Which uni is better for actuarial studies, and why? (1 Viewer)

[Velocifire]

Original Poster:

^

Idk but for me I just find the travel to UNSW more convenient so if I make it I'll go there

 

[jimmysmith560]

Both universities are good with respect to the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies, so you cannot possibly go wrong either way. I believe quickoats and icycledough once mentioned that the degree is structured slightly better at MQ than it is at UNSW, although that may come down to personal preference.

With respect to the other components, i.e. the Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW and the Bachelor of Applied Finance at MQ, relevance is likely to be a key factor here. A Bachelor of Applied Finance is likely to focus primarily on finance, unlike a Bachelor of Commerce, where finance is one of many areas of study. You should consider which of these 2 components is likely to be more beneficial alongside the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies with respect to your career.

Another factor which is not directly related to the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies but still relevant in terms of convenience which you may wish to consider is the fact that MQ has semesters whereas UNSW has trimesters.

I hope this helps!

 

[BLIT2014]

How close are you to each of the Universities travel-wise?

 

[jimmysmith560]

Original Poster:

Ty for your reply!!

Which degree do you think would be better to couple actuarial studies with, which would put me in a better position in terms of job prospects: applied finance or commerce?

No worries!

It ultimately depends on your career aspirations. One can establish that actuarial studies and applied finance are related fields of study, meaning that MQ's Bachelor of Actuarial Studies/Bachelor of Applied Finance could connect well together should you aim to find employment where knowledge and skills gained from completing this double degree program would be beneficial. I believe this would apply to actuary and actuary-related roles. As a graduate, you may not secure an actuary position, although you may have access to employment opportunities relevant to data analytics and risk management, as these are also areas of increasing employment for actuarial graduates.

One can also establish that the MQ program may limit you to gaining knowledge and skills that are solely relevant to economics/finance, thus preventing you from accessing employment opportunities in other areas of business should the need arise. Of course, this may not be the case, and you are likely to end up in a job relevant to the program that you have completed. At the end of the day, factors such as academic performance (i.e. results + GPA/WAM) in addition to any relevant work experience gained throughout your time at university (through internships for example) are important as they allow you to demonstrate to a potential employer that you are a suitable candidate and will render you more competitive when applying for jobs. The Bachelor of Commerce, being a multifaceted degree, allows you to go beyond economics/finance depending on your own study interests and career aspirations. This may subsequently enable you to enlarge your job prospects, as you may consequently gain knowledge and skills to work in not only actuary/actuary-related roles, but also in roles that are consistent with the area of study that you choose as part of the Bachelor of Commerce.

 

[quickoats]

MQ is better organised and structured tbh especially with UNSW having trimesters. I believe at UNSW, you'll have a few terms where you don't have actuarial units, and some where you might be doing a few, rather than having it consistently spread out. Also, the length of a semester just allows things to soak in a bit better.

Another + of MQ is that you start your intro actuarial unit in your first terms so you have a better understanding of what it actually entails (and whether you choose to progress with it or not). The shorter travel time is a bonus and I don't think there's much of a reason for you to go to UNSW if it is going to take you 2 hours to get to.

 

[icycledough]

To be honest, I don't have anything else to add which hasn't already been said. The main advantage of each would be more double degree options at UNSW (6 to be precise; Commerce, Economics, Science, Advanced Mathematics, Computer Science and Information Systems). However, Macquarie seems to have the better structure, which I would also argue is definitely important. I can only speak from UNSW's perspective. It does look like though that more is in your favour for Macquarie (less travel time and a better structure which introduces the actuarial component earlier).

 

[quickoats]

Original Poster:

Yep those perfectly sum up the advantages for Macquarie, I'm leaning towards UNSW a bit more only for two reasons though: 1) It is a Go8 university (which employees tend to favour? not sure) and 2) The career options are much more diverse if I do actuarial alongside commerce, so I can do something else like investment banking if I can't land an actuarial job, which is what @jimmysmith560 has mentioned. Any thoughts?

Go8 means nothing - definitely not an ivy league sorta thing. mq is very reputable for actuarial (much more established degree)


Jimmy is right in the fact that the possible career options are a bit more diverse (I wouldn't say much unless you do some completely different commerce major e.g. accounting or HR or real estate etc) but if you're looking in that sort of financial space, it's much of a muchness and they'll open the same doors. BActl BCom (Major in finance) is going to be pretty much the same as BActl BAppFin. Investment bank jobs are probably going to have much higher requirements than grad actl jobs.

 

[quickoats]

Original Poster:

Ah ok, so what kind of requirements are they? Is it a particular degree you have to do?

No particular degree but Comm/Law is the main one i think? +HD WAM etc. Someone who works in investment banking from an actuarial degree would probably have gotten an actuarial role and IB isn't their backup.

 

[BLIT2014]

Original Poster:

MQ is roughly an hour away whereas UNSW is like two hours (by public transport)

Ranking-wise, Macquarie is better for Actuarial studies, has a better set out course, and has been running it for longer, and has higher industry prestige. Another benefit is the semester (Macquarie) versus the trimester course system,it is harder for subjects to be covered in sufficient depth under a trimester system.

In saying this, if the commute times were reversed I would be inclined to suggest you go to UNSW as prestige is fairly similar and commuting is a draining activity.