Seeking advice -Form 5 in 2006

[dqbonafide]

Hey, I'm having my SPM nxt year.I've been interested in doing actural science..i have look up tonnes of information about it...and i basically have a foundation of what it is like..if i get to study it and be an acturist...i find it interesting and quite challenging.

Let me explain...my family is not wealthy....well my dad wont get to support me through my U years if i go private..so the only hope for me is to gain a scholarship locally or privately.The thing is, I do not have any knowdledge on the minimum requirements to study this course or the minimum requiremetns to gain a scholarship both local and private and do I need to go through form 6 to gain scholarships?? pls give me feedback and any websites that is useful to me. Thank you.

[nick_khaw]

www.tinkosong.blogspot.com

[dqbonafide]

www.tinkosong.blogspot.com

yes,thank you for the web....i found out about the merit scholarships...but this only covers the so called need-blind Universities which is top grade from the list i saw...does it mean i have to gain near perfect in my Form 6 to even consider getting it?

[bert]

No, it does not only cover the need-blind schools. There are only six need blind schools. But you can still get financial aid from the others. read the article in tinkosong about need blind and need aware colleges.

US unis don't only consider your academics. Although you do have to have really good scores, they are not the only criteria. They also consider your extracurricular activities, leadership skills, personal essays and standardized tests. So doing well in your studies only will not get you in.

regarding US admissions, i think we will be posting something in tinkosong in the near future.

[DecentMerson]

just to point out some ironic things about getting financial aid in the states...

in order to get ur I-20 from the University u intend to go to(which is needed to apply for Visa), you need to show that u are able to pay for ur education...(for all 4 years)...

later on, when u are in the states, when u try to apply for financial aid, u might be denied becoz u already showed that u are capable of paying for ur education...

[bert]

One applies for financial aid at the time of application, not after one is in the US. If you are applying as a freshman, most schools will not grant you any financial aid if you do not apply for it at the start.

If you apply for financial aid, most schools will not even admit you if they cannot cover your cost. So it is highly unlikely that you will get an I-20 without an accompanying financial aid offer.

[dqbonafide]

Everything i heard thus far its about the US...is there any information regarding other places or even locally that you guys have???

[DecentMerson]

great eastern life has one...:
http://www1.lifeisgreat.com.my/lig4/newlig/corporate/scholarships.html

and not sure how many of u know about this webpage, but i just stumbled upon it...

http://www.scholarship.com.my/

[dqbonafide]

Great....thank you the www.scholarship.com.my was a big help !!

[khor_albert]

Overseas scholarships offering Actuarial Science by companies in Malaysia:

a) Great Eastern
b) JPA
c) Telekom
d) Bank Negara

those that I know of. Of course, you can attempt the exceptional but daring alternative to actually write to insurance companies or other financial institutions to sponsor you on your studies, with the condition that you will work for them. They will actually respond if your application letter looks attractive!

Actuarial science is a broad and interesting field. The job is very demanding but the pay is lucrative and if you enjoy numbers and maths, you will be in a win-win situation. You will actually calculating a lot of probabilities for firms (normally insurance firms). For more info, I think your school counsellor can help you on this. Besides that, you are in Form 5 next year. Why set your heart on actuarial science so early? Open up your mind, and who knows, you may end up craving for other course! But if you are interested in Pilihatur dan Gabungan, Kebarangkalian Mudah and Taburan Kebarangkalian (Topic 6,7,8 for Add Maths Form 5) and you don't mind doing them all day and night, perhaps that's your true ambition. A lot more factors, though...

Study your SPM well and fine, your future will be opened up for you.

[dqbonafide]

Well said lol.....i am not sure if i like math i just enjoy the feeling that i get to solve it... :roll: thanks for your advice neway..

[chenchow]

It is great that you are planning ahead, when you are finishing Form 4 now. I would say that for studies in universities for actuarial science, some of the fellow ReComers have shared it pretty well.

I would say that, your main focus now would be to try and read up more on the field, as well as to broaden your mind to the opportunities. Post more specific questions here in ReCom.org . We would try to help giving some insights on your question.

As for scholarships, khor_albert has helped to point up some sources of scholarships, and it would be essential for you to try and do well in your SPM. Try those scholarships listed after your SPM, and then, if you really don't get it (touch wood), then you could try and go for STPM, where you could try for actuarial science in IPTA. I think UKM do offer actuarial science, as well as perhaps, some other IPTAs.

