Mathematics at Macquarie University (2 Viewers)

[§eraphim]

I have 2 queries about mathematics at macquarie uni.

1. Do a lot of elite pplz do actuarial/math at Mac?

2.What's the research strength of Mac? I've heard it was number theory.

 

[CloudStrife]

1. I'm not one of those elite ppl but yeh I rekon there a quite a few smart ppl in actuary. But then again, there are elite ppl in all courses.

2. no clue....

 

[§eraphim]

That's surprising - the elite students in actuarial at unsw are either actuarial/math or co-ops. Why aren't there any elite students combining actuarial studies and maths at mac?

 

[§eraphim]

actuarial at macquarie is much harder at macquarie than unsw. so there is less emphasis on the double. whereas at unsw people might care more about their double.

applied finance is seen to be more employable by acst students at macquarie. (seems silly really, because as you know a science degree in math/stats is more than enough to get you into almost any applied finance role) so not just elite, but most acst students combine with applied finance.

people find it hard to get high marks in maths from math133 (which is true). unlike unsw, where you can get 10-20% getting well over 85 in math, we rarely get more than 5% over 85 and even then its barely over 85. and its not cos we're all crap at maths.

ps - looking at the math changes in unsw, macquarie has been "combining" units for ages now. which is annoying because it would be good to do half-units like syd and unsw offer.

i don't think you have to compete against many olympaid ppl in maths at mac. but point taken - the marking system is different.

ps - i meant the combined degree as in a double degree (i wasn't referring to the subjects themselves). the half-subjects have the same amount of work as a full subject but now theyre being merged or moved into honours yr. At least the changes are better than usyd - theyre making all their subjects worth double the credit points.

 

[lawforever]

my friend's cousin is getting 99 for most of acst subs in mq. So I m still not sure whether MQ is harder or harsher than UNSW cuz the fact is that it z also quite rare for ppl to get 99 in UNSW actl.

As far as I can see, UNSW ppl aren't better off cos if u can't repeat a subject if you pass but don't get a credit. That policy is killing to actuarial students.

 

[...]

holy shit batman

99 for acst subjects?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??
that dude should be more famous that fraser and vic.ma man...

 

[lawforever]

can you name this individual who keeps getting 99 in acst units (or do so via pm)? considering the merit list, there is only 1 person out of everyone doing undergrad actuarial at macquarie who could fit that description, and he wouldn't have done more than one second year acst unit.

also, there are exams you can sit if you don't get a credit. to say cos they can't get an exemption, they quit is not right.

anyway: it seems that at unsw, if you study (quantity) you're almost guarenteed ds and hds in actuarial. the difference with macquarie is that this isn't the case (of course, there are always a handful of exceptions).

perhaps the sample isn't random, but out of all the results from first semester on bos, there was only 1 hd (barely) for acst units in 2nd year here at mac, whereas there were 4 hds (solid, ie. 90s) for the same corresponding units at unsw.

maybe it z becuz the scaling is different in two unis, cuz UNSW's final exam paper is quite consistent with the exam paper of IAAust in terms of difficult level.
The reason I choose UNSW is I wanna do finance as a comajor with actl.

 

[Raginsheep]

Whats the difference between Applied Finance and Finance?

 

[§eraphim]

there are more HDs from unsw students on BoS because:

- there seem to be more active unsw students on BoS
- there seem to be a lot of smart ones too

On a separate note, how good are the Macquarie Actuarial/Math guys? how did they go in the hsc? im just curious as i wanna see whether all the hardcore math guys go to usyd or unsw only.

 

[shannonm]

those 2 are nerds, many many people score much lower in unsw actl than that

 

[flamin']

Umm, I was specifically referring to Actuarial units (ACTL for UNSW and ACST for Macq). There were 2 actuarial students from the exam thread at UNSW (four equivalent exemptions - 4HDs each 90 or above). There were 3 actuarial students from the exam thread at Macq (six equivalent exemptions - 1HD (barely),3Ds,1CR).

