UNSW vs Macquarie Actuarial Studies Round 2 (1 Viewer)

[taco_26]

Hello Bored of Studies world! First time poster, long time lurker.

Sorry in advance for bringing this up again, but I need some advice on figuring out which uni is better for Actuarial Studies (i.e. UNSW or Macquarie) in MY SCENARIO.

After talking to reps from both unis (both of which fed me horsesh*t), I made a list of factors that would impact my decision, and even after this, i still can't decide, which is why I seek the wisdom of my fellow BOSers.

Here goes my list (not in any particular order)
1) ATAR: both unis are pretty much the same, and getting into either one isn't going to be a problem (I hope!).
2) Double degree: if i do go to UNSW, I'm going to do a double in B Act/B Comm (finance major), whereas at Macquarie, I'm going to do B Act/B Applied Finance. I'm not sure which one is better, if I want to get into finance/IB- or potentially work for insurance companies.
3) Exemptions: From my knowledge, both unis offer exemptions for Part I & II for accreditation of the Institute of Actuaries thing, but UNSW requires a Distinction average to get exemption from Part I+II, whereas Macquarie needs a credit average (making it easier to get those accreditations).
4) Travel: Macquarie is a short 10min bus ride, UNSW is around 1 hour of hell each way.
5) Culture & Campus: I have been to both UNSW and Macquarie many times, and found the UNSW campus WAYYY better than Macquarie's (I felt pretty depressed while at Macquarie every time i was there). In terms of culture, idk which one is better.
6) Other stuff: I'm thinking of going on exchange as well, and i think UNSW has better exchange opportunities? Macquarie has some kind of PACE program, idk what that is either (they say something about guaranteed internships, but I didn't trust the students who came over to my school- they seemed shifty).
7) Prestige: the general consensus is that UNSW is more prestigious (I don't really know why) than Macquarie, which would mean employers would favour those from UNSW vs Macquarie.
8) Fallback: If for some reason I don't wanna do Actuarial studies, I think UNSW has a greater variety/more flexibility in terms of degree changes (i.e. i'd prefer a degree in commerce rather than a degree in applied finance)- but I'm probably wrong here idk.

Sorry for the essay, this decision has been haunting me for the past 2 months, and now I'm extra worried because UAC forms are due soon...

 

[astroman]

inb4~UNSW Masterrace~

 

[VBN2470]

UNSW

 

[Squar3root]

UNSW

 

[Rhinoz8142]

Moey's Kebab Shop

 

[mreditor16]

Let me try to help as an actuarial studies student who similarly did such research and has gained some insights this year, from getting to know more actuarial students from both universities across different year levels.

2) Double degree: if i do go to UNSW, I'm going to do a double in B Act/B Comm (finance major), whereas at Macquarie, I'm going to do B Act/B Applied Finance. I'm not sure which one is better, if I want to get into finance/IB- or potentially work for insurance companies.

Tbh first of all, imo, don't get too deadest on what major you would do for your Commerce degree. I would experience all the different first year commerce courses (accounting, economics, finance etc) and then go from there. However, in saying that, I would agree that a Finance major (in your Commerce degree) is probably the most complementary major you could choose to go alongside with Actuarial Studies.

As for double degree options, if you're deadset on actuarial studies, B Actl Studies / B Comm is probably the best option for you at UNSW, and also good for you as the fourth year enables you to complete Part II exemptions as you probably know. In general, I would say you have a lot more options for double degrees at UNSW (e.g. with advanced maths, economics, commerce, law, science) than Macquarie (who only offer it with science and applied finance IIRC). And that for me is a significant pro for doing actuarial studies at UNSW.

3) Exemptions: From my knowledge, both unis offer exemptions for Part I & II for accreditation of the Institute of Actuaries thing, but UNSW requires a Distinction average to get exemption from Part I+II, whereas Macquarie needs a credit average (making it easier to get those accreditations).

Those requirements for exemptions are actually misleading, in some sense - let me explain why. First of all, here is a post on exemptions for Part I -

Just thought I'd post some updated information about actuarial exemptions at UNSW for all actuarial degrees which began in 2014 or after -

Part I

So, Part I is made up of 8 Core Technical (CT) areas. And, to get exemptions for Part I at UNSW, you have obtain an overall average of 65 or above (i.e. Credit Average minimum) in the course(s) that correspond to each CT. Note, that an overall average of 65 for each CT area is required to obtain your part I.


