Question about the maths involved in Actuarial Studies (1 Viewer)

[Zoinked]

Say that I moronically chose general maths, despite being decent naturally at maths and I decided that I wanted to do actuarial studies. What would I do and what specific types of maths would I have to learn in order to make this a reality?


I suppose I need to learn 2U/3U/4U probability?

 

[pHyRe]

Say that I moronically chose general maths, despite being decent naturally at maths and I decided that I wanted to do actuarial studies. What would I do and what specific types of maths would I have to learn in order to make this a reality?


I suppose I need to learn 2U/3U/4U probability?

its not so much the content, its the way you are taught over the entire year to think analytically and have all the basics of differentiation, integration, algebra etc. drilled into you

i suspect you may struggle in first year especially

 

[Zoinked]

Do you study Actuary pHyRe?

 

[leehuan]

At UNSW, the MATH1151 course ASSUMES you have the knowledge of a Mathematics Extension 1 student.

Whilst there are obviously things in 2U/3U that could potentially be skipped, a significant amount of content is expected to be known. E.g. Integration by substitution, integrals of every elementary function (except the hyperbolics which you didn't see in high school), mathematical induction, binomial theorem, differentiation from first principles etc.

 

[Zoinked]

Thanks Leehuan, do you think if i spent the four month break learning the following topics you are talking about that I would have a chance at passing first year actuary with a credit+ average?

 

[leehuan]

Four gives it quite some hope of being a possibility but it's gonna be a bit of a tiresome four months.

If you really intend on doing actuarial then message me at the end of the year and I'll put in my commentary on what to learn.

 

[Silky_Smooth]

Four gives it quite some hope of being a possibility but it's gonna be a bit of a tiresome four months.

If you really intend on doing actuarial then message me at the end of the year and I'll put in my commentary on what to learn.

Hey leehuan, just curious what your opinion is on actuarial studies now that you're studying it, and whether you would recommend it

 

[motaba]

Third year actl student here!
If I were you I would seriously question whether actuarial studies is right for you...
Not necessarily due to the difficulty of the math (which of course is very high, people who get good marks in 4u may still struggle in first year math), but also because of the volume of math. You really need some sort of passion for mathematics because you will be exposed to so much of it. Would you really say you have that passion given you only chose to do general maths?
In terms of content, high school probability doesn't even come close to what you'd encounter in Actuarial Studies, it's actually quite a flaw in the HSC system that so little statistics and probability is taught (but that's another topic). The probability and statistics in actuarial studies require a very solid foundation especially in calculus, and again, there are plenty of students who have that foundation in high school but still struggle at uni.
In my opinion, it would be very hard to come into Actuarial studies without 4u, let alone 2 and 3 unit, I would strongly recommend NOT picking Actuarial. You seem to think that you are naturally decent at maths, sorry to sound rude and I don't know your story, but if you're basing that purely off success in General Mathematics, you may be in for a rude shock. Just so you get a taste of what kinda of maths you'd be faced with at uni, go onto youtube and look up "unsw math1131" and watch some videos there.
I apologise if this sounded harsh but I think you need to hear it now. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'll be glad to help!

 

[Zoinked]

Third year actl student here!
If I were you I would seriously question whether actuarial studies is right for you...
Not necessarily due to the difficulty of the math (which of course is very high, people who get good marks in 4u may still struggle in first year math), but also because of the volume of math. You really need some sort of passion for mathematics because you will be exposed to so much of it. Would you really say you have that passion given you only chose to do general maths?
In terms of content, high school probability doesn't even come close to what you'd encounter in Actuarial Studies, it's actually quite a flaw in the HSC system that so little statistics and probability is taught (but that's another topic). The probability and statistics in actuarial studies require a very solid foundation especially in calculus, and again, there are plenty of students who have that foundation in high school but still struggle at uni.
In my opinion, it would be very hard to come into Actuarial studies without 4u, let alone 2 and 3 unit, I would strongly recommend NOT picking Actuarial. You seem to think that you are naturally decent at maths, sorry to sound rude and I don't know your story, but if you're basing that purely off success in General Mathematics, you may be in for a rude shock. Just so you get a taste of what kinda of maths you'd be faced with at uni, go onto youtube and look up "unsw math1131" and watch some videos there.
I apologise if this sounded harsh but I think you need to hear it now. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'll be glad to help!

