TSP for Bachelor of Science (Adv) at UNSW or USYD? (1 Viewer)

[LoveHateSchool]

I was just wondering about the requirements for it. It said at UNSW:

1) That it was generally a mid 90s ATAR but by invitation. Even though it says this would most TSPs be 99+ ers? DO they look more at your performance in your science subjects at HSC level?

2) At USYD it said a band 6 in a science or above 95 above in MX2 but an ATAR of 99. It said though that it looked at Olympiad involvement and things like that but I was wondering that if it was by Dean's invitation, how they would know of your science extracurriculars.

Basically I won't get a 99, but I probably mid-high 90s and I'm rural and even though I'm not an Olympian, I have represented Australia at an International Sciene event, but am I right in reading it's pretty much a get 99+ thing?

 

[asianese]

For USYD anyway it is 99+, with band 6s in science/95+ in MX2 as you said.

 

[Carrotsticks]

95+ in MX2 is for the SSP, which is the Special Studies Program.

It is NOT the same thing as TSP. Rather, it is the 'Math version' of TSP, where you learn different topics usually not taught during the early years, or even in the entirety of the Undergraduate course.

TSP is more for the Sciences, where a 99+ ATAR and a Band 6 is required. In the TSP, you are assigned and you work on small projects throughout the semester and make reports on it etc.

 

[asianese]

Correct if wrong but

Dr Cresswell said at open day that SSP was just based on interest and didn't have 95+in MX2 requirement?

 

[SoresuMakashi]

Actually you might get in to USyd TSP. I was told at the Open Day that they are somewhat flexible with the requirements. Rural + International Competition would probably be worth something. Just make sure you get in contact with them and tell them about it, or else they won't know. You can also get into TSP in 2nd and 3rd year if you perform well enough. Most of the interesting TSP stuff happens then anyway.

Quick note about the UNSW TSP though: I've been told by various people that it's a bit of a gimmick, and that all you do is meet with your mentor one or two times and go to a few lunches, despite what it says on the TSP webpage. Example source: http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=182998 Anyone care to confirm/deny?

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Actually you might get in to USyd TSP. I was told at the Open Day that they are somewhat flexible with the requirements. Rural + International Competition would probably be worth something. Just make sure you get in contact with them and tell them about it, or else they won't know. You can also get into TSP in 2nd and 3rd year if you perform well enough. Most of the interesting TSP stuff happens then anyway.

Quick note about the UNSW TSP though: I've been told by various people that its a bit of a gimmick, and that all you do is meet with your mentor one or two times and go to a few lunches, despite what it says on the TSP webpage. Example source: http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=182998 Anyone care to confirm/deny?

Thanks for that info, after I get my ATAR and offer I can contact the Dean and see. If not, no biggie if I perform well 1st year uni or 2nd I can still get in for part of my degree

Yes I was reading stuff about the UNSW one being more of a gimmick. It's so hard to know!

 

[kkl]

Actually you might get in to USyd TSP. I was told at the Open Day that they are somewhat flexible with the requirements. Rural + International Competition would probably be worth something. Just make sure you get in contact with them and tell them about it, or else they won't know. You can also get into TSP in 2nd and 3rd year if you perform well enough. Most of the interesting TSP stuff happens then anyway.

Quick note about the UNSW TSP though: I've been told by various people that it's a bit of a gimmick, and that all you do is meet with your mentor one or two times and go to a few lunches, despite what it says on the TSP webpage. Example source: http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=182998 Anyone care to confirm/deny?

Here are the areas/groups you could work in (copied and pasted from 2012 list)
I met up with one of the TSP (unsw) organisers earlier in the year to figure out which group to be put into. There wasn't really one that was right for me, so I got the environmental/marine science group. I didn't attend any of the meetings in this group though- they were on during my uni lectures, labs etc- so I can't really say much about it.

