UNSW vs. MQ for actuarial (POLL!) (2 Viewers)

[Squar3root]

But at least my 'claim' is backed by actual data.

ACTL1001 in 2010: 241 students - http://www.timetable.unsw.edu.au/2010/ACTL1001.html
ACTL3001 in 2012: 129 students - http://www.timetable.unsw.edu.au/2012/ACTL3001.html

All they would be doing is looking at the numbers, and it would not be that much different to the numbers enrolled in each course.

I believe you D94 (as always ) but there are a lot of people who have heard different things from different people/things. I guess there is no real way to "measure" the success rate of actuarial graduates from first year but from the data we can conclude that between 20-80% of people make it

 

[obliviousninja]

Some statistics - number of co-op scholars for each field:

BIT/BIS:
2014: 11
2013: 15
2012: 14
2011: 17

Damn I reckon if the numbers were 14-15 this year, I could have gotten in. I know a couple of people who were previously on the short-list but eventually got in, after people ditched their conditional offers/didn't get the atar. I'm probably really close to the top of the short-list. But that means nothing. Sigh.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Some statistics - number of co-op scholars for each field:

Finance:
2014: 7
2013: 9
2012: 7
2011: 6

Accounting:
2014: 7
2013: 8
2012: 10
2011: 12

BIT/BIS:
2014: 11
2013: 15
2012: 14
2011: 17

Actuarial:
2014: 12
2013: 12
2012: 8
2011: 14

Mech:
2014: 1
2013: 1
2012: 3
2011: 3

Elec:
2014: 1
2013: 0
2012: 4
2011: 4

Chem:
2014: 2
2013: 3
2012: 2
2011: 1

Civil:
2014: 0
2013: 1
2012: 1
2011: 4

From that, engineering is hardest to get into. The engineering cohorts are as larger or larger than the respective business cohorts. Sure not everyone applies, but you can get a sense of the competitiveness.

That makes me feel so much better that I didn't even make it to interview stage.

Also, Materials Science had zero for this year.

 

[Chronost]

there are about 2000 actuaries in Australia alone (i didn't make this up, it is from matrix), it will be relatively easy to find a career after you graduate. keep in mind that there is a 90% drop out rate of the degree (highest out there) so really only ~10% of people make it. Most can't handle first year maths like MATH1151 at unsw (or macq. equivalent). Keep in mind that i do MATH1141 and i am still finding it hard to keep up and i am a very capable student.

Yes i do agree that people combined with commerce and economics and all that will have a greater advantage over the single degree but that doesn't mean you will not be able to find a job. I mean whats the worst, you have to start off with a ~$75K salary as opposed to ~$90-100K and have to maybe put in a few more job applications?

EDIT: ON is sort of correct. A lot of people apply for Co-op (my self included) and still don't get in. it is very competitive but in the end there is no shortage of jobs for medicine or actuary. other degrees like engineering and single business are a bit harder.

Sorry I was thinking more in terms of Actuarial jobs. I'm saying even if you graduate with an actuary degree,more often then not people do not find a job as an actuary, because those are quite competitive. Alot more go into Commerce in it's broad spectrum.(because of their skills).

 

[Squar3root]

Sorry I was thinking more in terms of Actuarial jobs. I'm saying even if you graduate with an actuary degree,more often then not people do not find a job as an actuary, because those are quite competitive. Alot more go into Commerce in it's broad spectrum.(because of their skills).

Sorry I didn't make it clear enough. Not EVERY actuary grad will get a ACTUARY job. Some will go into insurance, some into superannuation and others into finance and data management. There is really no such thing as an "actuary job" because they do all sorts of things

 

[twinklegal19]

Some statistics - number of co-op scholars for each field:

Finance:
2014: 7
2013: 9
2012: 7
2011: 6

Accounting:
2014: 7
2013: 8
2012: 10
2011: 12

BIT/BIS:
2014: 11
2013: 15
2012: 14
2011: 17

Actuarial:
2014: 12
2013: 12
2012: 8
2011: 14

Mech:
2014: 1
2013: 1
2012: 3
2011: 3

Elec:
2014: 1
2013: 0
2012: 4
2011: 4

Chem:
2014: 2
2013: 3
2012: 2
2011: 1

Civil:
2014: 0
2013: 1
2012: 1
2011: 4

From that, engineering is hardest to get into. The engineering cohorts are as larger or larger handlers the respective business cohorts. Sure not everyone applies, but you can get a sense of the competitiveness.

