[glgan1]

HKU Bachelor of Science with a full scholarship
Imperial College Mathematics with Statistics for Finance
Warwick MMORSE

Which to choose? The thing really pulls me back from choosing HKU is they offered me a 4 years course(BSc which is still an undergrad). for imperial it's a 3 years course while for warwick mmorse it's a 4 years course(master).

Please anyone give some suggestions as I am really frustrated in choosing between these.

[tehforum]

Warwick IMO.

have you considered the course content in each?

[emanuela15]

is finance a priority? if so, HKU would be the obvious choice..

[Zalachenko]

Imperial no doubt. Then you can get an MSc in Oxbridge/LSE/ivies in the US.

Whereas Warwick is just, Warwick.

Don't know about HKU.

[IrrationalNumber]

(Original post by Zalachenko)
Imperial no doubt. Then you can get an MSc in Oxbridge/LSE/ivies in the US.

Whereas Warwick is just, Warwick.

Don't know about HKU.

Because nobody has ever moved from Warwick to Oxbridge/LSE.

[glgan1]

HKU gives me a full scholarship for the course.
But the thing is after spending 4 years in HKU I am still an undergrad degree holder. While for Warwick I'm a master degree holder same for Imperial as it's a 3 yrs course which I can master another yr in any university for my 4th yr.

It's really hard to decide. I know that Imperial and Warwick are definitely ahead of HKU. But is it worth to take the scholarship and study another year to let go the fact that imperial and warwick are of better quality, and the fact that if I study in imperial or warwick I will be a master graduate in my 4th year???

Please guide me thru guys.

[quint101]

(Original post by IrrationalNumber)
Because nobody has ever moved from Warwick to Oxbridge/LSE.

Why would you consider moving from Warwick to LSE for maths? Surely the former has a much better department? (Correct me otherwise!)

[IrrationalNumber]

(Original post by quint101)
Why would you consider moving from Warwick to LSE for maths? Surely the former has a much better department? (Correct me otherwise!)

Well sure, but I made that post as a response to someone who commented that the place at Warwick wasn't as good as the one at Imperial because Imperial would allow you to move to the LSE for a masters.

[glgan1]

(Original post by emanuela15)
is finance a priority? if so, HKU would be the obvious choice..

In the future I would like to work in investment banking or risk management. I wouldn't say finance is my priority as I would like to take Mathematics with some knowledge of finance. But the thing is HKU offers me a 4 years BSc programme with a full scholarship and I am thinking if I were to go to HKU, I am still an undergraduate holder after 4 years. While for Imperial or Warwick, I maybe a master graduate after 4 years/a bachelor degree holder with a year of working experience etc. And not to mention that the quality of education in imperial or warwick is better than HKU but HKU is still a very good university.

So it is a tough decision to make.

[Eddyward]

well it really depends where you want to live/work. I would probably choose Imperial, but the full scholarship from HKU is very enticing. Then again, HKU isn't HKUST

[glgan1]

(Original post by Eddyward)
well it really depends where you want to live/work. I would probably choose Imperial, but the full scholarship from HKU is very enticing. Then again, HKU isn't HKUST

Well I am actually thinking of working in Japan/Korea as I can learn a new language and also I like the culture there. Yea it's a full scholarship which I can actually pay $0 to finish my undergraduate course but the thing that holds me back is the 4 years programme. LOL what do you mean by "HKU isn't HKUST"??

[Eddyward]

(Original post by glgan1)
Well I am actually thinking of working in Japan/Korea as I can learn a new language and also I like the culture there. Yea it's a full scholarship which I can actually pay $0 to finish my undergraduate course but the thing that holds me back is the 4 years programme. LOL what do you mean by "HKU isn't HKUST"??

