App Fin + ??? (1 Viewer)

[B35tY]

Hey all,

As a prospective Macq U student of next year (I've pretty much made up my mind that Macq U is the one i like best), I've been looking at the recently distributed UAC Guide of 2007. My main interest is in Business/Finance, and I've decided I like the look of Applied Finance.

Given the range of Double Degrees involving App Fin and something else, I was wondering about people's opinions on the following:

Actuarial Studies
Economics
Accounting

I've heard Actuarial is boring as, but i'm' open to suggestions. Economics looks good, as it gives me more options, and my parents were accountants, and don't recommend that path, so that's probably ruled out.

Can anyone give their experiences/thoughts/opinions on any of these? Whether you do them in tandem with App Fin or not, just an idea on what the course is like?

Thanks,

B35tY

 

[Tabris]

Appfin+ (any other degree) for first year is nearly the same for all commerce students, this means you'll be doing core units same as anyone else

accg100 - accounting 1A
accg101 - accountin 1B
acst101 - tech. elements of finance
econ110 - macroeconomics
econ111- microeconomics
econ141- intro to econometrics
stat170 - intro to statistics
isys123 - intro to information systems

uni is diffferent to high school, what u may have in mind during high school maybe completely different to whats in 1st year uni.

If u really want to do appfin+(something) then the units above are the ones you will be doing for 1st year. If u feel u want to add B economics , u can in 2nd second year without wasting any units/time to catchup. Same can be said for accounting.

But if want acturial studies, replace stat170 with stat171, and add in acst151 and also replace isys123 with comp125 (i think). Actuaries , i think, require 3 semesters to finish all of their 100 level units (correct me if i am wrong).

Is it boring? i dont know what u will think of your units, but for me, alot of its fundamental and foundation content which gets built upon in 2nd year and 3rd year.

 

[Skittled]

Nice reply, Tabris.

I can't offer any personal insight beyond the fact that MQ's handbook can be very confusing to prospective MQers... So, B35tY, for the record, the above information can be found/checked/verified (as it changes year to year, and what the 'handbook' says the year you enrol is what goes for you for the rest of your degree) at http://handbook.mq.edu.au/. Specifically, degrees can be found here: click on the link of the degree you're interested in, which should give you a list of the subjects required (or, at least, a link to a page/pdf with the subjects required. Information about specific subjects can also be found on the handbook.

 

[kunny funt]

hey

i do appfin/actuarial (having recently transferred from actuarial/eco) and i think its a pretty good degree if u like finance. actuarial goes into concepts with much more detail and insight and ull find urself being taught things on deeper levels than say ppl in accg. actuarial is also quite mathematically intense, and if u enjoy or are good at maths at school, then actuarial might be for u. whether its boring is up to u, coz everyones diff, but if u like maths, then u shudnt find most of the acst subjects boring.

however, eco at macq is also a really good degree, i feel. and eco/appfin will give a really broad path, coz both disciplines cover a large amount of material.

a lot of ppl who drop out of actuarial actually end up doing appfin/eco coz its a good degree to fall back on at macq. my friends cousin dropped out of actuarial at the start of his 2nd year, and did appfin/eco(econometrics) and he got a grad job at asx with 55k +bonus, thats pretty good i reckon.

the best person to decide is obviously u in the end, but both actuarial and eco are interesting and open up heaps of career options.

btw, u cud also do appfin/math or appfin/law as combinations, theyd also be in strong demand.

 

[B35tY]

Thanks for your help guys. Kinda cleared things up.

kunny funt: How easy is it to "fall back" to appfin/eco if i find actuarial too much? Will i be guaranteed a spot? If so, i might as well give actuarial a go and see how it works.

Also i currently only do ext1 maths, but ext2 is recommended. Is this gonna be a problem? Did you do 4 unit maths?

Thanks,

B35tY

 

[jake2.0]

Hey there, the recommended programs for actuarial students can be found here http://www.actuary.mq.edu.au/programs/index.shtml .

I'am currently in first year, luckily i scraped through first sem. I did 4unit maths put much of the content is different to that in the 4unit course, i believe you can get through the course if you are willing to put the hard yards in. Which i'll be doing in the coming semester.

Btw i also do app fin/acst, as do most of the actuarial students.

 

[kunny funt]

Thanks for your help guys. Kinda cleared things up.

kunny funt: How easy is it to "fall back" to appfin/eco if i find actuarial too much? Will i be guaranteed a spot? If so, i might as well give actuarial a go and see how it works.

Also i currently only do ext1 maths, but ext2 is recommended. Is this gonna be a problem? Did you do 4 unit maths?

Thanks,

B35tY

to transfer into appfin/eco from appfin/acst, there's a required gpa which ur supposed to satisfy when u want to transfer. it's prob something like 2.25. it's an easy process. 2.25 is just above a pass avg.

u will do a maths subject in the first sem for actuarial (math132) which i guess is supposed to bridge the gap. just be sure that actuarial is wat u want before u go into it. i suggest finding out more about it, use google, watever, just get as much info as u can.

good luck

 

[redruM]

Yeah, don't just "keep your options open" by doing the actuarial subjects (STAT171 MATH132, etc) without researching a whole lot yourself. Because, if it doesn't work out, your GPA is finito!