And then you forget about the people who don't put a message in the exam thread =P

 

[CrashOveride]

does jacky poon also do math?

is he the guy you were referring to flyin when you said a while ago that you were upset because of some hotshot switiching to math =p

 

[RIZAL]

i agree with flyin' that it must be easier to get hd's in actuarial at unsw. i got a letter from Farmer saying I made the merit list with an 86 for acst200 (don't know my exact position but it is probably 12th or something). I wonder if an 86 at unsw would get you into the top 12? doubt it....

can you name this individual who keeps getting 99 in acst units (or do so via pm)? considering the merit list, there is only 1 person out of everyone doing undergrad actuarial at macquarie who could fit that description, and he wouldn't have done more than one second year acst unit.

also, there are exams you can sit if you don't get a credit. to say cos they can't get an exemption, they quit is not right.

anyway: it seems that at unsw, if you study (quantity) you're almost guarenteed ds and hds in actuarial. the difference with macquarie is that this isn't the case (of course, there are always a handful of exceptions).

perhaps the sample isn't random, but out of all the results from first semester on bos, there was only 1 hd (barely) for acst units in 2nd year here at mac, whereas there were 4 hds (solid, ie. 90s) for the same corresponding units at unsw.

 

[Raginsheep]

Maybe they just have a couple of extra smart ones at UNSW this year?

 

[lawforever]

i agree with flyin' that it must be easier to get hd's in actuarial at unsw. i got a letter from Farmer saying I made the merit list with an 86 for acst200 (don't know my exact position but it is probably 12th or something). I wonder if an 86 at unsw would get you into the top 12? doubt it....

is acst200 maths for finance ?

 

[CrashOveride]

is acst200 maths for finance ?

certainly is.

 

[lawforever]

i agree with flyin' that it must be easier to get hd's in actuarial at unsw. i got a letter from Farmer saying I made the merit list with an 86 for acst200 (don't know my exact position but it is probably 12th or something). I wonder if an 86 at unsw would get you into the top 12? doubt it....

Dunno how many ppl scored HD in UNSW. (so far i heard two 97s, one 98 and one 99)

 

[flamin']

Well if you got people able to get 97s 98s and 99s in a course it tells you one of two things:
a) the course is too easy
b) the students are too smart

Mathematics of Finance isn't really one of the super-hard ACST units either. For 2004 at Macq, the person who topped 200 got 92 I think. I got 88 and I got merit list. And anyone who knows the lecturer, knows he teaches well and doesn't set weak exams (except for the 2005 one which I heard wasn't that bad).

I prefer a harder course anyway. Having a very easy subject just means those that are really bright can become average just because of a stupid mistake in the final. Marks that are like 99, 98, 97 probably just say that the course is easier. Seeing the top marks spread out like 92, 88, 86, says that the course is harder.

Or it could just mean that UNSW are more lenient since they don't negative mark.

 

[§eraphim]

i think the marks are assigned by rank (so the top guy gets 99, 98 goes to 2nd place, etc).

 

[lawforever]

Well if you got people able to get 97s 98s and 99s in a course it tells you one of two things:
a) the course is too easy
b) the students are too smart

Mathematics of Finance isn't really one of the super-hard ACST units either. For 2004 at Macq, the person who topped 200 got 92 I think. I got 88 and I got merit list. And anyone who knows the lecturer, knows he teaches well and doesn't set weak exams (except for the 2005 one which I heard wasn't that bad).

I prefer a harder course anyway. Having a very easy subject just means those that are really bright can become average just because of a stupid mistake in the final. Marks that are like 99, 98, 97 probably just say that the course is easier. Seeing the top marks spread out like 92, 88, 86, says that the course is harder.

Or it could just mean that UNSW are more lenient since they don't negative mark.

It has been said already that the marking systems of two unis are different. The financial maths course is not easy in UNSW. Those 99 s are not the raw mark you get directly in the exam. They consider your rank and scale your raw marks like 4unit maths HSC. This means if you come 1st in the whole year, you should be able to get at least 95.

BTW, the ppl got above 95s are all genius students like Timmy and Seraphim.