In that case I would recommend you go to Hong Kong if you're into the culture stuff. Hong Kong's pop culture is largely influenced by Japan and Korea anyways. I meant that HKUST is the best university in Hong Kong for the subjects that they teach, which would include science. I wouldn't be too deterred by the 4 year program as it's only one more year, which equals a year more of knowledge than your counterparts . But seriously, one more year isn't that much, you'll be on par with most of the world doing a four year undergrad.

[Smallc]

I may be in a good position to give some advice.

I am a Hong Kong resident, who got the habit of browsing Thestudentroom because my son was once torn between choosing Imperial and Warwick.

First, HKUST is NOT the best university in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong HKU>CUHK>HKUST. If one gets the impression that HKUST is the best because of some ranking tables, then he should look deeper into them. HKUST takes the lead just on a few subjects (HKUST always claims itself first in the world with a joint Executive MBA programme). In Hong Kong the university entrance system is called JUPAS. If you google JUPAS statistics and study the admission grades of HKU, CUHK and HKUST, you will know that the entrance grades for the former two are much better than HKUST.

For learning culture, don't think that you could be anything close with Chinese culture by studying in Hong Kong for 4 years. If you don't know Chinese (the language), it would be very difficult for you to learn the Chinese culture. Yes you would come by with many Chinese day to day but all of them would be treating you as a foreigner and you won't be able to have indepth communication with them so that you can learn the culture. Take a simple example. Do you think a Hong Kong student can learn much about British culture after studying maths in Imperial for 3 years? If your answer to this question is no, then you should be able to develop an answer on whether you could learn much Chinese culture after studying in HKU for 4 years. One more point to remember. For the Hong Kong student to study in Imperial, he knows English, which could give him much advantage in learning English culture. For you, one who does not know Chinese, the chance to be familiar with the Chinese culture is very remote.

One point to add, in east Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea) the reputation of Imperial is way ahead of Warwick. That was why my son finally chose Imperial even though the tuition fee of Imperial is nearly double that of Warwick (my son is a British citizen but because we are not residing in UK, he has to pay the overseas fee).

[glgan1]

(Original post by Smallc)
I may be in a good position to give some advice.

I am a Hong Kong resident, who got the habit of browsing Thestudentroom because my son was once torn between choosing Imperial and Warwick.

First, HKUST is NOT the best university in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong HKU>CUHK>HKUST. If one gets the impression that HKUST is the best because of some ranking tables, then he should look deeper into them. HKUST takes the lead just on a few subjects (HKUST always claims itself first in the world with a joint Executive MBA programme). In Hong Kong the university entrance system is called JUPAS. If you google JUPAS statistics and study the admission grades of HKU, CUHK and HKUST, you will know that the entrance grades for the former two are much better than HKUST.

For learning culture, don't think that you could be anything close with Chinese culture by studying in Hong Kong for 4 years. If you don't know Chinese (the language), it would be very difficult for you to learn the Chinese culture. Yes you would come by with many Chinese day to day but all of them would be treating you as a foreigner and you won't be able to have indepth communication with them so that you can learn the culture. Take a simple example. Do you think a Hong Kong student can learn much about British culture after studying maths in Imperial for 3 years? If your answer to this question is no, then you should be able to develop an answer on whether you could learn much Chinese culture after studying in HKU for 4 years. One more point to remember. For the Hong Kong student to study in Imperial, he knows English, which could give him much advantage in learning English culture. For you, one who does not know Chinese, the chance to be familiar with the Chinese culture is very remote.

One point to add, in east Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea) the reputation of Imperial is way ahead of Warwick. That was why my son finally chose Imperial even though the tuition fee of Imperial is nearly double that of Warwick (my son is a British citizen but because we are not residing in UK, he has to pay the overseas fee).