Alright thanks for your honestly. I guess you are right, I'll stick to commerce

 

[Drongoski]

With General Maths - you have to be kidding, aspiring to Actuarial. Like so many cases of students here on BoS, from time to time, contemplating Engineering with only General Maths and no Physics. No way!

That's why correct choice of subjects towards the 2nd half of Yr 10 is so vitally important. So many choose the Mickey Mouse subjects, like Maths General.

 

[leehuan]

Hey leehuan, just curious what your opinion is on actuarial studies now that you're studying it, and whether you would recommend it

No opinion, because in first semester of first year you do 0 ACTL units

(I don't count MATH1151 as an ACTL unit. I just count it as a compulsory MATH unit for your actuarial degree)

What things in 2u/3u do you think can potentially be skipped?

Circle geometry?

Third year actl student here!
If I were you I would seriously question whether actuarial studies is right for you...
Not necessarily due to the difficulty of the math (which of course is very high, people who get good marks in 4u may still struggle in first year math), but also because of the volume of math. You really need some sort of passion for mathematics because you will be exposed to so much of it. Would you really say you have that passion given you only chose to do general maths?
In terms of content, high school probability doesn't even come close to what you'd encounter in Actuarial Studies, it's actually quite a flaw in the HSC system that so little statistics and probability is taught (but that's another topic). The probability and statistics in actuarial studies require a very solid foundation especially in calculus, and again, there are plenty of students who have that foundation in high school but still struggle at uni.
In my opinion, it would be very hard to come into Actuarial studies without 4u, let alone 2 and 3 unit, I would strongly recommend NOT picking Actuarial. You seem to think that you are naturally decent at maths, sorry to sound rude and I don't know your story, but if you're basing that purely off success in General Mathematics, you may be in for a rude shock. Just so you get a taste of what kinda of maths you'd be faced with at uni, go onto youtube and look up "unsw math1131" and watch some videos there.
I apologise if this sounded harsh but I think you need to hear it now. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'll be glad to help!

Agreeing to everything but this part. I still believe 3U is sufficient to enter actuarial.

No foundation = ok duh. No development = Doesn't matter you can put the development in yourself. Not that it's a safe bet especially when second year is ew as hell but not an impossibility

 

[photastic]

Agreeing to everything but this part. I still believe 3U is sufficient to enter actuarial.

No foundation = ok duh. No development = Doesn't matter you can put the development in yourself. Not that it's a safe bet especially when second year is ew as hell but not an impossibility

Although 3U is sufficient it was very difficult to be comfortable with the content particularly 1151 and 1251 (I was actually never comfortable with it just lived on the edged being the only 2U/3U person). However since there are no more compulsory MATH units for actuarial studies after the first year, my life felt a bit at ease but still hard regardless. The bigger question is why a student not doing 4U wants to do actuarial studies if they know this degree has hardcore mathematics.

 

[Drongoski]

Although 3U is sufficient it was very difficult to be comfortable with the content particularly 1151 and 1251 (I was actually never comfortable with it just lived on the edged being the only 2U/3U person). However since there are no more compulsory MATH units for actuarial studies after the first year, my life felt a bit at ease but still hard regardless. The bigger question is why a student not doing 4U wants to do actuarial studies if they know this degree has hardcore mathematics.

I think they don't. The fact a student doing only the lowly Maths General is even contemplating doing Actuarial is an indication of that.

 

[enoilgam]

You seem to think that you are naturally decent at maths, sorry to sound rude and I don't know your story, but if you're basing that purely off success in General Mathematics, you may be in for a rude shock. Just so you get a taste of what kinda of maths you'd be faced with at uni, go onto youtube and look up "unsw math1131" and watch some videos there.
I apologise if this sounded harsh but I think you need to hear it now. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'll be glad to help!

With General Maths - you have to be kidding, aspiring to Actuarial. Like so many cases of students here on BoS, from time to time, contemplating Engineering with only General Maths and no Physics. No way!

