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March 29, 2024, 06:48:26 am

Author Topic: Scholarship vs No scholarship  (Read 1121 times)  Share 

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jkay__

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Scholarship vs No scholarship
« on: December 13, 2019, 09:25:57 pm »
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I'm a recent Year 12 graduate interested in doing Statistics + Computer Science. My original plan was to go to Melbourne and do a Bachelor of Science (Statisitcs) and do a Diploma of Computing to fulfill this, but I just received a scholarship offer from Monash (Vice Chancellor's Scholarship of Excellence), conflicting my entire viewpoint, and now I'm thinking of Bachelor of Science (Statistics) and Bachelor of Computer Science in Data Science.

Here are the pros and cons for each uni (for me):

UoM:
  • Said to be an AMAZING University for Statistics
  • 30-40 minutes of commute in CBD (for the entirety of my HS years I commuted to school but it's only been 20ish minutes in morning)
  • Majority of people I know going UoM (Not a huge factor)
  • MUCH more prestige (not a huge factor but it's there)

Monash:
  • Scholarship of 6k a year
  • 10ish minutes of commute
  • Also have some good mates coming here (50/50 between monash and melb on this side)
  • Statistics is not as good as UoM (they don't have you UNDERSTAND what you're doing, you are just doing)
  • Monash Computer Science has a bit of a reputation in Australia, but I'm not sure about this
  • More expensive (by around 1k)

Additional info - I am not planning on using 100% of my scholarship to pay off the student loan, but still a good amount. If I study for 4 years, I could pay around half or a little more of my student debt (I'm saving a bit for other equities, like rent or electricity)

I currently have Monash as Preference 1, but preferences close tomorrow at 4PM, and I'm really in a bind, as this decision will quite literally change my life. Which one should I do? I'm hoping for a Melbourne Access Scholarship which would give Melbourne solid footing, but my friend just received an offer so it seems highly unlikely I'll receive Melbourne Access currently.

It's basically Better Academics VS Better commute + Solid scholarship. If someone could share their opinion on this situation, that'd be amazing. I'm TORN on this
« Last Edit: December 13, 2019, 09:41:54 pm by jkay__ »
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DrDusk

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Re: Scholarship vs No scholarship
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2019, 10:02:18 pm »
+1
I'm a recent Year 12 graduate interested in doing Statistics + Computer Science. My original plan was to go to Melbourne and do a Bachelor of Science (Statisitcs) and do a Diploma of Computing to fulfill this, but I just received a scholarship offer from Monash (Vice Chancellor's Scholarship of Excellence), conflicting my entire viewpoint, and now I'm thinking of Bachelor of Science (Statistics) and Bachelor of Computer Science in Data Science.

Here are the pros and cons for each uni (for me):

UoM:
  • Said to be an AMAZING University for Statistics
  • 30-40 minutes of commute in CBD (for the entirety of my HS years I commuted to school but it's only been 20ish minutes in morning)
  • Majority of people I know going UoM (Not a huge factor)
  • MUCH more prestige (not a huge factor but it's there)

Monash:
  • Scholarship of 6k a year
  • 10ish minutes of commute
  • Also have some good mates coming here (50/50 between monash and melb on this side)
  • Statistics is not as good as UoM (they don't have you UNDERSTAND what you're doing, you are just doing)
  • Monash Computer Science has a bit of a reputation in Australia, but I'm not sure about this
  • More expensive (by around 1k)

Additional info - I am not planning on using 100% of my scholarship to pay off the student loan, but still a good amount. If I study for 4 years, I could pay around half or a little more of my student debt (I'm saving a bit for other equities, like rent or electricity)

I currently have Monash as Preference 1, but preferences close tomorrow at 4PM, and I'm really in a bind, as this decision will quite literally change my life. Which one should I do? I'm hoping for a Melbourne Access Scholarship which would give Melbourne solid footing, but my friend just received an offer so it seems highly unlikely I'll receive Melbourne Access currently.

It's basically Better Academics VS Better commute + Solid scholarship. If someone could share their opinion on this situation, that'd be amazing. I'm TORN on this
This is always a tough scenario to be in. Prestige vs scholarship.

Personally I would go with Monash just because looking at the rankings Monash is ranked 58th. This is a VERY good ranking in itself so the small difference in ranking between Melbourne and Monash is negligible. If Monash was ranked outside the top 100 I would've gone with Melbourne but the difference is so small and the fact that you have a scholarship in itself is a much better package.

Congrats on your scholarship btw!  =)

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Re: Scholarship vs No scholarship
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2019, 10:09:11 pm »
+1
Hey! So if I were in your shoes I would probably go for Monash for two main reasons. Firstly, you'll be coming out with just a BSci at UniMelb whereas you'd get both a BSci and CompSci degree at Monash. Also, I'm not sure about Melbourne but I know the IT Faculty at Monash assigns you to a 6-month placement during your degree so you won't have to do any searching. Honestly, reputation doesn't really matter in my opinion unless you're planning on doing a masters overseas since Monash and Melbourne are both of similar reputability within Australia. Secondly, you have a scholarship which will help you a lot in the long run. It may not seem that significant now, but you'll be thanking yourself soon enough. It's also like 75% less travel time allowing you to commit to other things. One of the main reasons why I've ended up choosing Monash is that I get to study a specialist degree and the travel time is much less. Also, my high school is on campus at Monash anyway so it's just easier transport wise. I personally would consider the time spent travelling.

6k a year is crazy good. That's like around $4k a year in total left to pay with CSP, right? I'm not sure how it would be more expensive other than it being a longer degree in total (but more qualifications!).

I'm not sure about statistics but I haven't heard the greatest things about Maths at Melbourne (this is just from my experience though so take it with a grain of salt). Maybe take a look at the unit reviews at Monash and Melbourne and decide from there? Monash has Burkard Polster though if that makes a difference lol (530k subs on youtube).

What I've heard is Melbourne is really good for reputation (law, commerce etc.) and postgrad and research but it's ultimately up to you and how you weigh the pros and cons. I'm pretty sure the ranking for Melbourne is so high because of their postgrad and research (correct me if I'm wrong).
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Tau

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Re: Scholarship vs No scholarship
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2019, 11:14:46 pm »
+2

Additional info - I am not planning on using 100% of my scholarship to pay off the student loan, but still a good amount. If I study for 4 years, I could pay around half or a little more of my student debt (I'm saving a bit for other equities, like rent or electricity)

Without weighing in on the Melbourne vs Monash decision to much (the above posts have raised some great points), I’d just like to mention something regarding paying off HECS early. From what I understand, the government used to provide an incentive for paying off HECS early by giving a supplementary contribution to your pay offs. I believe that is no longer the case, and that people no longer actually recommend doing so even if you can. Just thought I’d flag as it as something to consider.

Good luck with your decision, I hope that whatever you decide your happy with the outcome.
2020 - Bachelor of Science, The University of Melbourne

2019: UMEP Mathematics Extension [First Class Honours (H1)], English [44], Specialist [42 ~ 52], Algorithmics (HESS)
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