Thank you for your reply. For your information, I'm actually a chinese student from Malaysia. I know that my parents could afford to fund my studies in Imperial, but I also have a full scholarship from HKU. This makes it a tough decision. I know that HK is changing their curriculum from 3 years to 4 years and HKU offers me a 4 years programme with full scholarship. From their website, I saw that for A Level students like me should get the 3 years programme but they also stated that once the vacancies for 3 years are full, they will issue 4 years programme to the remaining ones which I personally think that it's quite unfair to students like me who took A Level for 1.5 years and couldn't get into the 3 years programme. But I know that this is the education system for HK so I wouldn't comment much. You must be a proud parent to have such an intelligent son who got into Imperial. Just wanna get some opinions from you. From your perspective as a parent, is it better if I study a 3 years Mathematics course in Imperial and I could be a master graduate in my 4th year; or should I take the scholarship from HKU and study the 4 years course which I will still be an undergraduate holder after 4 years??

[poi123]

What I can advise you is that go for the one with the course that you're most interested in. I got a full scholarship and also some stipend but it didn't work out for me because I simply don't really liked the couse. I ended up giving up the scholarship. So, yeah, do not worry about the money, go for THE ONE that you suits you best. Good luck!

[Smallc]

So you are a malaysian Chinese. Then Chinese (the language) and Chinese culture should not be problems for you.

I believe as parents it makes not much difference between a 4-year course or a 3-year course. As parents we just want our next generation to study in a university that could maximise the benefits to them in the future. Therefore, if affordable, parents also do not mind to pay more.

I understand you would like to develop your career in Japan or Korea. These two places are not so ready to embrace outsiders and they respect famous western universities much more than the oriental ones. Therefore for breaking into these two countries, Imperial, with its reputation, has some advantages.

I would suggest your decision path should be:
(1) check the affordability of your parents; and
(2) if your parents can afford any of the 3, go for the one that has the greatest reputation.

In short, affordability of your parents is the bound and the reputation of the 3 universities is the deciding criterion. The assumptions I made were (i) you are happy to study in any of the 3 universities and (ii) the education standards of the 3 universities are more or less the same.

[dugdugdug]

(Original post by glgan1)
HKU Bachelor of Science with a full scholarship
Imperial College Mathematics with Statistics for Finance
Warwick MMORSE

Which to choose? The thing really pulls me back from choosing HKU is they offered me a 4 years course(BSc which is still an undergrad). for imperial it's a 3 years course while for warwick mmorse it's a 4 years course(master).

Please anyone give some suggestions as I am really frustrated in choosing between these.

Maths degrees at Imperial follow a common syllabus for the first year, with no choices for particular modules. You get a limited choice from the second year onwards and complete freedom (assuming you've chosen the correct prerequisites) in the third and fourth years, if you're doing the MSci.

The above is true unless you are taking the Joint Maths and Computing or Maths with Business options.

So at present, even though you want to do maths with stats, you might actually change track after being exposed to maths 24/7 for 2 years!

My personal view is that a 3 year BSc followed by a 1 year MSc is preferable to a 4 year MSci, since you obtain two degrees in the same 4 years and also an MSc is a postgraduate qualification, whereas an MSci is not.

HK is a great place to travel and live. Though I've never studied there myself, I feel it would be very competitive, given the Chinese culture but nevertheless, still highly stimulating and enjoyable.

In terms of reputation, Imperial is well regarded in HK and Singapore, as is evident by their representation in large numbers every year.

Warwick is renowned for maths, though its reputation in the Far East is not quite Imperial's standards.

If ultimately you intend to head back East after your studies, Imperial would be the choice, followed by HKU. On the other hand, Warwick and Imperial should be your choices for a career in the UK.

[glgan1]

(Original post by Smallc)
So you are a malaysian Chinese. Then Chinese (the language) and Chinese culture should not be problems for you.

I believe as parents it makes not much difference between a 4-year course or a 3-year course. As parents we just want our next generation to study in a university that could maximise the benefits to them in the future. Therefore, if affordable, parents also do not mind to pay more.

