ATAR Notes: Forum
Uni Stuff => Science => Faculties => Mathematics => Topic started by: AFL on May 22, 2015, 07:35:19 pm
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Which uni do you guys think would be better for a mathematics/statistics major? I've realised that RMIT has a more direct maths/stats course where every subject taken throughout the entire 3 years is maths/stats related, whereas Melbourne's course is more of a generalist science degree, having to take other area subjects alongside the maths/stats subjects. Now I know that Melbourne is more prestigious and all, but from the out look, it seems as if RMIT offer the better course. Also just to point it out; yes I have considered Monash but it is way too far from my area for my liking and I've decided not to go there. Thanks in advance :)
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Don't let prestiege influence you. So many other factors will make a much larger difference to your university experience than prestiege. So many more factors will make a difference to your employability, particularly in the field of mathematics.
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Thanks for the reply :). Can you please be a little more specific about
So many more factors will make a difference to your employability, particularly in the field of mathematics.
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Seems like no one knows much about this area :-\
I currently am a melb uni student, but I've got an offer from RMIT for mid year entry. But I just CANNOT decide whether to accept it. Would love some advice, please everyone.
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I did Bachelor of Science (Statistics) at RMIT for a year before transferring to Melbourne Uni.
At RMIT, you get very little choice in terms of what subjects you do. Most of your degree is structured for you. At Melbourne, you get a lot more choices and they make you do more breadth subjects.
At RMIT, they force everyone to do Calculus 1. Even if you got a 50 in VCE specialist maths, they'll still make you do Calc 1. At Melbourne, they let you skip to Calculus 2 if you got a 27+ in spesh and Accelerated Maths 1 if you got a 38+ in spesh, so there's a lot more freedom for a stronger maths student who wants to skip ahead.
The assessments are easier at RMIT. For example, the exams tend to go for 2 hours at RMIT compared to 3 hours at Melbourne. Also, the exams are usually only worth 50-60% at RMIT (some subjects don't even have exams), whereas Melbourne exams tend to be worth 70-80%, which makes it much more difficult and stressful.
Also, the assessment at RMIT isn't treated that seriously. For example, in Calculus 2 at RMIT, we had 10 weekly tests worth 4% each and an exam worth 60%. In the weekly tests, you were allowed and even encouraged to "discuss answers" with other classmates and the tutors would walk around helping people. So basically everyone shared answers. It was ridiculous - an easy 40% for anyone who showed up to class and copied answers off other people. At Melbourne Uni, the tutors take tests much more seriously. You really need to earn your marks at Melbourne Uni.
The average lecturer seems to be much better at Melbourne Uni compared to the average lecturer at RMIT, plus the facilities are so much better and the campus is so much more amazing (some of the buildings at RMIT, particularly the engineering buildings, look like they need to be demolished).
If you're planning on doing maths or statistics, I would choose Melbourne Uni over RMIT in a heartbeat.
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Thank you for a great response. I know it seems cheap and all, but aren't easy assessments and always scoring high a good thing?
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Just depends on what you want to get out of your degree, I suppose?
(Though easy assessments can definitely be a good thing sometimes... but they can also be a bad thing lol)
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Statistician, data scientist, data analyst, something along those lines
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probs best to just stay at melb do the three years then do a master in science (Mathematics and Statistics) focused in Statistics and Stochastic Processes