Degree in Biology 101

Assalamualaikum & hi everyone!

This will be another boring entry but I hope it will be helpful for some people out there. I made a post on Uitm Dengkil awhile back and it got over 500+ views/reads. I know sharing my experiences might be helpful for my juniors on getting themselves ready for degree!

I was enrolled for Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Biology in Uitm in 2016. It was right after I ended my foundation earlier on the same year. Truth to be told, it was not my first choice in UPU. I know a lot of you did not choose this course as your first too. How many of you wanted to be a doctor instead? Or dentist? Pharmacist? Probably more than half of you. It was most of us too...

Long story short, God has written this fate for me, I ended up taking this course for my degree. I did not regret it though because I loved Science especially Biology and I will always do. Therefore, taking up this course was not a total bummer and I enjoyed my whole three years. I understand if you feel lost and demotivated because you did not get the course of your dreams. You are allowed to feel sad, frustrated but don't let those feelings dwell for too long. Pick yourself back up because if you terima takdir that God place you in this position because of a reason that you yet to understand, you will start to enjoy your journey.

So straight to the point, this course comprises of 6 semesters, if you are from matriculation or foundation of science. Which I think most of you are. If you are from diploma, it will be 2 and a half years for you. I heard that the new batch will be having 7 semesters because your internship will be a a whole semester. You will learn every part of biology. Microbiology, Parasitology, Biophysics, Neurobiology, etc. You will have at least 2 biology subjects per semester and at most 3.

You will also take up business subjects such as Marketing, Management, Operation management, Finance, Risk & insurance, etc. A lot, yep it will confuse you to think 'What am I taking actually? Biology or Business?' Because trust me, I asked myself a lot. But trust me again, you will benefit from it. This is the opportunity for you to see the relevance of many other courses. Also this is a good way to not just feed on Biology. You will see these subjects as an escapism from only learning Biology. At least for me, I loved them all. Some subjects (of business) will take a lot of your time and energy. At times these subjects overshadows biology subjects. 

You will hear your friends complaining 'Kenapa kita kena belajar semua ni? For what?' You will not see the relevance of it at that moment but only after you habis belajar baru you tau, apa yang you belajar tu berguna. These are also the subjects that you can score, to save your own CGPA. So own them, do your best with these subjects, they will save your ass. It is more than possible to get Dean's List every semester. Work smart!

To make this simple, because I can't tell what to expect for every subject there is, I will tell you the easiest to score and the hardest to score (for Biology subjects). Mind you that this is through my own experience and my own humble judgement. 

The easiest to score: Cell Biology & Microbiology. Cell Biology is literally Biology in foundation, but a little deeper. Basic biology. The foundation to many other biology subjects. Microbiology, you have to read, and read, and read some more.

Hardest to score, may fail but always possible to pass: Parasitology. This subject is CRAZY. I drained all of my energy just to sit for this paper. I lost almost all of me just trying to pass. My advice, start revising early. Buat la q-cards ke apa. Budak biology kan? /nerds/ 😝 There are a few other subjects yang susah, but I can still manage aka tak jadi gila trying to understand. I prayed hard supaya I tak fail Parasite sbb I tak nak repeat. I tak nak jadi gila lagi. Alhamdulillah I passed with B-. The lowest I ever gotten for Biology subjects.

Don't worry too much, I believe you will do well. Korang semua bijak kan... You guys are obviously Science stream students since school. Cuma my advice is, be open. Masuk University ni macam macam orang you jumpa. Try adapting and accepting that not everyone is like you. People are different. They were brought up different, they were taught differently. People will be weird, and it will blow your mind that there are people like that, still, in this modern world. Just be nice to people, this is the time for you to be completely flexible. In a way, jangan la rigid sangat. Be accepting. You will understand this nanti :)

If you need assistance or ada any further questions, I am open to receive emails. 

Contact me at attelyaz@gmail.com  

Good luck!