We did have a big group meeting for everyone in TSP at the beginning of the year and we were told that second and third year students get to do more stuff. So, that's about it, you get a mentor and a research group. It's good for those who want to get into research. If you don't meet up with your researcher (like I did), then there's really no point in TSP

School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences ..................................................................................................... 4 Prof. Bill Ballard: Free radicals, nutrition and ageing .............................................................................................................. 4 Assoc. Prof. Andrew Brown: Balancing cholesterol / Cholesterol and cancer............................................................. 4 Prof Rick Cavicchioli: Environmental Microbial Genomics, Extremophiles and Global Ecosystem Health.. 4 Prof Merlin Crossley: Obesity, blood cell development, cancer and stem cells......................................................... 4 Dr Anne Galea: DNA-damaging anti-tumour agents............................................................................................................... 4 Dr Mike Manefield: Bioremediation and Biogassification..................................................................................................... 5 Assoc. Prof. Vincent Murray: Anti-tumour drugs...................................................................................................................... 5 Dr Torsten Thomas: Bacteria-sponge symbiosis and functional diversity. ................................................................... 5 Assoc. Prof. H. Rob Yang: Cholesterol transport, fat storage and obesity..................................................................... 6 School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences ............................................................................................... 7
Prof. Andrew Baker: Cave geochemistry; Dating records of past climate and environmental change on a variety of timescales. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Assoc. Prof. David Cohen: Soil Geochemistry - Mineral Deposits and Contamination .......................................... 7 Assoc. Prof. Emma Johnston: Marine Biological Invasions and Estuarine Health ...................................................... 7 Dr John Triantafilis: Digital Soil Mapping ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Dr Steve Wroe: Vertebrate Evolution and Computational Biomechanics ...................................................................... 7
School of Chemistry................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Dr Leigh Aldous: Ionic Liquids and Electrochemistry.............................................................................................................. 8 Assoc. Prof. Marcus Cole: Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion.............................................................................. 8 Prof. Justin Gooding: Nanoscience, Surface chemistry and Biosensors......................................................................... 8 Dr Jason Harper: Mechanistic and Physical Organic Chemistry....................................................................................... 8 Dr Luke Hunter: Fluorine in Organic Chemistry ...................................................................................................................... 8 Assoc. Prof. Naresh Kumar: Design and synthesis of Novel Antimicrobial Agents.................................................. 9 Prof. Barbara Messerle: Novel Catalysts for Efficient Chemical syntheses. ................................................................... 9 Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Morris: Organic and Medicinal Chemistry .................................................................................... 9 Dr. Pall Thordarson: Functional molecular machines and smart gels for medical applications ........................ 9
School of Materials Science and Engineering ................................................................................................................ 10 Prof. Mark Hoffman: Computational Modelling of New Silicon Structures and Healthy Bones at the Nanoscale...................................................................................................................................................................................................10 Prof. Veena Sahajwalla: Innovative Recycling of Waste Materials as Resources....................................................10 Assoc. Prof. Nagarajan Valanoor: Physics of nanostructured functional oxides......................................................10
School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine......................................................................................................... 11 A/Prof Paul Bertrand: Reprogramming enteric neurons, sensory transduction and reflexes in the intestine. .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................11 Dr Thomas Fath: Neurodegeneration and Repair...................................................................................................................11 Dr Trevor Lewis: Structure and function of ligand-gated ion channels.........................................................................11 Dr Stephen Palmer and Prof. Edna Hardeman: Genetics of Williams syndrome and human behaviour ....11
School of Optometry and Vision Science ....................................................................................................................... 12 Dr Isabelle Jalbert: Dry eye research ............................................................................................................................................12 Prof. Helen Swarbrick: Orthokeratology ....................................................................................................................................12
School of Physics ................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Dr Julian Berengut and Prof. Victor Flambaum: Tests of Grand Unification Theories..........................................13 Prof. Michael Burton: Astronomy on Ice ....................................................................................................................................13 Assoc. Prof. Adam Micolich: Nanoelectronics .........................................................................................................................13 Dr Peter Reece: Optical tweezers and laser spectroscopy.................................................................................................13 Prof. Chris Tinney: Astrobiology and Extrasolar Planets .....................................................................................................13 Prof. John Webb: Astrophysics........................................................................................................................................................14 Prof. Joe Wolfe: Musical Acoustics ...............................................................................................................................................14
School of Psychology............................................................................................................................................................ 15 Dr Lenny Vartanian: Body dissatisfaction, weight stigma and eating behaviour.....................................................15 Assoc. Prof. Michelle L. Moulds: Clinical psychology / depression................................................................................15

 

[Nick_K]

For physics the TSP projects start in second semester and you don't actually have to be a TSP student to do them- just need a D in PHYS1901 I think (which isn't that hard, pretty much everybody gets an HD due to scaling).

For maths there is SSP which I'm pretty sure isn't a strict 95+ MX2 cutoff. For the TSP maths they only really offer accelerated units, but you also don't need to be in the TSP for this (I am a TSP student and I accelerated units outside of the program) The only advantage to doing it through the TSP is that you have the option of not taking the mark if you screw up.