CT1 - Financial Mathematics - ACTL2111
CT2 - Finance and Financial Reporting - FINS1613, ACCT1501, ACCT1511 (one-third weighting for each subject)
CT3 - Probability and Mathematics Statistics - ACTL2131
CT4 - Models - ACTL2102 (one-third weighting), ACTL3162 (two-thirds weighting)
CT5 - Contingencies - ACTL3151
CT6 - Statistical Methods - ACTL2102 (one-third weighting), ACTL3141 (two-thirds weighting)
CT7 - Economics - ECON1101, ECON1102 (one-half weighting for each subject)
CT8 - Financial Economics - ACTL3182


For example, for CT7, if I obtain 70 in ECON1101 but 52 in ECON1102, my overall average for CT7 is 61, which is below the required overall average of 65 - hence, I would not obtain exemptions for the CT7 component of Part I. In such an instance, since I have still passed the two CT7 courses, I do not need to recomplete these courses at university to obtain exemptions for CT7, but instead all I have to do is sit the Institute's examination for that CT area. This saves your time and money!

Another hypothetical example would be if I get 60 for ACTL2102 and 69 for ACTL3141 - thus, my overall average (take note of the weightings) for CT6 would be 66 and hence I would still get exemptions for CT6, regardless of not obtaining a credit in ACTL2102. So, from this, you can see that if a CT area has more than one subject that counts towards it, not all hope is lost if you do not obtain a credit in one of them.

All actuarial degrees offered at UNSW will have more than enough time to finish all these subjects! Also, take into consideration how some subjects will not actually count towards exemptions, such as ACTL1101, however ACTL1101 (and hence passing it) is a prerequisite for ACTL2111 and ACTL2131, which are two subjects that DO count towards exemptions.

Finally, note how FOUR third-year actuarial courses are required to be completed for exemptions - ACTL2141, ACTL3151, ACTL3162 and ACTL3182. However, UNSW only requires students to do at least three third year ACTL courses. Hence, this becomes a case of having to do more subjects than course requirements in order to obtain the Institute's exemptions.

More information (especially about Part II and III) to come soon.

For Part I, it's pretty much the same story at Macquarie, where you need a credit average.

Then, for Part II, its a slightly different story, which you allude to. For the subjects associated with Part II, you need credit average at Macquarie University, whereas a distinction average at UNSW. In regards to this, from what I've heard, according to a few students and academics I spoke to, UNSW and Macquarie both scale their Part II actuarial subjects, such that the average for the cohort at UNSW is 75 (the threshold for distinction) and the average for the cohort at Macquarie is 65 (the threshold for credit). As a result, you can see that either way, you have to be in the top half of the cohort to obtain exemptions, whether you do it at Macquarie University or UNSW. Thus, it seems like its equally easy/difficult to obtain exemptions at both universities.

4) Travel: Macquarie is a short 10min bus ride, UNSW is around 1 hour of hell each way.
5) Culture & Campus: I have been to both UNSW and Macquarie many times, and found the UNSW campus WAYYY better than Macquarie's (I felt pretty depressed while at Macquarie every time i was there). In terms of culture, idk which one is better.
6) Other stuff: I'm thinking of going on exchange as well, and i think UNSW has better exchange opportunities? Macquarie has some kind of PACE program, idk what that is either (they say something about guaranteed internships, but I didn't trust the students who came over to my school- they seemed shifty).

The differences in travel would be a significant plus point for you in favour of Macquarie. However, tbh 1 hour of travel each way isn’t that bad. And you will get used to it. I personally travel 1.5 hrs each way, and its something I don’t mind that much.

Personally, I would agree that UNSW campus is much more vibrant and uni life and culture is more interesting and diverse and just great. Ofc this is up for personal opinion, and things like open days will help you make such comparisons.

AFAIK, the PACE program isn’t guaranteed internships, its just Macquarie giving students assistance to their students in finding experience or associated activities.

7) Prestige: the general consensus is that UNSW is more prestigious (I don't really know why) than Macquarie, which would mean employers would favour those from UNSW vs Macquarie.
8) Fallback: If for some reason I don't wanna do Actuarial studies, I think UNSW has a greater variety/more flexibility in terms of degree changes (i.e. i'd prefer a degree in commerce rather than a degree in applied finance)- but I'm probably wrong here idk.

If we’re strictly talking about actuarial studies, Macquarie University is actually considered more prestigious, because they’ve been offering it for much much longer. And also because, only in the last few years has UNSW started to offer Actuarial Studies as a standalone degree (used to be offered as a major under the Commerce degree), whereas Macquarie has offered it as an actual degree since it started there. However, the employers I have talked to in the past have said that to me that there is no bias or favouritism from employers nowadays for Macquarie actuarial graduates vs UNSW actuarial graduates, in the recruitment process and in general.

