Actuarial Studies with a Concurrent Diploma

[AzureBlue]

Yep applied I went to the info session today and decided I wasn't suitable for Pure Maths. All those proofs and questions sounded too much like Linear Algebra *shudder*

OK. I'll probably do pure if I choose to do economics (even though economics involved applied maths). It sounds so good! Otherwise, just standalone actuarial, not worth adding an extra year when I've also got the JD.

Pure Mathematics
Are you the sort of person who finds the elegance of mathematics attractive?
Do you enjoy proving seemingly useless but nevertheless interesting results?
If you answered yes to these questions, then pure maths may be the way forward
for you.
In the pure maths specialisation, more than any other, you’ll discover why
maths is regarded as an art as well as a science (though, quite possibly, only
mathematicians put it like this). Pure mathematics is about studying the underlying
concepts that make all maths work. And besides that, it’s just really
cool stuff.
The variety of material in the pure maths specialisation makes it particularly
interesting. You’ll find out that solving polynomials isn’t just as simple as
using the quadratic formula. In fact, you’ll even see why there is no quintic
formula. You’ll discover that a punctured torus (a donut surface with a hole
in it) is essentially the same as two circles joined at a point. Just don’t tell any
bakers that one, it may blow their minds and result in some strange looking
donuts later on. These are just tiny fragments of what you’ll learn studying
pure maths, but just as a small warning, this specialisation is not for the faint
of heart.

Applied Mathematics
Do you really like formulae? Would you like to see how maths can be used in
the real world? And most importantly, do you really really like calculus? If the
answers to these questions are yes, then you should be looking into applied
maths.
Applied mathematics is about trying to model complicated systems and then
poking around with the inputs to see how things change under certain conditions.
Applied mathematics has applications in just about every field you
can think of. In the applied maths specialisation, you learn techniques and
skills that will enable you to solve certain types of equations which commonly
crop up in the real world, such as modeling river flows or how human cells
reproduce. Just be prepared for a lot of calculus.

Probability, Statistics and Stochastic Processes
You see statistics all the time. Figures, percentages and ratios are thrown up all
the time in the modern world. But do you ever wonder how meaningful these
numbers are? When you play a card game, do you ever wonder, “well that
was unlikely, but exactly how unlikely was it?” We all know that smoking is
bad for you, but how exactly do you prove this? If these are things that you’ve
wondered about, then you should be looking into probability, statistics and
stochastic processes.
In probability you’ll learn how to calculate the probability of certain events
happening, and study various distributions occurring naturally in the real
world. An important use of probability is its application to statistics and
stochastic processes. In statistics you’ll learn how to properly analyse a data
set. By creating statistical models you’ll be able to test the effects of certain
variables on others. Stochastic processes is about modeling random processes
that occur in the world. For example, you can model the number of people
who walk into a shopping centre. You can even attempt to make money by
modeling financial markets, though personally I wouldn’t recommend this off
just your undergraduate subjects.

Discrete Mathematics and Operations Research
So we all spend plenty of time bagging our the government for being slow,
inefficient, wasteful, or more often than not all of the above. But how would
you make it better? Do you spend time thinking about how you could make
processes faster, more efficient and just better in general? If these questions
appeal to you, then you should be looking into discrete mathematics and operations
research.
This specialisation is all about decision making. And decision making is hard.
Just think about a can of baked beans, and the path it travels from the farm
where the original beans are grown, to your dinner plate. There’s at least a
dozen different processes that have to happen before it reaches you. Now the
question is, what’s the best way to do this? You’d want to reduce time, but also
costs, and then on top of that increase quality. All of a sudden your choices
aren’t all so clear cut. Operations research deals with these sorts of issues in
a scientific manner to help with decision making. And with society becoming
more complex, and processes becoming more numerous, there’s no doubt this field is important.

