BSc at Go8 university or higher grades at MQ? (1 Viewer)

[Flea93]

It's likely I'll get an ATAR getting me into UNSW, USYD or MQ......BUT....
(1) I'd like to major in climate science but USYD doesn't do that subject
(2) You can only do Climate in Advanced Sci at UNSW (I might 'just' make Advanced entry though and have heard you can transfer to Advanced after one year)
(3) MQ is a lot closer to home and is ranked highly in Climate Studies...but, doesn't have the social clubs that UNSW & USYD has.
What I'm wondering though is, would it actually be better to go to MQ where there's a much lower ATAR requirement to give me a better chance of getting HD, Distinctions etc, than going to a Go8 uni and probably getting more average grades.
I'd love to hear from Science u/g's on what MQ is like - I REALLY want to study overseas in 2nd year but their international partner uni's at MQ are truly awful. Does this reflect their international standing do you think?
Thoughts, experiences, advice ....???

 

[Shadowdude]

Well if MQ has something you want to study - then go there.

Who cares about clubs when compared to what you want to study, aren't you there to get a degree primarily?

 

[Flea93]

Well, yes...and no. But would it be better accepting a lower entrance uni to have more chance of topping peers and getting better grades?

 

[Shadowdude]

Well, yes...and no. But would it be better accepting a lower entrance uni to have more chance of topping peers and getting better grades?

That doesn't really make sense... at uni, there's no real 'rank' - you just do the best you can. It's not an HSC thing.

Plus, lower ATAR doesn't mean easier assessments.

 

[Flea93]

Your work at uni is awarded HD, D, Credit or pass. HD's and Distinctions are awarded to top percentage of std's. Employers look at, amongst other things, the grades you get as well as those grades enabling you to transfer to other courses or Advanced subjects and eventually enrol in Honours year. So essentially it is ranked. Lower ATAR entrance doesn't mean easier assessments, but if you're a more able student, you're more likely to do better in assessments than others of lower ability. Having said that, the assessments we've seen from UWS are definitely easier than from Go8 uni's!

 

[OzKo]

That doesn't really make sense... at uni, there's no real 'rank' - you just do the best you can. It's not an HSC thing.

Plus, lower ATAR doesn't mean easier assessments.

Marking depends on which university you go to.

 

[Shadowdude]

Marking depends on which university you go to.

Yes, but that doesn't mean "Let's go to the one with the easiest assessments out".

Plus, the OP in question wants to learn Climate Science - but Sydney doesn't offer it, UNSW only has it for Advanced Science and Macquarie offers it generally.

So really, I think, if the OP can get into UNSW, great. If not, Macquarie's not a bad choice. Plus, I think you can transfer to non-partner universities anyway...

 

[OzKo]

Yes, but that doesn't mean "Let's go to the one with the easiest assessments out".

Plus, the OP in question wants to learn Climate Science - but Sydney doesn't offer it, UNSW only has it for Advanced Science and Macquarie offers it generally.

So really, I think, if the OP can get into UNSW, great. If not, Macquarie's not a bad choice. Plus, I think you can transfer to non-partner universities anyway...

I'm not disputing that.

I'm saying that there are ranking systems at various universities. It's misleading to say that there isn't.

 

[Flea93]

I think ozko might be referring to the fact that some uni's give D's and HD's to top %, whereas others award on basis of actual content quality....
It's not about the ease of assessment, it's about the level of competition. You can't attend international uni's that aren't partners - not unless you want to pay the full overseas fee and not have your course work credited anyhow (I checked after seeing Macquaries woeful partners).

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Do any of the other Go8's offer your major in BSc? Or something fairly similiar?

I'm pretty sure ANU has a major like Climate Science.

 

[Flea93]

Need to stay in Sydney. UNSW does it...long way to travel though, 4 hour per day! Would do it if the benefits made up for all the travel.

 

[4025808]

Need to stay in Sydney. UNSW does it...long way to travel though, 4 hour per day! Would do it if the benefits made up for all the travel.

Uni isn't all about studying tbh. But then again, I have heard that it is easier to do better at MQ simply because the candidature there is not as good as the ones at UNSW.

Then again, with all those grades stuff, at UNSW and USYD, they allocate a certain proportion of HDs, Ds and Cs. So it's actually like HSC again, but maybe worse. Not sure about MQ though.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Need to stay in Sydney. UNSW does it...long way to travel though, 4 hour per day! Would do it if the benefits made up for all the travel.

Oh okay, if you need to stay in Syd. But woah still 2 hours from where you live in Syd to UNSW???

 

[Flea93]

Hills District = shite transport!

 

[Shadowdude]

Hills District = shite transport!

know dat f33l

 

[SoresuMakashi]

Amen to that.

 

[Chazure]

If MQ is ranked highly in Climate and you want to focus on Climate Studies, this is seriously a no brainer.

Doesn't matter if the other uni's have a higher overall ranking because that is probably from other areas of study that you will probably have no interest/involvement in.