Actuarial Studies - HKU or Macquarie

albertpapa

Son of a friend was admitted to MAcquarie University to study Actuarial studies and he has just received admission notice from the HKU for the same major. Any advice on which university is better on Actuarial Studies?

mommyapple

Where does he intend to practice? And where did he study for secondary school?

Because as far as I know, you need to take a series of exams in order to be qualified in HK, so studying in HKU might be better if he intends to practice in HK. HKU's actuarial program is quite reputative yet very demanding, though I am not sure how Macquarie compares

albertpapa

The young man has been studying in Australia since secondary school and has actually started his undergraduate course in Macquaire. He is on the crossroad to decide whether to come back to HK to study in HKU or continue with his course in Macquaire.

It is true that there is a series of examinations to get through before he can hold out as an Actuary but this may not be the main issue as anybody has go through the same process should he wish to practice as an Actuary anywhere.

I think the issue he and his parents are thinking is whether Macquarie or HKU is a more suitable institution for his further education in terms of teaching quality, learning environment, reputation of the institution. And of course, closer to the family would definitely be an issue to his parents.

Therefore, the young man and his parents would like to hear sharing from those who have knowledge on the academic quality etc for Actuarial Studies in HKU and/or Macquarie to assist their decision.

Would like to hear more from any of you, thanks.

mommyapple

No doubt that HKU has a good reputation - actuarial science is one of the most difficult programmes to get into along with Medicine and Law. But if he has been studying in Aus, then I think he should stay in Macquarie as it might be a bit difficult for him to adjust to the intensive school environment in HK, especially in Actuarial Science since all the students are very competitive. I know a friend's daughter who did actuarial at HKU as well and she found it very demanding, even though she came from one of those traditional top local schools and entered the university through the Early Admission Scheme. It seems from her that the teaching quality is not very stable either, varying from each professor and course.
But if he thinks he can handle that, then I think he can still consider HKU due to its reputation