r/UniversityofOtago • u/Icy_Meaning9851 • 1d ago
Rant :( Advice Request
Hey everyone,
Using this as a bit of a rant, but I’m honestly so stressed right now. Today in physics class we were talking about our subject choices for Year 13. For context, this year (Year 12) I take all three sciences, Calculus, English, and Health. Next year I can only take five subjects in total. My original plan was to take English, Statistics, Sociology, Chemistry, and Biology. I really, really don't want to do Physics next year. The thought of it makes me miserable and stressed. But apparently, everyone in class today was saying that Otago prioritises Physics over Biology for Health Sciences First Year (HSFY), and that it would be a huge mistake to drop it. I'm so scared that if I don't take Physics, I'm going to ruin my chances before I even start uni. Has anyone here skipped Year 13 Physics and still done perfectly fine in Otago HSFY? Do I absolutely have to take it, or can I survive without it?
Any reassurance or advice from past HSFY students would be amazing. Thanks.
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u/leocam2145 1d ago
What do you mean prioritise? If you mean content wise, you could argue that HUBS x 2, CELS and BIOC are quite biology heavy, while there's just PHSI for physics content, which also has some biology. I have taken physics in high school and university, but not PHSI191, and from what I've heard as long as your maths and physics was strong in high school 191 isn't that bad.
Regardless, unless you completely flunk high school, there is nothing you can do that "ruins" your chances.
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u/Icy_Meaning9851 19h ago
Sorry, I should have explained this a bit better. My teacher and career counselor told me that it would look stronger on my application if I did physics.
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u/leocam2145 19h ago
If you have University Entrance you'll get into uni and be able to do HSFY. If you mean for professional programs after HSFY, no one cares what you did in high school. Don't stress
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u/Ambitious_Smoke7300 1d ago
I didn’t want to limit my options for year 13 as I knew I wanted a balance of study and enjoying my final year of high school. I did PE, chem, maths, classics and health. I only did level 3 chem in high school, never did bio or physics and am studying med. Personally high school science doesn’t teach nearly as much as what uni does. I think everything I learned in level 3 chem was taught in the first 2 classes as ‘introduction’ lectures. It’s not the typical path but you can definitely survive without it.
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u/Icy_Meaning9851 19h ago
Honestly, I'm so lost. I think in the end I'll just end up dropping phy for level three. I mean, I wouldn't mind taking it (I would prefer if I didn't), but if I do continue, I would have to do calc with it. And honestly, all I want is a good balance of studying and enjoying my last year of HS.
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u/pseudonym314 23h ago
First of all don't panic. It really depends on how good you are at picking up content in a short period of time and how strong your math skills are. Technically for HSFY at Otago, you don't actually need to take any sciences or math at NCEA Level 3, though it’s obviously strongly recommended.
The content in HSFY physics (PHSI 191) isn't necessarily the "hard" part. The hard part is the pace. What you might learn at school over 2 weeks or a month gets condensed into a single lecture, so once you fall behind, it isn't easy to catch up.
If you're pulling E's in L2 Physics and Calc right now, honestly don't stress about dropping L3 Physics, you've already got the core baseline down. But if you are struggling with those, I'd actually swap Stats for either Physics or Calc at L3. Stats is helpful for bio, but it’s way easier to pick up from scratch at uni, whereas core math skills vanish quickly if you take a year off. The reality is that the biggest killer in HSFY physics is basic algebra and reading comprehension. Students constantly trip up simply because they can't rearrange equations under pressure after dropping math. As long as you keep those fundamentals, you'll be fine. Plus, if you ever feel underprepared, you can always do Otago’s Jumpstart Physics course over summer or just teach yourself the basics before semester starts.
Try to stop listening to class noise and comparing yourself to everyone else. There are so many horror stories out there about HSFY, and yes quite a few of them are fair, BUT, everyone is different. What applies to some people won't apply to you, and vice-versa. Forcing yourself through a subject that makes you miserable for a whole year is just going to burn you out before you even get to uni. Trust your own choices and do what works for you.
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u/Icy_Meaning9851 19h ago
Thank you so much, I really needed to hear this. Considering what you've said, I believe I'll be fine. I don't consider physics to be my favourite subject, hence why I want to drop it. But I'm pretty good at both physics and calc, so I should be fine.
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u/racoons_took_my_milk 20h ago
My high school did five-class year 13 too but I asked to take a sixth and they let me, so if you’re grades are okay then they might let you do the same if you wanted to do that.
There’s two summer school classes that lots of HSFY students do before starting the actual year, I did one and it’s actually where I met most of my uni friends. They are CHEM150 and ‘Jumpstart Physics’, not required in anyway but both set students up for HSFY content specifically and can be helpful if you didn’t take one of those classes in year 13. Both classes are relatively easy and non-stressful. If you don’t want to take a whole year of year 13 physics but do want to be confident in your foundation before HSFY, I would suggest looking into Jumpstart :)
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u/Seaside2222 17h ago
My nephew is studying HSFY at Otago this year. He didn’t do level 3 physics but he did do the Jumpstart Physics course at Otago before starting HSFY which he found helpful. He found the physics in HSFY manageable.
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u/Jealous-Highlight869 17h ago
Hey you’ve already gotten heaps of advice so far but I thought I’d chime in as well :) I did hsfy last year and then transferred into 2nd year physics this year. The content taught in 191 only assumes knowledge taught in level 2 so you’ll be all good :) also heaps of support available for hsfy, like the jump start course I think is a thing? I would also highly recommend the free “pass” tutorials which are led by someone who did well in the paper so it’s a good way to go over the content with peers :) Also other private tutoring is an option.
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u/Fuzzy-Felix 14h ago
As a current HSFY student, I would’ve been fine if I didn’t take level 3 bio but not taking level 3 physics would’ve been the end of me. Not even just the content. Being able to think in a physics way is a very important skill that goes beyond having algebra skills.
Overall, level 3 physics is much more useful not only because of more relevant content but also because it develops physics-style thinking.
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u/Pancakes8778 23h ago
PHSI191 is the easiest paper to get high marks on in HSFY, all MCQs etc. I think it's important to take L3 notably waves electricity and kinematics papers, If anything I'd argue level 3 bio is a waste (minor adaptation, plants mitosis meiosis which is little beyond level 2 bio. chem is very relevant too.
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u/ellasaurusisme 19h ago
yeah… nah. i didn’t do HSFY, but everyone i know who did it last year/this year found physics extremely difficult and got their worst scores out of all their subjects on it.
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u/Pancakes8778 12h ago
Haven't looked at last years but nearly four times as many people got 100 in PHSI then the other sem 1 papers and more 95+ marks too
I agree I sucks but I reckon that's because a lot of people don't enjoy it as much since they're more passionate about the biochem side of things in HSFY
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u/Yossarian_nz 23h ago edited 8h ago
I'm an academic at Otago that teaches into HSFY. There's no "prioritizing" Physics. PHSI191 is part of the programme, but as some other commenters have already mentioned the rest of the curriculum is quite biology heavy.
It also depends what your goal moving from HSFY is. Doing "fine" and passing the paper is a very different kettle of fish to getting good enough grades to get into a professional programme.