UNSW vs. MQ for actuarial (POLL!) (1 Viewer)

[screwuhsc]

I reckon Unsw cos of prestige but macq ain't behind my much

 

[obliviousninja]

Unsw has better parties. Mac always get ditched. #big2+UTS

 

[boat460]

mac uni is a piece of crap
new south all da way

 

[screwuhsc]

Lol macq isnt that bad as people think it is they are the only uni with Unsw that offers the course so yea if Unsw is outta qn Shud be happy macq as they offer it

 

[seremify007]

There are plenty of more qualified people who can respond to this thread with value than myself but I can state based on observations:

1. Macquarie seems to have a better reputation than UNSW in actuarial - at least amongst the people I talk to.
2. Of all my friends who finished actuarial studies in university, a bit over half of them ended up in actuarial roles. The rest ended up working in finance-related roles (e.g. consulting) doing things which used some of their actuarial skills (e.g. understanding/calculating defined benefit, valuation of financial instruments, determining capital implications of XYZ, etc).
3. And then of the people who start actuarial, I'd say half of my mates changed their mind in their first year of uni and ended up doing other things.
4. The few who got actuarial co-op scholarships all had decent actuarial job offers after graduating, but not all of them stuck to it even then. e.g. IB, management consulting, etc.

 

[mreditor16]

There are plenty of more qualified people who can respond to this thread with value than myself but I can state based on observations:
.....

definitely agree with pretty much everything you said seremify.

would like your opinion on this post I made the other day, and what thoughts you have on it....

but b comm is so much more versatile than b app finance, imo. so combining b actuarial with b comm (UNSW) is much more useful and pays off more than b actuarial with b app fin (MACQ) - that's my opinion...

anyway, a few years ago, I interviewed head actuary and ceo of Australia division and the graduate recruiter who as a team conduct interviews for actuarial graduate-entry roles at Zurich financial services, and they all told me that the time when macq was treated as superior by employers and recruiters has largely passed and that nowadays actuarial graduates from both unsw and macq are treated equally in the recruitment process.

but that's the perspective I heard from inside only one leading company that is constantly employing actuarial graduates....

 

[gef]

Differences between the programs at Macquarie and UNSW are due to the difference in ATAR for entrance in the courses. At UNSW the ATAR for commerce degrees are 96.3 link, whereas at Macquarie the ATAR for commerce is 81 link. Thus at UNSW in all courses you are in a class with smart students, at Macquarie only the specialized actuarial courses. So at Macquarie the explanation in most of the courses is aimed at students with ATARs around 81, whereas at UNSW it is around 96. This means that at UNSW you don’t get repetitive explanation of easy things. Therefore, UNSW has the ability to design their program more flexible, without sacrificing actuarial rigorous.

Note that in order to get exemptions for all part 1 subject and fulfill the program requirements (ie prerequisites & planet/people unit) you need to complete 24 courses (3 years). In the first year there is only one course with only actuarial students (ACST152), in the second year only two (ACST212 & ACST255) and in third year you can choose to do seven courses (ACST359, ACST358 (both required), ACST306, ACST307, ACST355, ACST356 and ACST357 (optional)). Note ACST101 and ACST202 are faculty wide courses, not specialized actuarial courses. [see below for more information]
At UNSW you have the same number of courses for only actuaries, only spread over 3 years, namely three in first year (MATH1151, MATH1251 and ACSL1101), three in second year (ACTL2111, ACTL2131 and ACTL2102) and four in third year (ACTL3141, ACTL3151, ACTL3162 and ACTL3182). [see below for more information]

If you doubt between combined degrees at UNSW or at Macquarie, just compare the ATAR requirements for the bachelor of applied finance (required ATAR: 84 link) and required ATAR for commerce (required ATAR: 96.3 link) to see which degree is more prestigious and gives you an advantage on the job market.

An important thing to take into considerations when choosing a degree is that nowadays the financial world (including insurance) is much more complex than one or two decades ago. The interplay between financial applications and actuarial techniques increases. Banking and insurance regulations are becoming more aligned around the world. Insurance companies are using capital market product to manage insurance risk. This will only increase in the future. So wouldn't you choose a degree which prepares you for tomorrows work over a degree which had prestige because it was the first one (but today has a much lower enrollment although a lower entry requirement, indicating a lower prestige).

If you want to know how employable you are with an actuarial degree, have a look at the number of positions in the Actuarial COOP degree available. Actuarial currently has the most positions available, although it is a more specialized field (see D94’s post). This indications that UNSW actuarial grads are seen as graduates with unique skills for whom companies are willing to pay $65k+ scholarships to enhance their probability to hire one of them. Of course, not every student is a coop student, but it is good indicator of the money firms are willing to pay to get good actuarial recruits. In addition, if you do a double degree at UNSW, you can get you part 2 exemptions within your undergraduate degree. That makes your market value when you enter the job market even higher ($$$).

Note that if you want to be able to hedge your risk to be able to change your mind during the first year of studies and transfer, it is much easier when you enroll in combined degree Actuarial/Commerce @UNSW. You can then just drop Actuarial, you do not have to apply for a different degree at a different university and not getting some units transferred.
UNSW is in top 10 worldwide for accounting and finance link, whereas Macquarie is in the 51-100 band. For your job market perspectives, on the Employer reputation ranking UNSW is in the top 5 in the world (of course #1 in AU).


Courses Bachelor of Actuarial Studies at Macquarie to get part I exemptions:
Exemption courses list (currently taught, excluded old versions of the courses) link
CT1: ACST202
CT2: ACCG106 or (ACCG101 and ACCG100) AND ACCG252
CT3: STAT272 AND STAT271
CT4: ACST358 AND ACST359
CT5: ACST255 AND ACST355
CT6: ACST356 AND ACST357
CT7: ECON110 AND ECON111
CT8: ACST306 AND ACST307
Additional bachelor requirements link: ACST101, ACST152, MATH133, STAT171, (MATH132 OR MATH135), ACST212, People unit, Planet unit (total 23 units)

Courses Bachelor of Actuarial Studies at UNSW to get part I exemptions:
Exemption courses list (currently taught, excluded old versions of the courses) link
CT1: ACTL2111
CT2: ACCT1501 AND ACCT1511 AND FINS1613
CT3: ACTL2131
CT4: ACTL2102 AND ACTL3141
CT5: ACTL3151
CT6: ACTL2102 AND ACTL3162
CT7: ECON1101 AND ECON1102
CT8: ACTL3182
Additional bachelor requirements link: ACTL1101, MATH1151, MATH1251, and MGMT1001 (16 courses)
Possible to double major (for example: finance/accounting/math/stat) within Bachelor of Actuarial Studies.
When studying 4 years (double degree/part-time etc): get part II exemptions by choosing ACTL4001, ACTL4002, and ACTL4303.

 

[Queenroot]

UWS

 

[screwuhsc]

They don't even offer it?

 

[mreditor16]

UWS

They don't even offer it?

 

[screwuhsc]

Ahahahahahah