BCom Actuarial, UMEP Maths, MAST20009 Vector Calculus

[stolenclay]

• Bachelor of Commerce, Actuarial Studies major
• MAST10013 UMEP Mathematics (VCE)
• MAST20009 Vector Calculus (1st Year Semester 1)

Has anyone tried doing that combination of subjects before?

I believe it's supposed to be possible, but my student centre isn't helping so much.

I did UMEP maths last year as part of VCE. After results, I got a letter outlining possible first year maths/stats subjects for UMEP maths students planning to do a bachelor at UoM.

Footnote says there's additional reading required, because there's some material in Accelerated Mathematics 2 that won't have been covered.

My grade was high enough for the second option, i.e. Vector Calculus in Semester 1, Accelerated Mathematics 2 in Semester 2. Trying to do this via the enrolment system doesn't work, because I haven't completed Accelerated Mathematics 2 as a prerequisite.

I went to get an approval form from the Department of Maths and Stats to hand in to the Commerce Student Centre, only for the person there to say something about not being able to do Level 2 subjects without completing a semester of Level 1 subjects, or something along those lines; I forget.

Has anyone been in the same situation and resolved it?

[abcdqd]

The rule is that you have to pass 50 points of level 1 subjects before you move onto a level 2 subject, and they are reallllyyy strict on this. I also had permission from a subject coordinator to do a level-2 subject but they withdrew me after I enrolled in it. You could try to make an appointment with them and explain how you can only fill up your semester 1 slots (to leave a free slot somewhere down the track) by doing Vector Calc, or something along those lines. They'll only waive the requirements if you have a passable reason for wanting to doing the subject during that exact semester, and good scores for VCE and your Uni subject (you don't even need to worry about that part lol).

[~T]

^Yeah you're right, but I'm pretty sure that UMEP kids are exempted from that for Vector Calculus (as you can see in the photo that stolenclay posted).

I'm pretty confident you should be fine. Admittedly, however, the only people who I have heard that were allowed to do this were in Science degrees :/ Did you take in that letter when you went to see the Head of Maths?

i know that a (relatively) large number of students who do umep math in year twelve do vector calc in first year sem1 (without having to go through the science student centre or anything) so im pretty sure theyre pretty lenient with the 50 points of study thing.

[lzxnl]

I personally was able to enroll in a level 2 science subject myself after not having the necessary 50 points of level 1 yet (although I could make an argument to say that I do have 50 points). I emailed the Science Student Centre with the necessary emails from the subject coordinators and they removed the prerequisites on those chemistry subjects.

Although to be honest, the first time around I did have someone tell me (rather unhelpfully) that I wasn't allowed to do level 2 subjects for that same reason. The next time I asked, that problem magically vanished.

[stolenclay]

Hey guys; thanks for the replies.

They'll only waive the requirements if you have a passable reason for wanting to doing the subject during that exact semester

If I may ask, did you end up successfully getting permission to do your Level 2 subject in first semester?

And if you did...

... who did you speak with to waive the requirement, and what kind of reason did you have? (Hopefully it's not too personal a question or anything.)

I'm just interested in knowing whether they're looking for a more logistical reason. Obviously I have a big interest in mathematics and have demonstrated some ability in the area, but overloading less subjects is a pretty big reason for me too. I'm planning to complete a concurrent Diploma in Mathematical Sciences, and I would need to overload at some stage during my BCom degree, so doing Vector Calculus in 1st Year Semester 1 would allow me to overload less subjects.

Admittedly, however, the only people who I have heard that were allowed to do this were in Science degrees :/

I emailed the Science Student Centre with the necessary emails from the subject coordinators and they removed the prerequisites on those chemistry subjects.

Heh, I bet if I was doing a Science degree it'd be a lot easier.

Did you take in that letter when you went to see the Head of Maths?

Yeah. Well it wasn't the Head of Maths, but the person who signed my approval form acknowledged that this was a possible path for UMEP maths students doing BCom Actuarial when I showed the letter.

This is probably something that I have to deal with more on the Commerce side, but I really didn't think it'd be this difficult.

[scribble]

i know an actuarial student who did vector calc sem1 after umep in vce so it should be allowed.
i also know a science student who did the same.

[stolenclay]

All sorted. It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. Thanks for all the help.

The real problem is that this pathway isn't very known. The maths people who I saw to get an approval form actually said that themselves, so people outside the maths department probably won't be aware of it.

Anyway, it was probably partly my fault for not being clear enough when I went to the student centre the first time, but for anyone who tries to do this in the future, just explain that you're aware of the requirement to have completed 50 points of Level 1 before enrolling in a Level 2 subject, show them the letter that the UMEP people send you, and explain that it is a completely legitimate option to take MAST20009 in 1st year semester 1.

I didn't end up having to see any other people; the person at the student centre counter took my letter (to consult someone higher up, I'm guessing) to verify if it was possible to take it in 1st year semester 1, and then added it to my study plan.