In terms of fallback, I would strongly agree with what you’ve said. I’d also like to add that transferring between degrees at the same university is much harder than transferring between universities, because AFAIK you have to go through internal application process of the university for the former, versus UAC processes for the latter.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions!!

 

[TharithaM]

A little help from the guys here please,
So I studied GCE A Levels and took the subjects, Chemistry,Physics, Mathematics and Further Mathematics and I found a real liking in Math. I am now looking to pursue a degree in Actuarial Studies at UNSW but I just want to know is any knowledge of commerce and finance recommended before I start Uni in 2016.
Thanks in Advance

 

[mreditor16]

A little help from the guys here please,
So I studied GCE A Levels and took the subjects, Chemistry,Physics, Mathematics and Further Mathematics and I found a real liking in Math. I am now looking to pursue a degree in Actuarial Studies at UNSW but I just want to know is any knowledge of commerce and finance recommended before I start Uni in 2016.
Thanks in Advance

No, you need no prior commerce or finance knowledge to complete Actuarial Studies (or even B Commerce for that matter). However, saying that, you will experience less difficulty in picking up some concepts, if you do have such background knowledge.

 

[BLIT2014]

8) Fallback
Can always do external/internal transfer to different universities/degrees.

Other stuff:
-Exchange
Mq gives money to pretty much every single student who wants to go on exchange
http://students.mq.edu.au/opportunities/student_exchange/mobility_scholarships/
http://students.mq.edu.au/opportunities/student_exchange/
-PACE
Apparently any internships you do in summer holidays you can usually credit as PACE unit/degree requirement? If you talk to a uni advisor before hand?

 

[TharithaM]

No, you need no prior commerce or finance knowledge to complete Actuarial Studies (or even B Commerce for that matter). However, saying that, you will experience less difficulty in picking up some concepts, if you do have such background knowledge.

Thanks for the quick reply. When you say background knowledge what sort of stuff do you recommend for a little bit of prior reading?

 

[mreditor16]

Thanks for the quick reply. When you say background knowledge what sort of stuff do you recommend for a little bit of prior reading?

Tbh I wouldn't bother. But if you did want to, I would buy your textbooks for Sem 1 early, and start going through them.

 

[TharithaM]

Do you guys think the work experience provided by the co-op program at UNSW is much better than just following a B AcSt ? And how much more worth is it

 

[Chronost]

Do you guys think the work experience provided by the co-op program at UNSW is much better than just following a B AcSt ? And how much more worth is it

Yes definitely worth it - if you can get it then go for it, it's quite competitive though, actuarial doesn't have many spots. Sets you up with work experience which almost guarantees a decent job on completion of your degree (not that actuarial can't find jobs, but much better chances for the roles you want.)

 

[nightweaver066]

Yes definitely worth it - if you can get it then go for it, it's quite competitive though, actuarial doesn't have many spots. Sets you up with work experience which almost guarantees a decent job on completion of your degree (not that actuarial can't find jobs, but much better chances for the roles you want.)

In my year, i think there were heaps of co-ops. Maybe 10 out of 180 students or more?

 

[TharithaM]

So guys what sort of questions do they ask in the Co-op interviews? Are they related to subject content or more biased towards the community service and situational scenarios?

 

[Chronost]

In my year, i think there were heaps of co-ops. Maybe 10 out of 180 students or more?

Yeah there's around that number each year however the amount of applicants is much higher compared to actual students.

 

[mreditor16]

In my year, i think there were heaps of co-ops. Maybe 10 out of 180 students or more?

NB - The number of co-op places is determined by how many sponsor companies jump on board. For that reason, although the actuarial cohorts and application rates for co-op have been strongly growing over the last few years, the number of spots/positions have still remained the same/stable.

 

[taco_26]

-PACE
Apparently any internships you do in summer holidays you can usually credit as PACE unit/degree requirement? If you talk to a uni advisor before hand?

Yeah I'm gonna go to the MQ open day and seek clarification about the PACE program.

 

[BLIT2014]

Yeah I'm gonna go to the MQ open day and seek clarification about the PACE program.

http://openday.mq.edu.au/

Can see any vaguely interesting events being held on the day!

 

[v1]

7) Prestige: the general consensus is that UNSW is more prestigious (I don't really know why) than Macquarie, which would mean employers would favour those from UNSW vs Macquarie.
(

lol... macquarie is known for actuarial studies its on par with UNSW if u have B. Actuarial Studies

If u get co-op then go UNSW
if not then MQ because of travel time. Pretty much equivalent if you're deadset on actuarial studies. Also consider Statistics/Math major in B.Sci as a 2nd degree instead of finance bullshit since u do most of it in actuarial studies anyways. You'll see how much more useful stats/math degree is after 1-2 years of actuarial studies when people regret doing finance