Biological and Chemical Sciences Advice

Seanh111

Hi im a 6th year student n i have biological and chemical sciences as my 1st choice but im having some doubts now. Biology is my fav subject, especially bones, muscles, organs and cells. I was wondering about 2nd year in the course, i dont want to do any of the chemistry courses which start at the beginning of 2nd year, i want to do physiology so what do i do for all of 2nd year? The prospectus says entry to physiology is at the end of the year? Also i was wondering if i do the elective modules like physics and chemistry and then do the h dip could i teach these to leavin cert? Finally if you have any advice or into please tell me! I mean is it a difficult course, wil the points go up this year because you dont need a 3rd language anymore, is physiology any good because i cant think of any jobs from it, is there any way of doing physiotheraphy in ireland or uk out of the course ect. Thanks very much

captainspeckle

my friend is in first year and i cant tell you that it is really tough! lots of hours and labs, reports, problem sets, tests etc. but my friend does love it most of the time!! she is worried now about the choices because what option you get depends on your results from first year. from what i know physiology is really interesting and i am pretty sure you can do a H dip in education and become a bio teacher afterwards. however i dunno what other subjects you would be able to teach form it. there is an option in second year i think where you can do science education and become a teacher from that. you would do a year less and prob be a better qualified teacher from it. i.e. more subjects. not 100% sure about that but its what i am lead to believe.

biology is a big part of the course but also physics chemistry and maths will take up a lot of your time also. if you arent interested in these subjects it will make the course a little bit more difficult for you, BUT by no means impossible... my friend despised physics but she gets good grades in it. i also have friends in third and fourth year but they are doind more chemisrty based courses and they seem to enjoy it too!

anyways hope this helps dude and from what i have heard, i would totally reccomend thyis course... best of luck with the LC and whatever you decide to do!!:D

HeartieDevil

Hey, I'm doing Chemical Sciences, which is NOT biochem (lol, you wouldn't believe how many people lump us in), but in first year we basically do the same course. I think the biochem people do 4 biology modules, but it's focusing more on the chemical side of biology, you do genetics and cell division, ecology, microbiology and biochemisty and I'm not sure what the fourth module is. Then you can go on to specialise in any of those in second year (plus a few other choices, including education in physical sciences, which will let you do your H Dip). My point is, if it's the anatomy and physiology part of biology that you're really interested in, I'm not sure this is really the course for you, as it focuses way more on the biochemisty aspect. Hope this helps.

thebigcheese22

A lot of my friends are doing Biochem and they seem to like it, none dropped out yet so thats good i suppose! It seems very tough tho so you have to put in the work, if ya don't you'll fall behind very quickly. Thats true with all courses, but especially so with Biochem.

alancork

Hi,

I'm in 2nd year Biological Sciences- note, biological sciences! We all started out in first year as Biological and Chemical, and then when you go into second year, you branch out a bit; basically you either do Chemistry or a chemistry related course like Chem of Pharmaceutical Compounds (CPC)/ Education in Physical Sciences, or you do Biological Sciences.

I picked Bio Sciences, and within that I picked Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Biochemistry and Zoology. Most people do the first four, and then for the last one you can do Zoology/ Plant Science/ Some chemistry modules. Everyone has to do Molecular Biology and Statistics.

Going into third year, for my degree I can pick Microbiology, Zoology, Neuroscience (anatomy) or Physiology. So if you wanted to finish up with Physiology, you still have a chance to do some other subjects in case you change your mind!

Note, if you go the Chemistry route, as far as I know, you have no more choice, you have to stick with it. With the Biological route, you don't have to make up your mind til 3rd year.

2nd year actually isn't bad at all, you get a chance to do things like Zoology (like I did), plant science etc., as well as anatomy, micro and physiology. Statistics is quite easy, as is Maths in first year. However, there are 11 exams in 2nd year!

Also, although they say your choices depend on your 1st year exam results, I don't know anybody who didn't get what they picked; the quotas for getting into 2nd year are big and flexible.

And even-though you have to do Physics and Chemistry in first year, you don't in 2nd! PM me if you want more info..

Seanh111

Tanx for d replies. Alancork so i pick my subjects in 2nd year, them drop some i dont lik in 3rd yr? How many wil i be doing in 4th yr then? I know the work load is hard dat wouldnt really put me off but could you giv me a general idea of the 1st yr time table? Also how big are the classes?

alancork

Replied to you in a PM Sean.. Basically, yes, you drop all except one when you are going into 3rd year.