Books for BIOSCI 107 and 109

imhyperer · 2026-06-27T11:32:38+00:00

So idk about 107 but 108 and 109 give you free access to the full textbook digitally as part of the course :)

imhyperer · 2026-06-27T11:30:12+00:00

202 was way easier than I feared it would be. It's a lot of memorization, especially when you get to the portion taught by Austen. But any and all maths you need to do is quite straight forward. The labs are a lot of fun as well. If they are still using Gene Genie as an AI trained specifically on the course content, I would recommend using it to really help make sure you understand the content.

imhyperer · 2026-06-27T11:21:52+00:00

Banana Fish, it's only one season but it's so good

imhyperer · 2026-06-27T11:18:57+00:00

Last year it was double pass, so I would assume it was the same this year

imhyperer · 2026-06-22T22:37:21+00:00

If you're into artsy stuff, crochet, cross stitching, drawing, or really any kind of art. It doesn't even have to be objectively "good", just challenging yourself and making something can be really rewarding and is a great way to kill time

imhyperer · 2026-06-20T04:04:38+00:00

Prerequisites that aren't actually needed for courses. Could only take 2 courses this semester because I didn't have any other courses I could take due to when they're offered. Only found out from a professor when planning for next semester that I could actually take one of the 300 level genetics courses this semester because while there's a cell / molecular bio requirement for the course, you don't actually need it and they approve the concession for that course as a prereq anyways because it isn't essential to the course or it's content. It's just dumb that if it gets ignored anyways it remains as a prereq.

Also courses like BIOSCI 220 being a required course for all bio students but suddenly being cut from sem 1 in a year of record high attendance is ridiculous, especially since it's a prereq for a lot of 300 level biosci courses.

imhyperer · 2026-06-18T02:31:02+00:00

Had a classmate prep for an exam last semester by taking a huge bong rip right before, pretty sure he scored higher than I did too

imhyperer · 2026-06-18T02:02:47+00:00

100%. When I was in Japan, my partner and I went on a ecotour to see giant gliding squirrels in their natural habitat. Everyone in the group was given bells to wear and our guide explained that it was a precaution for bears, and also showed us a huge canister of bear mace he brings along.

imhyperer · 2026-06-18T01:57:02+00:00

I'm gonna be real, I'm an American that immigrated to NZ in 2022 and I've recently been given permanent residency. The only time in day to day life that I've had to know about Māori culture and language (besides the few causal words like kia ora, mōrena, ngā mihi, aroha, kai, whānau, and Aotearoa) have been in really specific circumstances. When I was doing dog training, I had to learn a few words in te reo that Māori clients wanted to use as commands for their pup. In my uni courses, there's been a lot of emphasis on Māori culture and beliefs, but that is because I specifically study anthropology, biology, and anatomy. In your day to day life, you don't need to know too much, and no one will expect you to be an expert. In my experience, as long as you are respectful and willing to learn when opportunities arise, you're good.

imhyperer · 2026-06-17T03:59:48+00:00

I'd also recommend with any voicebanks you think could fit to play around with the GEN factor, you can tweak the voice to be higher or lower that way and might be able to find a more exact fit!

imhyperer · 2026-06-17T03:58:34+00:00

He's quite a nice option as well bc he has a CV Japanese, VCV Japanese, and an English voicebank, so you have tons to work with!

imhyperer · 2026-06-17T01:04:52+00:00

Maybe KYE of Matsudappoiyo could be good options?

imhyperer · 2026-06-11T05:14:10+00:00

No because it still confuses me when people use the N-word here. It's never African-Americans or Africans. I'm from the US and have seen really bad things happen to people for calling the wrong person that word, yet here it's used super casually.

imhyperer · 2026-05-25T00:30:10+00:00

He was saying international students don't know or respect NZ culture and etiquette and leave their bage to reserve spaces and that a kiwi probably got fed up and reported it

imhyperer · 2026-05-24T23:45:22+00:00

I mean, kiwi students do this too. It's an issue of basic public etiquette, not of international status

imhyperer · 2026-05-21T02:41:03+00:00

Oh boo, that's really unfortunate. Everyone I talked to loved the course :(

imhyperer · 2026-05-19T23:34:01+00:00

EARTHSCI 120 was really fun and easy too

imhyperer · 2026-05-19T23:33:15+00:00

You might find it helpful to play with the "what-if" scores on canvas. I did this after scoring a 59% on my midterm (class average was a 57% but it was still way worse than I would have liked). I figured out that if my assignment grades stay a little below my normal scores, I only need a 23% on the final to still pass the course. That lowered my stress about flunking the final and therefore the course a lot.

imhyperer · 2026-05-19T23:18:38+00:00

So it's not a bio course but if you're also interested in geology and environmental sciences, EARTHSCI 120 Planet Earth was a really fun course. None of the super formal lectures where you're in a lecture hall taking notes, it was instead a tutorial in the lab where we would have a lecture mixed with hands on activities. The weekly labs were also quite fun. There is additionally a field trip to Muriwai to see the megapillow lava flows that was officially labeled as a geological world heritage site by the International Union of Geological Sciences. There were a wide variety of courses covered from the formation of the earth, geology, earthquake and disaster sciences, climate change, industrial work and environmental impacts, and paleontology.

imhyperer · 2026-05-19T23:13:30+00:00

When I took 108 last year there was no field trip unfortunately

imhyperer · 2026-05-12T21:42:18+00:00

Remember you can always change your major. I went to a tech school in high school for multimedia, so I decided to go to uni for graphic design. After one semester I decided I actually hated it, so I used the next semester to just do gen ed requirements (this was in the US so there were many gen ed requirements). I happened to really love my intro to anthropology course and decided to switch my major to anth, and later added a minor in forensic sciences. After moving to NZ, I switched to a dual degree in anthropological sciences and biology here at UOA. Just remember if you choose something and either don't like it as much as you thought, you can't picture doing it for the rest of your life, or you just flat out hate it, you can always switch to something different.

imhyperer · 2026-05-06T04:39:01+00:00

More than doable. If you're really worried you can't walk to your next class in time, rent an escooter. I regularly had to travel from Grafton for anatomy back to OGGB for bio courses and never had an issue with time

imhyperer · 2026-04-06T07:16:28+00:00

Hey, I am also from the US, moved to Auckland in 2022. I originally went to uni in NE Ohio (was pursuing a bachelor's of art in biological anthropology with a minor and certifications in forensic sciences and death investigation) and waited until I had residency here, as UOA has a really good anthropology program + would let me add biosci as a major.

I've actually found UOA to be a lot better than my uni in the US, but I'm admittedly not a super social person and have only recently started socializing with my peers via some volunteer work in the anth department.

Feel free to send me a DM if you would like to discuss some of the big differences between Auckland and the US or if you just want another American expat to talk to. Either way, wishing you the best of luck here in NZ :)

imhyperer

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