[TrueTears]

But yeah do a concurrent course in maths way better than a diploma in music

Pure or applied? I'm guessing pure is more enjoyable, and applied is more useful (hence the 'applicable')?

pure for sure, it's actually more helpful for actuarial studies, the problem solving connects nicely with actuarial studies. (in my actuarial exam a few days ago there was a hard problem solving Q required a bit of combinatorial thinking too lol)

besides pure maths is where all maths comes from! without pure there will be no applied!

[AzureBlue]

pure for sure, it's actually more helpful for actuarial studies, the problem solving connects nicely with actuarial studies. (in my actuarial exam a few days ago there was a hard problem solving Q required a bit of combinatorial thinking too lol)

Yeah, pure definitely sounds better - I love problem solving!

[Ilovemathsmeth]

APPLIED all the way! YAY it's got more Calculus (I'm really obsessed with Calculus stuff, how amazing are differential equations?)

[TrueTears]

lol DE's... for me they're as robotic as maths can get

[Ilovemathsmeth]

So you don't like them ?

They were so fun when we did them. Now we're doing functions of 2 variables, AWESOME stuff

[TrueTears]

I like all areas of maths, but i guess you can say they're not that interesting lol, I mean what's the fun of applying the same method over and over again to each class of different DE's it gets boring and plus i doubt most people who compute DE's appreciate the beauty of how the methods of solving it was derived it's the same with multivariable calculus, i love to see how double integrals and triple integrals and the 'formulas' for computing them are derived (the hardwork!) but then applying them over and over again using the same tactics gets boring.

but say for example... graph theory! every question is different, there's no set tactic, to do a question you must understand the fundamentals of how some of the most famous theorems are derived (euler's formula~) and it never gets boring

anyways whatever floats you boat! if DE's are interesting for you then enjoy them!!!

[Russ]

Never took maths past 1st year, but I agree with the DE. Everyone in my class freaked out over them and I swear to god I was standing there going "but it's the same thing".

I guess if you don't like/understand the method they'd be annoying though.

[Gloamglozer]

Yep applied I went to the info session today and decided I wasn't suitable for Pure Maths. All those proofs and questions sounded too much like Linear Algebra *shudder*

Ah, so you were the first one who asked Christine a question at the end of the session.

Real Analysis with Applications is the subject with rigorous proofs I heard, and it's pretty much compulsory if you want to do a diploma.

[Ilovemathsmeth]

Yep I was - very observant of you. I was wearing a white sweater

[tram]

1) Re the dip mus:Techincally you overload and do 1.5. extra subjects per semester. The '1' subject is an ensemble and  the '0.5' subjects is your half hours music lesson per week. So really it's not too much of a time commitment. For the dip mus, you can only take two academic music subjects (ie. subject like music theory or the history of music) as breath that will count towards the diploma anyway, so the limited number of breath subjects in the act stud. degree isn't a problem. Hence the dip mus won't add an extra year to your degree.

2)

APPLIED all the way! YAY it's got more Calculus (I'm really obsessed with Calculus stuff, how amazing are differential equations?)

Wooooooo applied all the way!!!!

So you don't like them ?

They were so fun when we did them. Now we're doing functions of 2 variables, AWESOME stuff

Mulivarible calculus is AWESOME, esp multiple integrals

[Ilovemathsmeth]

wait you've done them...already???

[AzureBlue]

wait you've done them...already???

UMEP Maths, maybe?

[Ilovemathsmeth]

I thought they did other stuff in Uni Maths :S Like sequences and more like pure maths?

[tram]

wait you've done them...already???

UMEP Maths, maybe?

yeah, ummm topics we're done:

- Numbers and proof
- Matricies
- Systems of equations (matrix heaven)
- Complex numbers (complex exponential)
- Vectors (dot, cross and tripple product)
- Functions of several varible ( planes, lines in three d)
- multivatible calculus (partial derivatives, multiple integrals)
- Vector spaces (linear dependence/ in dependence, defintions, linear transformations, eigenvectors) MASSIVE UNIT

That's just a general rundown of what we cover in umep, linear algebra/pure mathsy stuff defintely is empasised in the course..... vector spaces...... *dies*

Oh and they've taken out all that sequencea and series stuff out of the course.....