Actuarial studies Melbourne VS Monash

[99.00]

So I'm undecided on which one I should put in first preference and I would like some advise from people who do either. I've been melbourne and attented an actuary lecture and I quite like the feel of UoM however I havnt been to Monash so I cannot compare. On one hand, Melbourne has of course more prestige and I also read somewhere that 80% of their commerce graduates find a job within 4 months of graduating. Is this anything to take into account (Is monash similar?). On the other hand, Monash offers a double degree with actuarial studies and I really think that having something like a bachelor of pure math would be a powerful combination. Btw I live very close to the city so obviously UoM would be more convinient in terms of travel. So which should I pick? What are your thoughts on both?

[tram]

well i'm biased but i genuinely think that Melbourne would be a better pick if you want to do actuarial.

1) You've mentioned the prestige of Melbourne, i'm generally not a huge fan of the melb/monash 'rivalry' but in this case there is a difference. The fact that the centre for actuarial studies has been around for a lot longer and is very well establish, and has a very favourable reputation. Monash was only recently accredited (only last year i believe) where as ALL of the all of the accredited subjects are offered and will get you part 1 and 2 exemptions if you do well enough.

2) Having a double degree can be good or bad, it depends what you want. It's good because you get a bit more of a breadth of experience, but having a two extra years of real work experience can be just as powerful, if not more powerful than having another degree, that's why i'm keen to get out and get some work experience and see what i like, i can always ( and i plan to) go back to uni one day to do a masters of something

3) Seeing as you'll have to be travelling for 5 years, travel is a very real factor, if Melbourne is closer, then it really will save you a lot of time over 5 years to choose the uni closer to you.

hope that helps!

[mziggz]

Hey, I happen to be in the unique situation of having gone to Monash for actuarial(albeit only a semester) and now at Melbourne for second semester. I live around 1-1.5 hours away from Monash via public transport compared to half an hour away to Melbourne. Both courses are fairly similar, yet as mentioned before Monash provides the double degree option.
 
I can't comment on later year subjects individually as I haven't done them for either uni. However I'll try provide some info from my experience.
Monash is only accredited for part 1 currently though having spoken to various sources it should be fully accredited soon(ie next year), while Melbourne is fully accredited and has been established for a while, being a seemingly reputable course. 

At monash you can do a double degree which can be paired up nicely with actuarial ie comm/science(any math major) combo, comm/eng etc. While at Melbourne you can't. This is the main reason why I had monash as my first preference. However there is always the possibility of doing a diploma of math within your actuarial course at melbourne.

Another factor is the marks needed for 'exemptions'. Exemptions from part 1 subjects from Monash (I think)require a distinction(70%) while at Melbourne they say requires around 73%. This may seem insignificant but given standard distributed marks this could make a difference in attaining exemptions for part 1 holding all else constant(ie subject difficulty at each uni etc)

I have been told Monash's program is planned to be more "hands on". Take this as you will. Though it seems as though this may be for individuals who prefer less theoretical work within actuarial. Not too sure what that would be like to be honest. In the end I switched to Melbourne due to travel time and haven't looked back.

From my experience Monash's program is extremely flexible with no required marks in individual subjects to simply continue with the course while at Melbourne Uni you must attain certain averages in first year maths subjects to continue with the actuarial program which may be detrimental to many students. The course is also more rigid with almost all subjects being chosen from the start of your program. For some however this is motivation with perhaps the "cream of the crop" therefore attending Melbourne giving you a great opportunity to stand out.

If you are serious about actuarial and attain great marks I feel you'll find a good job regardless of uni attended especially if you do parts 2 and 3, though Melbourne's seems to be more renowned than Monash. Also i'm not representing Monash or Melbourne on my behalf merely my opinions. Hope I was of some help! Also if there is something somebody feels is incorrect about this post please correct it and keep everyone informed!