Where to do Maths? (1 Viewer)

[Wacky]

I want to do some kind of maths degree but actuarial scares me due to the high UAI reqs and statistics (ASIDE: is actuarial studies all about stats?)

Anyway, if I just wanted to do maths, maths and maths, where should I do it at? I'm thinking UNSW but various peers have mentioned USyd and Maquarie. What kind of course should I list in my preferences?

 

[aspect]

you would list bachelor of science or bachelor of advanced science in your preferences


which uni you pick probably wont matter in the end but i'd stick to unsw or usyd for B.Sc

actuarial studies isnt all about stats, its a hybrid of commerce subjects, general maths, probability, statistics

 

[maniacguy]

Actuarial studies isn't all about stats, but stats is used a lot - two of the second year subjects @ UNSW are very similar to maths subjects, and in fact one can be replaced by two maths subjects for Actuarial/Maths students. (At MQ the same subject is replaced by two statistics subjects for all students).

That said, stats at uni is different to anything I'd come across in high school (inc. 4U) and is definitely a lot more interesting!

If you want to do maths, maths and more maths, then I'm not really sure where you should go - you've got to have some sort of other interest, surely? e.g. a vague interest in computing, or possibly thinking about some commerce and economics somewhere along the line?

If you're into maths, I'd recommend you talk to the maths departments at the various unis, look around their webpages at the courses on offer, etc.

If you're expecting to do well in 4U talk to the staff at the various unis to get a feel for what they can offer for Talented Students. First year maths is fairly similar across most of them, I think...

 

[ezzy85]

im fairly similar to wacky about the maths, maths and more maths thing but im also leaning towards commerce or a business type course. would actuarial studies be good for this combo? is the maths in it that much different to 4unit?

 

[maniacguy]

Actuarial would work for you, yes - the maths in it is fairly different to 4 unit, mostly because you're focusing more on the statistics side of things, but it's still good

I'd seriously recommend the Actuarial/Maths combination if you're interested in Commerce-type stuff and are into maths. Anyone else willing to back me up here? turtle? (I know he's doing med, but he turns up to maths subjects anyway)

Sydney Uni doesn't have Actuarial, but you can look at their B Sc (Advanced Maths) for another heavily maths-oriented degree that you might be interested in...

 

[LaZy_KoReAn]

I HATE MATHS

WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO DO MATHS?

AHHHHH *SCREAMS OUT*

 

[Giant Lobster]

maths is cool. i wanna do math at usyd if i dont get my eng / med. then after my masters / phd ill be teaching maths!

srsly tho, math is good. so much better than arts. i mean wtf!?

 

[flyin']

Mathematics... becareful, cos I thought I'd like Uni. Maths... but atm, I bored... and I'm doing an advanced first year Maths subject...

In regards to Actuarial, the foundation... involves a fair bit of Statistics, Mathematics, Basic Insurance Concepts, and Probability.

But when it comes down to it... it's basically centred around Statistics (from which Probability can be derived). In theory, doing Ext2 Maths means you can solve problems (*thinking*) ... and not memorise formulae.

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

Originally posted by LaZy_KoReAn
I HATE MATHS

WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO DO MATHS?

AHHHHH *SCREAMS OUT*

maths is one subject where u can bludge throughout the year, get the concepts right on the nite before the exams, and still rip 'em!

 

[cuppa_koohii]

Cut-off UAI for Maths degree...

Does any one know what's the cut-off mark for a maths degree at UNSW and what maths you have to complete in Yr 12 to do such a course in Uni?????
THX GUYS~

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

Originally posted by cuppa_koohii
to do such a course in Uni?????

what course r u refering to?
if actuarials - its recommended u do 3unit.
for normal maths degrees, there's no recommended ... but what math u do (general, normal or higher) depends on what maths u do in skool. in order to do higher math, u need >145 in 2u/3u or >190 in 3u/4u

 

[flyin']

Originally posted by Da Monstar
if actuarials - its recommended u do 3unit.

At MQ, they recommend Ext2 for Actuarial Studies.
For the rest, their a basic Maths units assuming basically no previous Maths study.

 

[maniacguy]

At UNSW actuarial 4u is recommended, at least 3u is compulsory.

When I say recommended, that's a relative term. Given the lecturer for first-year at the moment, 4u is compulsory would be much much better. I have serious doubts anyone who didn't do 4u is going to do well (nothing against them, but he's renowned for his introduction of - relatively - complex mathematics in actuarial exams.

A question worth 5 marks out of 100 involving a Taylor series expansion, truncating it to get an approximation, then playing around with that before doing ANOTHER Taylor expansion and truncating to get an end result is the sort of thing I mean...

This is 5 marks out of a 3 hour exam. The rest of it was like that as well... Lucky for me it was the year before mine

 

[laney]

Originally posted by flyin'
Mathematics... becareful, cos I thought I'd like Uni. Maths... but atm, I bored... and I'm doing an advanced first year Maths subject

are you doing either of the maths 1131 or 1141? are you in my maths and i don't it?

 

[flyin']

I'm at MQ... doin' MATH133 (Mathematics 1B Advanced) ... it's just the 2nd mainstream Maths unit for first year, except Advanced.

(I'm so behind, atm.)

 

[-=«MÄLÅÇhïtÊ»=-]

yeah...
i fink me and flyn are getting a bad dose of maths right now

Because we're actuaries, the department think we're machines, so they squeeze maths135 and maths136 into one course and stuff it down our throats. Combine that with 4 other subjects my gpa's gonna go bye bye this semester.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

anyone seen the ads on TV for UNSW maths? its quite funny how you have 2 advertise a uni course on TV...

 

[flyin']

Originally posted by -=MLhtʻ=-
yeah...
i fink me and flyn are getting a bad dose of maths right now

Because we're actuaries, the department think we're machines, so they squeeze maths135 and maths136 into one course and stuff it down our throats. Combine that with 4 other subjects my gpa's gonna go bye bye this semester.

It's actually only about 25-30% more work than 136, apparently... but at a harder standard.



Our GPA for this semester will be our best GPA, btw. It's only downhill from next year.

I mean, we're goin' to get HD in ACST101, and Cr+ for 211, D for ACCG101, D for 133, and D for 111...