Wow that's strange, I could have sworn that there were 9 finance scholars this year.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[D94]

Wow that's strange, I could have sworn that there were 9 finance scholars this year.

Sent from my Nexus 5

Unless the co-op career manager is lying to me, there appears to be 7.

 

[twinklegal19]

Unless the co-op career manager is lying to me, there appears to be 7.

True, that's what I thought as well. The induction ceremony program/photos has 9 people in it though. No idea why that's the case.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[Squar3root]

True, that's what I thought as well. The induction ceremony program/photos has 9 people in it though. No idea why that's the case.

Sent from my Nexus 5

maybe they fell to pieces and dropped out?

 

[anomalousdecay]

Sorry I was thinking more in terms of Actuarial jobs. I'm saying even if you graduate with an actuary degree,more often then not people do not find a job as an actuary, because those are quite competitive. Alot more go into Commerce in it's broad spectrum.(because of their skills).

Same thing can happen for engineering students in the less mainstream (petroleum, mining, biomedical) degrees. Many of them end up working in some sort of business related role because they can't find jobs here in NSW relevant to their degree.

True, that's what I thought as well. The induction ceremony program/photos has 9 people in it though. No idea why that's the case.

Might have declined the scholarship.

 

[v1]

Even though i am currently studying medicine, Actuarial studies was my second option, and like you I did put some thought into it.

In my opinion (and in the opinions of my family friends who I asked and are all successful), Macquarie is a better university for anything finance/actuarial related. I was told that it was the first uni that offered it, and as such had awesome placement programs/work experience/etc following your degree. Don't be phased by what some people may say about Macquarie being a second rate university, it is definetely top tier for anything business/finance/actuarial related. Just don't do law at Macquarie unless you have connections in the field.

This.

If you think I've missed out on any important criteria, reply below.

Where is science double? (Maths/Stat major) people who combine with science on average, are better students at Macquarie. + they get a more traditional actuary role after graduating

 

[randomguy777]

I do not recommend anyone to study actuarial because it is incredibly hard to get a job. I believe that definitely over 50% of the graduates do not work in that field and by the time you get 2nd year or 3rd most drop out of it. I strongly believe that only 1-2% of the top actuarial students actually land a job in their field. There are plenty of actuarial graduates I know that do not work in their field because they were not good enough.

 

[bangladesh]

I do not recommend anyone to study actuarial because it is incredibly hard to get a job. I believe that definitely over 50% of the graduates do not work in that field and by the time you get 2nd year or 3rd most drop out of it. I strongly believe that only 1-2% of the top actuarial students actually land a job in their field. There are plenty of actuarial graduates I know that do not work in their field because they were not good enough.

please stop making up inaccurate shit without referencing a source.

 

[randomguy777]

please stop making up inaccurate shit without referencing a source.

What do you know? You're just a first year student who knows nothing. Just a student who is getting owned by the marketing glitz and glamour of university.
You haven't even finished yet, nor do you work in that field. I know exactly all about the actuarial students who think gettin 99+ ATAR and 90+ extension 2 maths think they can work in that field.

You have absolutely no idea what you're going up against. No different to the silly fools who think they can break into IB.

When you graduate 3-4 years later, you'll be very disappointed.

 

[bangladesh]

What do you know? You're just a first year student who knows nothing. Just a student who is getting owned by the marketing glitz and glamour of university.
You haven't even finished yet, nor do you work in that field. I know exactly all about the actuarial students who think gettin 99+ ATAR and 90+ extension 2 maths think they can work in that field.

You have absolutely no idea what you're going up against. No different to the silly fools who think they can break into IB.

When you graduate 3-4 years later, you'll be very disappointed.

I know well over 20-30 actuarial graduates all of which have gotten jobs within months in their own field. You're the one whose pulling inaccurate data without ANY source what so ever.

