Actuarial MACQ 40k scholarship or UNSW?????HELP :( (1 Viewer)

[kwonjiyong]

Hello everyone

Im absolutely torn in terms of whether I should accept UNSW's Commerce/Actuarial offer (w/o any scholarship) or Macquarie's Applied finance/Actuarial offer (40k in total of scholarship)???

UNSW imo always had the better campus vibe and social life + connections/networking whilst Macq boasts about their actl program being the first school in Aus to offer it.

Transport is equally as far from where I live, so it shouldnt be a determining factor..

When I went to Macq open day, I absolutely hated it tbh. I hated the campus vibe but i dont know if that really affects alot of my uni experience.

The scholarship is definitely appealing and its actl program is most certainly on par with UNSW's. But if i was to drop actl (hypothetically, MQ imo doesn't really have any other appealing courses- UNSW's commerce is decent and more well known than MQ's tbh)

I have no idea,,I'm torn and so could someone help me out here?

 

[sida1049]

I recommend Macquarie. If you're going for actuarial studies, they're both just as fine universities, and Macquarie is offering you $40k. Moreover, Macquarie will still operate in semesters, whereas UNSW will begin to operate in trimesters next year (many friends who go to UNSW are dreading this change).

In terms of social life, that's more up to you than the university itself. No matter how a uni may advertise it's "uni life", the reality is that a massive portion of its body of studients consists of isolated individuals, and that's just the way things are. If you actively try to engage with your social life at uni, then regardless of which uni you go to, you'll have a good time. Think of it this way: is this perceived difference (which is vastly different for every student) in favour of UNSW worth paying $40k for?

 

[BLIT2014]

Macquarie has a more established actuarial side of things and is better known in that department. If you end up deciding you don't like actuarial then transferring university ( to UNSW) is certainly possible. I know Macquarie offers exemptions with the proffessional acturial certification body which is something which is important to consider if you are planning to become an actuary? http://www.businessandeconomics.mq....do_i/exemptions_for_professional_examinations
UNSW might also offer but I'm not sure which one is better or if they are similar.


Are you planning to live on campus or nearby? Or stay where you currently live?

To maintain the scholarship do you have to maintain a certain average?

 

[nicktok123]

obviously macquarie university, UNSW shouldn't even be an option with a 40k scholarship.

 

[BenHowe]

Hello everyone

Im absolutely torn in terms of whether I should accept UNSW's Commerce/Actuarial offer (w/o any scholarship) or Macquarie's Applied finance/Actuarial offer (40k in total of scholarship)???

UNSW imo always had the better campus vibe and social life + connections/networking whilst Macq boasts about their actl program being the first school in Aus to offer it.

Transport is equally as far from where I live, so it shouldnt be a determining factor..

When I went to Macq open day, I absolutely hated it tbh. I hated the campus vibe but i dont know if that really affects alot of my uni experience.

The scholarship is definitely appealing and its actl program is most certainly on par with UNSW's. But if i was to drop actl (hypothetically, MQ imo doesn't really have any other appealing courses- UNSW's commerce is decent and more well known than MQ's tbh)

I have no idea,,I'm torn and so could someone help me out here?

Don't pick something over the money.

I think mq has great class sizes, really get to know everyone. Also youll find non actuarial units are significantly easier. In saying there definately isnt the same quality in stuff that would be present at unsw. It sounds like you want to go to unsw. So go lol. In the words of the Gordon Ramsay (kinda), "Master your craft, then the money will come." or something like that.

 

[sida1049]

Don't pick something over the money.

I think mq has great class sizes, really get to know everyone. Also youll find non actuarial units are significantly easier. In saying there definately isnt the same quality in stuff that would be present at unsw. It sounds like you want to go to unsw. So go lol. In the words of the Gordon Ramsay (kinda), "Master your craft, then the money will come." or something like that.

The problem is, it's impossible to know for a particular person whether they're better off going to one institution vs another. E.g. when you claim that the quality is higher in UNSW, that's not really something you can know without having taken sufficiently many similar courses (in actuarial studies) in both unis.

It does sound like OP wants to go to UNSW, but it sounds like much of their urgency to go to UNSW is based mostly on the advertisement of a "vibrant social life" (which is probs the no. 1 most misleading and unreliable factor to base uni decisions on), and not at all based on how well the relevant academic programs are. I think in this scenario, given the relevant information, the deal breaker is (and should be) the money.

Edit: Also, the trimesters. Especially since the trimesters are freshly introduced starting in UNSW from this year, so you can bet there will be more administrative chaos over the next 1-2 years of adjustment period, and that every faculty and course will have to undergo drastic changes in the structure of their programs, which is always a nightmare for academics and students alike. I'm sure it'll still work out, but it makes Macquarie the much safer choice regarding the academic programs.

 

[Jolteon]

Everyone here has made a good point.
So here is something new:

If it does turn out that your UMAQ social life isn't what you expect, and that you're not making great or close friends and developing meaningful friendships or things like your friends from UNSW start telling you how great their life is, I think somewhere down the line, you might end up blaming your own decision, thinking things like it would've been better if you had gone UNSW.

If you think that might happen or you do happen to be the type of person that ends up resenting UMAQ or your own decisions then I think you consider UNSW.
That aside, you could be someone with a more optimistic attitude so it's up to you.
If you're like me and you get caught up in the heat of the moment and start regretting/resenting, then maybe money isn't the biggest factor.