Stuck on University Decision (1 Viewer)

[anotherrandomusername]

I have spent the past few months trying to make a decision about whether I should enrol in University of Melbourne or ANU for an undergraduate degree next year but I am still stuck so I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts. I would be an interstate student from QLD hopefully staying on-campus.

At University of Melbourne, I would study a Bachelor of Science, probably majoring in Mathematical Physics. However, I am not entirely sure of my major so I would probably put off deciding that for as long as possible. I believe I would be eligible for a Chancellor's scholarship which covers tuition (around 7k/year) + 10k/year in living allowances. However, I have heard opinions that UniMelb isn't the best for undergraduate degrees because, by the time you have finished, you haven't really specialised much in a specific area.

At ANU, I would probably study a Bachelor of Philosophy (Science). This degree focuses more on research I believe, which I have an interest in. I have also heard that ANU is good for physics, which I am interested in. I am also leaning a bit more towards ANU because I have heard that it is easier to make friends due to the large interstate cohort and nature of the phb program. However, the scholarship is somewhat less than that of UniMelb (12k/year) so it may be a bit harder to support myself financially.

On-campus accomodation at both would be relatively the same cost due to other support so I am not really taking this into consideration too much.

In terms of my plans, after university, I have not fully decided yet. I have enjoyed physics/maths in high school and heard that they are good general degrees that can open a lot of doors (eg. finance/further science research)), so I have decided to pursue these topics.

Overall, I think I would prefer ANU based on what I have heard about each. However, I wan't sure if the difference between the two (if there was one) was great enough to justify the potential financial difference (around 4k/year cheaper at melbourne). Sorry if this is not the right place to ask these sorts of questions or if the information I gave is not really sufficient, but I would greatly appreciate any advice (even it is small). Thanks!

 

[cossine]

heard that they are good general degrees that can open a lot of doors (eg. finance/further science research)),

I have just type physicist on seek. Only 11 jobs came up. I also tried searching scientist. However a lot of them had other skills involved e.g. medical.

 

[liamkk112]

I have spent the past few months trying to make a decision about whether I should enrol in University of Melbourne or ANU for an undergraduate degree next year but I am still stuck so I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts. I would be an interstate student from QLD hopefully staying on-campus.

At University of Melbourne, I would study a Bachelor of Science, probably majoring in Mathematical Physics. However, I am not entirely sure of my major so I would probably put off deciding that for as long as possible. I believe I would be eligible for a Chancellor's scholarship which covers tuition (around 7k/year) + 10k/year in living allowances. However, I have heard opinions that UniMelb isn't the best for undergraduate degrees because, by the time you have finished, you haven't really specialised much in a specific area.

At ANU, I would probably study a Bachelor of Philosophy (Science). This degree focuses more on research I believe, which I have an interest in. I have also heard that ANU is good for physics, which I am interested in. I am also leaning a bit more towards ANU because I have heard that it is easier to make friends due to the large interstate cohort and nature of the phb program. However, the scholarship is somewhat less than that of UniMelb (12k/year) so it may be a bit harder to support myself financially.

On-campus accomodation at both would be relatively the same cost due to other support so I am not really taking this into consideration too much.

In terms of my plans, after university, I have not fully decided yet. I have enjoyed physics/maths in high school and heard that they are good general degrees that can open a lot of doors (eg. finance/further science research)), so I have decided to pursue these topics.

Overall, I think I would prefer ANU based on what I have heard about each. However, I wan't sure if the difference between the two (if there was one) was great enough to justify the potential financial difference (around 4k/year cheaper at melbourne). Sorry if this is not the right place to ask these sorts of questions or if the information I gave is not really sufficient, but I would greatly appreciate any advice (even it is small). Thanks!

anu might give a lesser scholarship but i’m pretty sure they would have cheaper accomodation than melbourne, might have to look into that though.

you’re right in that bachelor of philosophy would be a straight research degree, if u take that i would say you are pretty much going to be ending up in research, ofc there is some flexibility but not as much as a science degree.

unimelb also implemented a new system where undergraduate degrees are all general, and postgraduate is now required to specialise, but for a bachelor of science it was already like that.

contrary to popular belief, yes a bachelor in physics / math can give you many opportunities. for example i believe one of the main people who was working on the uber system to find the optimal driver was a physicist, you’re really not restricted in terms of jobs. also finance is a big sector, as well as patent law, though obviously that requires a law postgraduate. however, just know that most physics and math bachelor majors will go on to do a masters or phd, just because it gives u much more opportunities, it’s not really like an engineering bachelor where u can probably get into all roles once u graduate (given experience of course). so i would say be prepared for at least a couple more years of study, but u can still get into many sectors without further study, finance, programming jobs especially.

imo go to anu for bachelor of philosophy if u want research, unimelb for industry, though i would say neither will lock u into a corner for the rest of ur life.

hope this helps : )