 

[kkmok]

Actuarial studies is easy..........
I remember 150 was doing my first actuarial studies course, and left with 70 doing the second half of the CT5 course

why you no put B Actuarial studies with B science (stat) for mq

 

[zhiying]

Take this from a penultimate student doing actuarial studies at UNSW who knows plenty about Macquarie too, it makes no difference where you go. Your double degree will most likely not benefit you at all. I started off in mathematics then changed to economics and then dropped that too, my marks were pretty much HD in all of them but didn't feel like racking up HECs debt on subjects that won't even help in the end. It hasn't stopped me from getting multiple internship offers, they seriously don't care what degree you do as long as it has an actuarial studies somewhere in there. Choose which ever uni is more convenient, I chose UNSW because most of my friends went there and also heard Umacq was full of bogans .

As for career options, you're probably guaranteed A job when you graduate, not necessarily an actuarial one. My role in the Actuarial Society is somewhat like a career adviser so my information is pretty reliable. There's about ~30-40 intern positions available to penultimates every year, and graduate roles ranging anywhere from 60-100 (this is all of Australia). UNSW + Macq pumps out about 100-130ish graduates a year, plus maybe another 30 around the rest of Australia, so it is fairly competitive. But if you go for a generic finance role you'd probably get it since actuarial studies is regarded pretty highly elsewhere. Companies don't really hire based on uni, this year all 4 PwC interns are from Macq, and all 4 EY interns are from UNSW, it doesn't really matter what uni you go to.

Difficulty-wise it is pretty hard, but if you study consistently it isn't impossible to maintain a HD average even into your penultimate year, I know a handful who has it apart from me. Drop out is pretty high, my cohort started with about 200 people, down to maybe ~100 now. People do drop out because they can't get the marks, but a lot also just realises that actuarial isn't for them.

I've seen quite a lot of dodgy to outright wrong info in this thread so just thought I'd clear it up. PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[FlourishingFlower]

Acturial Studies, surprisingly, is becoming very popular. It does not matter where you study it, since UNSW and MQ are both great universities, but in deciding you should take into account.

1. Travel distance. How much time will you save in the long run if you choose one over the other?
2. Cost. This is important if you are thinking in the long-run. Sure, HECS fees will seem like nothing but 30 years down the track you will see that you have saved a lot.
3. Ranking. Again these factors are not put in their order of importance. Ranking probably does not matter much, but if you want to get technical then probably UNSW is better.

However you prioritise those factors is up to you. I'd imagine not many people know the particulars of your individual circumstances so it is hard to tell.

 

[mreditor16]

Take this from a penultimate student doing actuarial studies at UNSW who knows plenty about Macquarie too, it makes no difference where you go. Your double degree will most likely not benefit you at all. I started off in mathematics then changed to economics and then dropped that too, my marks were pretty much HD in all of them but didn't feel like racking up HECs debt on subjects that won't even help in the end. It hasn't stopped me from getting multiple internship offers, they seriously don't care what degree you do as long as it has an actuarial studies somewhere in there. Choose which ever uni is more convenient, I chose UNSW because most of my friends went there and also heard Umacq was full of bogans .

As for career options, you're probably guaranteed A job when you graduate, not necessarily an actuarial one. My role in the Actuarial Society is somewhat like a career adviser so my information is pretty reliable. There's about ~30-40 intern positions available to penultimates every year, and graduate roles ranging anywhere from 60-100 (this is all of Australia). UNSW + Macq pumps out about 100-130ish graduates a year, plus maybe another 30 around the rest of Australia, so it is fairly competitive. But if you go for a generic finance role you'd probably get it since actuarial studies is regarded pretty highly elsewhere. Companies don't really hire based on uni, this year all 4 PwC interns are from Macq, and all 4 EY interns are from UNSW, it doesn't really matter what uni you go to.

Difficulty-wise it is pretty hard, but if you study consistently it isn't impossible to maintain a HD average even into your penultimate year, I know a handful who has it apart from me. Drop out is pretty high, my cohort started with about 200 people, down to maybe ~100 now. People do drop out because they can't get the marks, but a lot also just realises that actuarial isn't for them.

I've seen quite a lot of dodgy to outright wrong info in this thread so just thought I'd clear it up. PM me if you have any more questions.

Thought I would bump this, as it was quite useful and insightful from what seems to be a reliable source.

 

[mreditor16]

bumpity bump!