hey guys
i do biomedical engineering/medical science at usyd but i have tonnes of classes with the adv science guys so here is my input/opinions.
generally, B Science (Adv) is better than B Science, no matter what you might think. it's because you are enforced to take a certain number of adv science subjects (maths counts as science). these adv science courses are not only more difficult but also encourage different methods of thinking to get through and, in the long run, this helps develops skills for when you are working in lab environments etc. not only that but employers will tend to give preference to adv science over normal science, or even medical science for that matter (irrespective of how much prejudice is frowned upon).
in terms of the TSP program, i can't really say much for the unsw TSP because i'm not enrolled there but here is some inside infor for usyd TSP.
the TSP program was first started at usyd, and only after a couple of years did other organisations (including unsw) catch on. the usyd TSP program basically connects you up with a mentor, usually a professor in a specific science faculty (mine is from biological sciences), and with that you are able to do many extra curricular events, attend seminars, accelerate your courses, do independent research, link up with other professors from different faculties etc. for example, last year (my 1st year in uni) i was doing real research as part of my mentor's lab team - real as in experimenting and gathering results nobody else has done before. i was told that if i continue the project, it will probably get published in a couple of years time. of course the details are irrelevent but it just shows the extent of the opportunities you get from the TSP. other events during the year included a seminar with the head of engineering australia and, most importantly, stagefront seats to dr karl
i can't really pass judgment on unsw TSP so it's up to you to make the comparison.
in terms of some other points i read in this thread -
duration of course - pretty much both usyd and usnw are 4 years. the only difference is that whereas unsw is 4 years with honours included, usyd is 3 years with an optional 4th year honours. most people who get into adv science have the common sense to do that extra 4th year honours anyway.
uai difference - uai is meant to represent the popularity of the course; the higher the uai cut off, the more popular the course. so usyd being 3 higher obviously means more people are trying to get into that course. so you need to ask yourself why so many people are trying to get into usyd.
i also read somewhere that the 3 uai difference is really irrelevent. well yes and no. you need to look at where the 3 uai difference is put. if the uai was something like 60 and 63 then of course it makes hardly any difference. but if it was something like 96 vs 99 then it makes all the difference in the world. generally speaking, the higher the uai is, the harder it is to increase it. and the uai for adv science between unsw and usyd is something like 94 vs 97 (dont quote me please) which is pretty much at the tip. so in this case, yes the 3 uai makes massive difference because it directly represents the quality of the students which, in turn, affects the quality of the teaching. and, just for your information, although the cut off for usyd is something like 96 or 97, a LOT of the adv science cohort have 98+ uai because, to put it bluntly, this is where all the people who want to do science at usyd end up - they really have not much choice in the science area (combined degrees are also considered of course). so, essentially, you will be working at that academic level for the adv courses at usyd. not sure about usnw though.
in addition, each university usually has a degree/area of research that is at its forefront. eg Harvard is known for its medicine/law, MIT known for its engineering. in that sense usyd's forefront is science, whereas unsw is forefronted by engineering. of course that's not to say engineering at usyd or science at unsw is bad; its just saying which area the university will pour more funds into.
anyways this is a HUGE post. hope it helps but sorry to waste your time if it doesnt haha.