few questions on acturial studies (1 Viewer)

[rajeenth]

hi
1) in order to do actuarial studies in UNSW do u need 2 go to an interview?
2) can a person with a uai of lower the 95 cope with acturial studies?
3) wat do u need 2 get in maths to do gud in the subject?
thanks

 

[darkwolfzx]

I am not a commerce student but note that high UAI cutoff =/= very difficult course. You could get a UAI of 78 and enter B science and get your ass kicked in physics.

AFAIK if you are going to have to do Math for Actuarial Studies then 3 unit math is the bare minimum

 

[rajeenth]

i got 93 for 3unit maths and 87 examination mark for 4 unit maths? will i be able to cope wid it. my uai was 93.3.

 

[darkwolfzx]

you'll be fine as long as you put in consistent effort yourself

 

[rajeenth]

is there anyone whos actually doing acturial studies witha a uai of less than 95 at the moment here

 

[tallkid34]

hi
1) in order to do actuarial studies in UNSW do u need 2 go to an interview?
2) can a person with a uai of lower the 95 cope with acturial studies?
3) wat do u need 2 get in maths to do gud in the subject?
thanks

First of all, I don't do actuarial but I'll say this,

Your UAI amounts to shit in terms of whether or not you'll cope in actuarial...

At the end of the day, actuarial is going to kick your ass if you don't put in 110% with all the programming and math crap they all have to do. As you probably know, actuarial is alot of difficult maths but from your HSC math scores, you can probably survive. It's also apparently got a high drop-out rate so just keep in mind that you will just have to work hard (maybe just to scrape by with passes).

Since you're focused on your newly released UAI, I have friends who got above 99 who just get by with credits or passes in the major. It really just depends on whether you can hack it for the next 3 or so years? If not, try finance because its a somewhat easier alternative to actuarial.

Last thing... I have to admit that your UAI is a bit low for the average actuarial student. They all tend to have 97+ uais...

 

[vasuu91]

hey i think it'll be best for u to go to the info day at unsw on the 6th there would be people there who are doing the course. we might be in the same course together next year!!! yay for actuarial studies!!!

 

[hollyy.]

i got 94.9 but i can get 5 bonus points, is it likely that ill get in? i did maths ext 1 and got 39, can i handle actuary?

 

[tallkid34]

i got 94.9 but i can get 5 bonus points, is it likely that ill get in? i did maths ext 1 and got 39, can i handle actuary?

Please don't choose a degree on the sole basis of a high UAI entry requirement....

If this isn't your case, then by all means, you can wait and find out next year. If actuarial doesnt work out for you, then at least you know....

 

[hollyy.]

Please don't choose a degree on the sole basis of a high UAI entry requirement....

what gave u that idea?

 

[vasuu91]

i got 94.9 but i can get 5 bonus points, is it likely that ill get in? i did maths ext 1 and got 39, can i handle actuary?

u'll get in for sure, highly unlikely that the cut off would go over 99.9
it is defo a hard course but as long as u put in the effort i think u'll be able to cope.

 

[wrong_turn]

i know of people who get uai's around 95 and are doing actuarial. just make note that it is a hard course like what tallkid pointed out

i got a 40 in 3u and i get killed in average maths

 

[tallkid34]

i know of people who get uai's around 95 and are doing actuarial.

If you're confident, study heaps and have a decent, intuitive grasp of maths, you'll get through it...

But to do really well in actuarial, you have to be really something...

I'll name 2 examples of some people I know who do this course.

A - A lovely, blond white girl who does actuarial co-op and lives, breathes and eats mathematics. Maths to her extends beyond a textbook and she can somehow apply this way of thinking to her other courses as well (I did micro 2 with her. She explained things in a way that was beyond the comprehension of my actual tutor and everyone else).

N - Stereotypical nerdy Asian guy with some typical high 99 UAI who gets HD's for his actuarial subjects. He studies, does whatever clever asians do to get their good marks, etc. However, on top of all this, he does a law degree as well. Actuarial/law is probably one of the hardest degrees available at UNSW....

 

[cyl123]

In regards to the questions (Ive only completed first year actuarial studies so I may be wrong on some points)

1) No interview required unless you are going for co-op program

2) I have plenty of friends with uai lower than 95 doing fine in actuarial studies (getting Ds, Cs, HDs - mind you they had pretty good marks in 4u and 3u maths). UAI indicates nothing in terms of difficulty of course and propensity to suceed in actuarial studies (As uai is heavily determined by english, which drags the uai down for ppl like me). Engineering is a lot more difficult than commerce in terms of workload (engo 20+ hours vs commerce ~12-14) and content (epic fail rate for first year mechanics- heard from a friend doing engineering)

3) Recommended total of 3u and 4u is around 180 - so rajeenth i reckon you should be able to cope with first year maths at least. Also, a lot of the stuff in Maths for Actuarial Studies (MATH1151/1251) is revision of 4u maths (integration, complex numbers). If you only did 3u, I would recommend at least E4 (highest band??) cos some of the stuff in maths can get pretty hectic.

The most important thing about doing actuarial studies is not the degree itself, its actually getting exemptions from Institute of Actuaries Australia. That mainly involves getting 70+ in all actuarial courses, which is rather diffucult. fortunately one does not have to excel to do so, and there are plenty of ways to get help in UNSW (an awesome institution ) such as Peer Support classes, where higher year students go over the stuff learnt in lectures and make sure you understand it.

Good luck in your uni applications

 

[rajeenth]

thanks a lot

 

[I Robot]

hi
1) in order to do actuarial studies in UNSW do u need 2 go to an interview?
2) can a person with a uai of lower the 95 cope with acturial studies?
3) wat do u need 2 get in maths to do gud in the subject?
thanks

I've completed actuarial studies major this year, with only a 3u maths background.

Things to be aware are-

Workload for an actuarial subject can consume around 75%+ of your study time before exams if you're doing 4 subjects every semester, ie, in conjunction with accounting/economics/finance courses.

There is a high load of content, and concepts can be difficult to grasp.
MATH1151/1251 are theory in nature, and are only partially relevant to later actuarial courses.

A 65% mark or above is a good indicator of doing well in actuarial courses. I averaged around the 55-70 mark, so i did not get all the exemptions required for Part I.

Essentially, be prepared to put many hours understanding the terminology and application of the course, and there are many many equations and formula which need to be readily used in appropriate situations.

Good Luck if you choose to venture down this path. Learning actuarial is definitely value for money if you want a good education in terms of cost.

 

[rajeenth]

is the job opportunity for the course high?

 

[proringz]

So, I'm seeing things here that Actuarial Studies is generally a difficult course. So let's say after a year (or less), you are finding it too difficult, is it easy to switch to another major eg. Finance or Accounting?

 

[Poad]

Just wondering - why would you do Actuarial Studies at UNSW when Macquarie seems a lot better for that area? Firstly, Macq's Actuarial program has been around for like 50 years, while UNSW's is <10, and if you do a double degree with Actuarial at Macquare then you get exemptions from Part 1 and 2 from the Actuary Institute thingo (as opposed to only getting a Part 1 exemption from UNSW).

 

[counterman]

if you do a combined degree such as engineering and commerce, can you major in actuary as part of the commerce degree ? can we major in one or two ? and does actuary complement, say, a civil engineering degree ?