Harsh but very true. Actuarial Studies requires an extremely strong background in Math's from HS. From what I understand, that involves doing 3U/4U. Saying you want to do Actuarial Studies because you are a "natural" at General Math's is like saying you can perform heart surgery because you passed a CPR course - just totally ridiculous.

Not to get on my soapbox, but General Maths itself is really inadequate as a general preparation for a wide variety of university level degrees. Unlike many other HS subjects, math's is used extensively across a variety of courses. There are very few university courses which don't involve maths. I would recommend doing at least 2U for courses where maths is indirectly covered (i.e. most Commerce and Science majors, Psychology etc) and 3U/4U where it is directly covered (Engineering, Actuarial etc).

 

[pHyRe]

Do you study Actuary pHyRe?

nope, financial maths and stats

correct me if im wrong

 

[Zoinked]

Wow Drongoski, you snobbed a 17 year old about maths. How high your self esteem must be... Everyone has regrets and makes poor decisions... unfortunately mine was general maths.

 

[Drongoski]

Wow Drongoski, you snobbed a 17 year old about maths. How high your self esteem must be... Everyone has regrets and makes poor decisions... unfortunately mine was general maths.

mattstaker

I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings by being brutally frank. I had not intended it that way. It has nothing to do with my self-esteem. I find it so disturbing that many youngsters make a wrong choice of subjects at the end of year 10. At that age, without good guidance, it is easy to make a poor selection. And I don't blame them; they are still so young, and don't really know what to expect. If your parents are well-educated, they can provide a good guidance. But there are some parents who would just let their kids do what they like. Sometimes, even your teacher are not much help.

Now in year 10, most of you do not know what you want to do. So, as I have said so so many times before, if you are able, choose the key disciplines: Maths( unless you are sure you'll not be doing any course requiring maths), Physics and/or Chemistry and/or Biology, Economics (instead of Business Studies), English, History, etc, depending on what courses you may possibly pursue later on. But do not choose a subject you know you cannot handle. There are some students who have a fantastic aptitude for English, History etc but just cannot handle Physics or Chemistry. By choosing a good number of key disciplines, you have a lot more options open to you later. In a sense, I wish General Maths was never offered; because it is available, lots of people opt for it instead of 2U.


ps

If you indeed achieved 98 in your accelerated Maths General 2, then you obviously are good enough to have done 2U and, perhaps, 3U Maths. It's a pity, you made an unfortunate choice.

 

[si2136]

I agree with Drongoski. I'm confused about why Universities in NSW allow any student to do a course without certain prerequisites into the course, and only assumed knowledge. Actuarial Studies, a person without any knowledge of Maths SHOULDN'T be accepted into it. Engineering. The SOLE reason why the dropout rate is so HIGH is because people don't have the capability to do Maths at Uni, when it is assumed knowledge at HS.

 

[leehuan]

If they don't offer general more people will drop maths than do 2U imo.

I agree with Drongoski. I'm confused about why Universities in NSW allow any student to do a course without certain prerequisites into the course, and only assumed knowledge. Actuarial Studies, a person without any knowledge of Maths SHOULDN'T be accepted into it. Engineering. The SOLE reason why the dropout rate is so HIGH is because people don't have the capability to do Maths at Uni, when it is assumed knowledge at HS.

False. You have not seen second year actuarial and how much some 4U kids suffer.

 

[enoilgam]

I agree with Drongoski. I'm confused about why Universities in NSW allow any student to do a course without certain prerequisites into the course, and only assumed knowledge. Actuarial Studies, a person without any knowledge of Maths SHOULDN'T be accepted into it. Engineering. The SOLE reason why the dropout rate is so HIGH is because people don't have the capability to do Maths at Uni, when it is assumed knowledge at HS.

It depends on the course though. Obviously, Engineering and Actuarial should have more stringent criteria, but like, with a Commerce degree, you really don't need HS Economics or Business Studies. I dont think subjects you select in year 10 should totally limit your options for university because it's hard to know what you want to do in year 10. Also, the nature of the HSC shifts the onus on your ATAR for uni entry, so choosing courses that allow you to maximise this is the top priority.