Math…. A guilty pleasure for many, And to others, an absolute parasite. Whether we like it or not, we have math all around us in some form or the other. While calculating taxes to calculating bus fares, we need some kind of math. Alot of HSC students do however opt to drop out of math for the HSC. It depends on their personal preferences on what they plan on doing at university. However a lot of students do not realise that many degrees in Australia do infact need math as a prerequisite. Hence in order to help HSC students have an idea of when you need math at Uni, here is a list of degrees that require math in your ATAR.
Bachelor of Engineering
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Economics
Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Education in Mathematics
Bachelor of Veterinary Science
Bachelor of Veterinary Biology
Bachelor of Medical Science
Bachelor of Psychology
Bachelor of Pharmacy
Bachelor of Information Technology
Bachelor of Computer Science
Bachelor of Pharmacy and Management
Bachelor of Law combined with Engineering, Science, Economics or Commerce amongst others.
Most universities until recently allowed high school graduates to enrol in courses that required a math prerequisite. This was under the condition that students would complete the university’s math bridging course in order to fit the mathematic requirements commanded by the course. However, the federal government has recently asked universities to make it compulsory for high school graduates to have completed maths. This was to ensure that Australia had a high number of graduates with critical thinking skills. Following this, few universities have implemented the strict requirement of math starting this year for a wide variety of courses.
Some courses such as Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Art definitely do not need math (unless they are a combined degree). So unless you are absolutely sure that you are going to follow such a path, it is always a good idea to atleast do General Mathematics in the HSC. Also, always check the UAC manual to ensure you fit the requirements for university admissions before deciding on subjects! Talk to someone, either a high school teacher or counsellor to ensure that you are not missing out on anything! If there are other courses that require math as a prerequisite, you are welcome to let us know. Good luck with your university admissions and until next time, Peace out!
