Question on Result (1 Viewer)

[kurt.physics]

Hello,

I was reading that the University of Sydney requires a score in the ext. 2 HSC mathematics of 95% or more to get into the Special Studies Program (SSP)! How hard is it to get 95% in Ext 2.

Further more, how many people last year (2007) got more that 95% in Ext 2.

Thanks

 

[SoulSearcher]

From the UAC statistics (one of which is found here at http://www.uac.edu.au/pubs/pdf/2007_table_A3.pdf), 10% of the course candidature in extension 2 mathematics got 95/100 or more, which is around 300 students in 2007.

For the first question, it really depends on your level of talent and the amount of work you put into extension 2 maths. But I won't generalise, I really didn't do that much work for the subject all year round

 

[YannY]

Heaps of people get 95% after scaling. In 2006 28.71% of the state got 90% above - i dunno about 2007 so yeah. 3155 people did the course. So im guessing around 10% (315 people) would get a score of 95% or above. Which shows that its quite easy to get 95% if you're dedicated. This is however just an estimate.

By the way, whats "special studies program"?

 

[SoulSearcher]

I'm assuming he's talking about the Talented Students Program that the University of Sydney offers, http://www.science.usyd.edu.au/fstudent/undergrad/tsp/index.shtml.

 

[Trebla]

It does require some talent to get 95 or above in Mathematics Extension 2. You really have to know your concepts and be able to apply them efficiently and logically.

I'm assuming he's talking about the Talented Students Program that the University of Sydney offers, http://www.science.usyd.edu.au/fstud...sp/index.shtml.

Nope, Special Studies Program for Mathematics is a DIFFERENT program to Talented Students Program for Mathematics at USYD.

Semester 1:
http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/JM/MATH1906/
http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/JM/MATH1906/r/

Semester 2:
http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/JM/MATH1907/
http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/JM/MATH1907/r/

Mathematics Special Studies Program is a course which is formally attached to the Advanced Calculus courses (Differential for Semester 1 and Integral for Semester 2). It involves learning "extra" material in mathematics. It particularly delves into the many applications of mathematics in society. Basically each semester you learn 3 'special' topics in addition to your usual calculus workload. For each of these special topics you are given an assignment to complete and hand in. The marks from these assignments "top up" to your calculus marks (i.e. extra marks built on top of your advanced calculus mark).

The requirement to get into this course is by staff selection. Basically you attend an information meeting on the first week of lectures and fill out a form to express your interest.

For first semester, I don't think you need a Mathematics Extension 2 mark of 95+. I actually got a lower than expected 94 for Mathematics Extension 2 and still got in. Anyways I think they lowered the requirement to just a band E4 (i.e. 90+) in Mathematics Extension 2 and a UAI of at least 98.something. Also, if you do Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics) you are already guaranteed a spot regardless of anything else. Otherwise, as long as you express genuine interests in mathematics you should be able to get in.

For second semester, the requirements are different. If you were already enrolled in SSP in first semester and got a Distinction or higher, you're guaranteed a spot. If you did not enrol in SSP first semester you need to get a High Distinction in the advanced calculus course to qualify. Otherwise, express how much you love mathematics on the form.

I took both Maths SSP units last year and found some of the topics quite interesting. The assignments were a pain though, because you get extra workload than other people. Some of the topics covered when I did it were Bernoulli Numbers/Polynomials, Maps of the World, Cryptography, Cellular Automata...etc.

 

[SoulSearcher]

Ok, my bad, didn't know about that particular program. But that program does sound interesting, might look into it.

 

[SoulSearcher]

as a student who is doing maths ext2, i think it is hard to get 95% or more.
this is personal thought, so don't trust me too much, but because
1. hsc maths ext 2 is out of 120 in terms of mark, to get 95%, you need to get 114/120 and if you want more, more than 114/120.
2. to get 114/120, it means that you only lost 6 marks.... if there isn't any mistake from Q1-6 and you lose 6 marks in question 7 and 8.......
if my thought is wrong, please reply...

It is difficult to get a raw exam mark of 95% or more in the HSC exam paper (although that can be questioned for the papers of the last few years), however it is less difficult to get an aligned HSC exam mark of 95, which is what is being considered in this particular case. I probably only achieved a maximum of 110/120 in last year's HSC exam and I got 96 as my aligned HSC exam mark, so you don't need to get 114+ to get an aligned HSC exam mark of 95. It still takes a bit of talent and hard work, but 95+ as a HSC mark is definitely achievable in extension 2 maths.

 

[ssglain]

They were giving out application forms during enrolment.

Yeah, the 2008 entry requirements have been lowered. It's at least 98.5 UAI + Band E4 in MX2. Apparently, although you automatically qualify for SSP if you're enrolled in B Sc (Adv Maths) you've still got to fill out an application form for I don't know what reason.

The 2007 SSP topics seemed very interesting. I'm hoping it will be equally good, if not better, this year. I'm also hoping I won't kill myself with all SSP/Adv units in Semester 1.