Struggling to decide course preferences even now that I have my vce results, mainly because I'm unsure of what unis to apply for, and what exact courses to go for. I want to do a course that involves programming, yet I see there's bachelor of science (major in it), bachelor of information technology, bachelor of computing and bachelor of software engineering at different unis and I'm unsure what the difference between them is. Also unsure of best uni for this, the only advice I have is swinburne>rmit, rmit bad.
And my relevant results for this are: Atar- 74.45, maths methods raw ss 23 (a lot of courses require a 25, not sure if there's leeway for 23 but I doubt it) And I received the 25/30 required for English. Also did SEAS category 1 and 3, (and received an email from rmit and monash about it) so I should have a better ATAR ranking score)
There's lots of options as each one focuses on slightly different things, although I think the ones you mentioned all include coding/ programming to some extent. In the courses you mentioned above, the focus is as follows:
Bachelor of Science (major in IT/ Computer Science) - a general course that will focus on IT/ Computer Science, but will allow you to take other subjects in science in general (e.g. get a minor in Chemistry, if you so wished) or even take subjects out of faculty (e.g. take Italian for fun). General degrees are typically known for their flexibility, but are less known for their specificity.
Bachelor of IT - less general than a Bachelor of Science, it focuses just on IT. Depending on where you go and what subjects you pick, you'll be able to hone in on the major and/or minors you pick. It usually has a lower prereq for maths, as IT doesn't focus on the maths-y parts, but this is usually a less hardcore version of Computer Science/ Software Development (according to a former Monash IT/Arts student).
Bachelor of Computing and
Bachelor of Software Engineering - My understanding of these is that these are genuinely the more hardcore ones with more programming/ coding and as a result, usually have the higher maths prerequisites.
The best uni for you is usually the one you're most comfortable with, but also should consider aspects important to you such as:
- convenience (especially for an undergrad degree)
- industry connections/ experience/ employability
- social atmosphere
- (to some people) reputation/prestige, although I feel this is one of the minor things you should look at for a uni, with some exceptions (wanting to go into research being the main culprit)
A good idea would be to check out some unis/ institutes you're interested in via the Change of Preference Days, which I've collated a general list
here.