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Actuarial studies vs com/laws vs commerce (liberal studies) (1 Viewer)

Reneranger1

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Hey guys I really need some help to clarify and correct my current situation.

I'm doing commerce/economics and unsw and want to transfer in second year ( the degree is to mundane IMO). I want to enter the Hedge fun/investment banking area btw. Here are a few of my options


-option 1: drop com and pick up actuarial studies. Problem is that I did Math.Gen ( yes I know ), so it means that's I have a year to learn mx2 and concurrently study for uni and achieve a wam of 75 plus 80 in two math courses. Number one option though. I find the combination very appealing

-option 2: drop eco and pick up law. Problem is that I have selected 3 courses this semester since I only need 6 to transfer into option 1. But law requires 8. So I would have to do 5 in sem 2. Plus the idea of law I don't know if it correlates to my area ^

-option 2: transfer into com liberal studies at usyd. This is like commerce on steroids and allows three majors. So the areas I'm looking at are fin maths, business analytics and finance. So maths is inevitable (I do like it btw). Only need a credit average to transfer.

Please give some advice on what I should do. Thanks so much!!
 

a19901213

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First of all, don't go Usyd, you'll regret for doing it

If you're pursuing for a career in hedge/investment bank then law/comm is probably best option among these three. I'm not really sure about how actuarial does in terms of entering IB industry but a law degree with good grade sounds most secure way.
 

erckle999

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Quantitative skills are the most important thing if you want to get into trading/hedge funds. Therefore actuarial > liberal studies (with financial maths etc) > comm/law. If you want to get into M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) then perhaps comm/law is more appropriate.
 

Reneranger1

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If I do follow the Com/Law pathway, can I enrol in 5 subjects in second semester??
 

Reneranger1

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Plus do you think it is possible to learn mx1 and mx2 within the year and be able to do ok in actuarial next year?
 

Jay123

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Hey guys I really need some help to clarify and correct my current situation.

I'm doing commerce/economics and unsw and want to transfer in second year ( the degree is to mundane IMO). I want to enter the Hedge fun/investment banking area btw. Here are a few of my options


-option 1: drop com and pick up actuarial studies. Problem is that I did Math.Gen ( yes I know ), so it means that's I have a year to learn mx2 and concurrently study for uni and achieve a wam of 75 plus 80 in two math courses. Number one option though. I find the combination very appealing

-option 2: drop eco and pick up law. Problem is that I have selected 3 courses this semester since I only need 6 to transfer into option 1. But law requires 8. So I would have to do 5 in sem 2. Plus the idea of law I don't know if it correlates to my area ^

-option 2: transfer into com liberal studies at usyd. This is like commerce on steroids and allows three majors. So the areas I'm looking at are fin maths, business analytics and finance. So maths is inevitable (I do like it btw). Only need a credit average to transfer.

Please give some advice on what I should do. Thanks so much!!
Do you fine comm/eco mundane? I'm doing comm/engo atm and i'm already sick of it since im doing just engineering courses atm, (Physics is horrible). I also want to pursue a career in investment banking and most people say comm/law makes you really attractive to employers.
 

Reneranger1

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It's just that when I ask people what they're doing more often than not its commerce and something. That's what I'm afraid of like not being able to distinguish myself from the rest. So com/law does sounds appealing now.
 

Jay123

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Although one person has advised against it, I do know someone who went to usyd and picked up law at the end of his first year then dropped it because he didnt like it. He did just commerce, and still went to follow pretty successful career paths, he is in his third year btw.
 

Reneranger1

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Ahh I see. What are you planning on doing? Like keep your same combination or transfer?
 

Jay123

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Ahh I see. What are you planning on doing? Like keep your same combination or transfer?
Definitely transfer, i never had any intent on doing engineering, esp since I only did 2u math in high school. I was kind of pressured into engineering, my first pref was comm/eco for a while. I can handle math 1131 for the moment which is the main level of math for engineers and other related fields, but physics is a really big jump from high school, esp with Joe Wolfe who goes through lectures pretty fast. Physics has just put me off. If by some chance i can pull off a wam above 80 i'll try for comm/law, otherwise i might settle for comm/eco.
 

Ayoo

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Reneranger, unless you want to do trading or hardcore quant (which u probs need to go overseas and get 1st class honours to get a job) I would highly suggest against doing actuarial or maths heavy majors.
This is because
1)for ib getting a good wam (82 plus for duration of degree) in econ/finance (plus other activities) is good enough to get u interviews which is what ur degree is important for.
2)u did general maths- I'm not sure if u've talked to many actuarial students around. Most got E4 in 4u maths and many would tell u that actuarial maths is realllly hard. The risk of doing a maths heavy major does IMO is simply not worth it for u.
If u wanna do com law I would suggest u go and ask the school if u can pick up another subject for this sem- cause overloading is not only really hard to achieve good wam, they might not even give it to you.
 

Cleavage

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As someone who wants to go into M&A, studying Actl/Comm

I wish I could transfer to Comm/Law haha

As everybody has said, it tends leads to modelling/trading careers, rather than proper M&A (obviously there are exceptions). It's also incredibly maths intensive, I don't think it's for someone who did MX1, let alone General.

Try to get a ~80 wam, and then consider a transfer to Comm/Law, but know it's going to take a hit to your wam, which is important for getting into interviews.
 

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