wolfspirit
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
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Hi guys, I'm a prospective international undergraduate student that's looking to pursue actuarial studies in Australia. It is my goal to ultimately clear all the exams to qualify as a full fledged actuary, and I'm well aware of the high attrition rate that this course is notorious for.
Right now I've been granted two options.
The first, is a Bachelor of Science (Actuarial Science) through Curtin University, a 3 year programme that costs $75,000 in total.
The second option is UNSW, through their Bachelor of Commerce (Majoring in AS) but the route is slightly longer. I would have to first attend their foundation programme. However, instead of the typical year long course, I would go through their transition programme, which lasts 4 months and clear it to gain direct admission commencing in 2013. This route would take me a total of 3.5 years, and in comparison, an additional $35,000 in course fees compared to Curtin. (Well actually, in 2013 they are introducing the Bachelor of Actuarial Science course itself, but this is not too relevant for now.)
If you were in my shoes which would you choose? Would you rather save the time and money and clear the degree in Curtin as soon as possible? Or do you feel that the extra time and money invested will pay off, due to UNSW's better reputation as a Go8 university? Besides the better reputation can anyone vouch for the difference in quality of the two universities? Would being in UNSW be better route overall in case I 'dropped out' of the Actuarial Science programme? What are your thoughts on starting out in Curtin, then transferring to UNSW after the first semester/year if I do well enough? As someone who hasn't touched Mathematics for about 6 years now, would you recommend the foundation programme to get back in the flow of things first?
Btw, I know MacQ in particular is great for Actuarial studies, but my grades weren't good enough to gain direct entry. So don't bother suggesting the other Universities like ANU, UoMelb into the discussion!
A lot of questions but this is a pretty huge decision. Not to mention that the difference in fees does not take to account accommodation and interest from loans. Please help!
Right now I've been granted two options.
The first, is a Bachelor of Science (Actuarial Science) through Curtin University, a 3 year programme that costs $75,000 in total.
The second option is UNSW, through their Bachelor of Commerce (Majoring in AS) but the route is slightly longer. I would have to first attend their foundation programme. However, instead of the typical year long course, I would go through their transition programme, which lasts 4 months and clear it to gain direct admission commencing in 2013. This route would take me a total of 3.5 years, and in comparison, an additional $35,000 in course fees compared to Curtin. (Well actually, in 2013 they are introducing the Bachelor of Actuarial Science course itself, but this is not too relevant for now.)
If you were in my shoes which would you choose? Would you rather save the time and money and clear the degree in Curtin as soon as possible? Or do you feel that the extra time and money invested will pay off, due to UNSW's better reputation as a Go8 university? Besides the better reputation can anyone vouch for the difference in quality of the two universities? Would being in UNSW be better route overall in case I 'dropped out' of the Actuarial Science programme? What are your thoughts on starting out in Curtin, then transferring to UNSW after the first semester/year if I do well enough? As someone who hasn't touched Mathematics for about 6 years now, would you recommend the foundation programme to get back in the flow of things first?
Btw, I know MacQ in particular is great for Actuarial studies, but my grades weren't good enough to gain direct entry. So don't bother suggesting the other Universities like ANU, UoMelb into the discussion!
A lot of questions but this is a pretty huge decision. Not to mention that the difference in fees does not take to account accommodation and interest from loans. Please help!