was dismayed to find out last week that I am doing basic First Year Undenom Science with nothing additional that's specific to Forensics. Had I known that in advance (except it's bloody impossible to find out anything about this course in advance since it's brand new), I would have chosen differently, I've already done all the subjects at college level with the exception of Physics. But since I'm not entirely committed to the idea of Forensics, it has gotten me thinking about maybe trying to transfer into 2nd Year @ NUIG next year. I'm wondering what options I would have @ NUIG and would appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Congrats on the great exams!

Rooneysdaman

smyths wrote: »

Thanks a mil- so do they start at the basics for chemistry and physics? What kind of maths should I be expecting? 3 hours of maths the first night on timetable!!

Smyths,

Haven't done a Foundation course myself but yes, they start at the basics for everything. They even start at the basics for First Year again but go much faster so I would imagine its easier to get overwhelmed. The Foundation course would be a wonderful way to get your skills and confidence up and get you back in the swing of things. You will likely find that you will be a completely different student now than you were back in the school-days! Don't be afraid of it, tell yourself you are as good as anyone else and if they can do it, you can too.

Good luck!

Newport81

Will the foundation science be sufficient to gain entry to biomedical science in NUIG or medical science in gmit?

Rooneysdaman

smyths wrote: »

Will the foundation science be sufficient to gain entry to biomedical science in NUIG or medical science in gmit?

That I cannot tell you. But it will certainly significantly improve your chances! This is just a guess but I would imagine that NUIG looks after it's own access students first and GMIT looks after theirs - so my guess would be you'd have a good shot at the biomedical science in NUIG? But Medical Science @ GMIT was my next choice down and I know they do interviews for it. So I would also guess that if you had great results from your Foundation course and a strong interview, you would probably be in with a great chance.

If I were you, I would seek out and get to know the people who can put you where you want to be. Find out who's in charge of Biomedical Science and make a point to get to know them and be a familiar face, go to them now early on and ask them what do you need to do to ensure your acceptance for next year.

the keen edge

OP, below is a post submitted a while back to a thread about the NUIG foundation course:



"I'am currently doing the Eng/Sci foundation course at NUIG.

Information from the college regarding the course probably will not be advertised till late August, early September.

Assuming the course structure remains the same next time round, here's what to expect;

The course starts late September, early October, and runs through till May. We will have our terminal exam's next week.

The subjects covered are;
Maths-Every Tuesday evening 7pm to 10pm.
I'd place the syllabus taught somewhere just below what is taught in 1st Eng/Sci in the college; As a class we used passed 1st Eng/Sci papers as examples of questions.
The maths is pretty intense, and the pace of teaching is fast. Having said that, for my class we have Fanchea Canden as our lecturer, and with her the standard of teaching is excellent.

Science- Every Thursday 7pm to 9pm.
Science is divided into the three main branches of science. The syllabus is not in depth at all here. It is interesting though and you will get to attend four lab sessions over in GMIT as well. Some of the teaching for the Science subjects has been poor in all honesty. We've had a few proper lecturers and a few Phd students who had little, if any, teaching experience. However as I said earlier the course content is quite limited, so you are not so reliant on the quality of teaching.

A 40% in both maths and science will get you a place on undenominated science.
For a place on undenominated engineering you need 60% in maths.
Denominated courses are offered on a candidate by candidate basis, assuming that you satisfy the above criteria.

Overall I have had a excellent experience on the course. If like myself you have been out of a classroom for a couple of years, the course is great at getting you back in to the swing of things, classroom wise. I wouldn't fancy starting in to a degree course next Spetember, not having done it."





Anyway as you can gather from the post above I did the foundation course last year, and just week I started in NUI Galway as a Marine Science degree undergrad.

For me the course was an excellent primer for third level eduction.

If you have any other questions just ask, I'll be happy to answer them.

Newport81

Thanks a million for all your positive feedback am feeling much better about starting Now!! :-)