I understand you would like to develop your career in Japan or Korea. These two places are not so ready to embrace outsiders and they respect famous western universities much more than the oriental ones. Therefore for breaking into these two countries, Imperial, with its reputation, has some advantages.

I would suggest your decision path should be:
(1) check the affordability of your parents; and
(2) if your parents can afford any of the 3, go for the one that has the greatest reputation.

In short, affordability of your parents is the bound and the reputation of the 3 universities is the deciding criterion. The assumptions I made were (i) you are happy to study in any of the 3 universities and (ii) the education standards of the 3 universities are more or less the same.

It shouldn't be a problem for Malaysian Chinese as we speak Cantonese, Mandarin, other different dialects, English and Malay. Actually I should be in University of Warwick last year but because I got a really excellent results for my A Level, so I decided to take a gap year and apply to HKU and NUS for quantitative finance with scholarships. But the case now is HKU offers me my second choice which is Bachelor of Science 4 years programme with a full scholarship.

I had discussed with my parents about choosing between Imperial, Warwick and HKU. For Imperial, they would have to spend about half a million MYR whereas HKU I have a full scholarship. So they said it would be quite a burden for them if I choose to study in Imperial and they said they rather use that amount of money to fund my postgraduate studies or investing in properties(LOL). My aim is to postgraduate in Japan as I would like to learn another language which is my interest and also makes me different from other candidates. So maybe I should narrow down my choices between Warwick and HKU. Which would be a better path which leads to my goal in the future, considering the fact that HKU offers me a full scholarship and Warwick would cost about 300k MYR for 3 years?? My parents have been giving suggestions to study in HKU but they also give me the rights to choose what I want.

[BillLionheart]

(Original post by Smallc)
I may be in a good position to give some advice.

I am a Hong Kong resident, who got the habit of browsing Thestudentroom because my son was once torn between choosing Imperial and Warwick.

First, HKUST is NOT the best university in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong HKU>CUHK>HKUST. If one gets the impression that HKUST is the best because of some ranking tables, then he should look deeper into them. HKUST takes the lead just on a few subjects (HKUST always claims itself first in the world with a joint Executive MBA programme). In Hong Kong the university entrance system is called JUPAS. If you google JUPAS statistics and study the admission grades of HKU, CUHK and HKUST, you will know that the entrance grades for the former two are much better than HKUST.

That is very interesting and I value your informed opinion. From an international perspective in mathematics Warwick would be the first choice. I have not been to HK (yet) but Tony Chan, a mathematician and leader for whom I have considerable respect has recently moved from the UCLA to be president of HKUST and Stephen Smale, an iconic mathematician Fields Medalist and Wolf Prize winner is still at CUHK I believe.

[dugdugdug]

(Original post by BillLionheart)
That is very interesting and I value your informed opinion. From an international perspective in mathematics Warwick would be the first choice. I have not been to HK (yet) but Tony Chan, a mathematician and leader for whom I have considerable respect has recently moved from the UCLA to be president of HKUST and Stephen Smale, an iconic mathematician Fields Medalist and Wolf Prize winner is still at CUHK I believe.

Whilst I cannot possibly challenge you on the topic of maths at uni (as you are a renowned expert), I feel it very much depends on what one chooses to do afterwards.

As I've said many times on other forums, Warwick's main forte is maths and indeed it is right up there with the best in the UK, if not the best.

However, for those NOT in the know, the reputation of the university overall is more important. If the OP intends to head back East after studying, especially working outside academia, Imperial would open more doors, even though its maths degree is not as good as Warwick's.

It's a bit like the MA (Oxon / Cantab). Many outside academia consider it a masters degree when clearly it's not.

Given China wins the IMO year upon year, they must be doing somthing right and it's quite possible some of the academics will "spill" over to Hong Kong. League tables are heavily biased towards English speaking universities, so reputation-wise, Warwick and Imperial is preferred over HKU but in terms of obtaining a good mathematical education, HKU could actually be the best of the three.