[dqbonafide]

As actural science is almost purely more involving add math and when we are actually out working as an acturist it is more on the corporate side...does it mean that the best choice to take is to take art stream with an option for add math rather than wasting ur time going to science stream?

[bush]

As actural science is almost purely more involving add math and when we are actually out working as an acturist it is more on the corporate side...does it mean that the best choice to take is to take art stream with an option for add math rather than wasting ur time going to science stream?

It doesn't matter which stream you are in presently, the important part is your post SPM qualification.

[khor_albert]

As actural science is almost purely more involving add math and when we are actually out working as an acturist it is more on the corporate side...does it mean that the best choice to take is to take art stream with an option for add math rather than wasting ur time going to science stream?Actuarial science is a mixture of business and science. You may not rule out science in actuarial science. Although what you said is quite true, my classmate (under Telekom Scholarship) takes Further Maths, Maths, Physics and Economics while taking actuarial science in the future. He takes physics as well. I think in this globalisation era, science stream will be a more favourable choice especially when you want to apply for a scholarship from government agencies or Malaysian companies. JPA's qualification to apply for Actuarial Science is (as of 2004), at least an A2 in Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Add Maths and English and of course as a prerequisite, A2 in BM, Sejarah and Moral as well. Science stream is still favoured for actuarial science despite its surprising approach in the business world. For US universities however, whichever stream you take in SPM will matter very little.

Chenchow, AFAIK, only UKM offers actuarial science, not other IPTA in Malaysia. Someone please enlighten me if I am wrong. Of course, when you take STPM, your future is not only confined to IPTAs. You can still apply for Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scholarship, or even US universities. STPM is accepted worldwide.

While it's always good to be well-prepared for post-SPM, do not tend to concentrate too much on this for now. SPM qualification is much more important. However, if you still have anymore doubts, you can still post here, we will try to help.

PS: Chenchow, have not been hearing from you lately. Must be busy, eh?

[caramel_nut]

Well, Actuarial Science is not just about Additional Mathematics, more specifically I would say, it's about Statistics.

A few UK universities offer this subject as a major but do be informed that most are not pure actuarial science. University of Warwick is famous for its MORSE(Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics). University of Southampton's Actuarial Studies is pretty good and the university is known to be very generous in giving out scholarships for international students. LSE is no doubt the best university but unfortunately the tuition fee is exorbitantly high and scholarships are pretty limited.

Go check out the universities' websites yourself for more information pertaining to scholarships and courses offered.

[dqbonafide]

OK....what i will do now is concentrate on my SPM to get the best results i think i am capable of....i will look around...and check out bout the LSE thing.....thanks for everything. Thank you. And A2 for each of the subjects u mention....but if I am non-bumi does the A2 requirement be applicable to me or mus ti get A1's..zzz :?:

[DecentMerson]

OK....what i will do now is concentrate on my SPM to get the best results i think i am capable of....i will look around...and check out bout the LSE thing.....thanks for everything. Thank you. And A2 for each of the subjects u mention....but if I am non-bumi does the A2 requirement be applicable to me or mus ti get A1's..zzz :?:

basically to get a good shot at JPA, the more A1, the better... the basic requirement is just good enough for the interview... and i still don't think the interview matters much...(that's my opinion), it still boils down to CCA achievements and results...

[chenchow]

For JPA, the marking scheme for last year was as follow:-

SPM results (60%) (Only look at the 9 core subjects).

Family background (10%) (If parents' salary < RM5000 , that's 10 points, if RM5001-RM10000, 5 points, >RM10000, 0 point). There would be bonus point for children of government servant.

Interview and essay (15%) (Frequent ReCom and post questions here, we can help you on this aspect. Go through the scholarship thread if you have free time too, and post questions. Share and learn together)

Sports (5%)

Co-curricular clubs/society/uniformed bodies (5%)

Other achievements (competitions like debates, quiz etc) (5%)


It is done purely by point system. Frequent ReCom, and post questions.

[khor_albert]

OK....what i will do now is concentrate on my SPM to get the best results i think i am capable of....i will look around...and check out bout the LSE thing.....thanks for everything. Thank you. And A2 for each of the subjects u mention....but if I am non-bumi does the A2 requirement be applicable to me or mus ti get A1's..zzz :?:Well, good for you to have such mindset.
JPA serves the same merit system for everyone, I think. However, the system for 2004 batch seems to be favouring children of government servants. Every year, it changes. There's a lot of loopholes, injustice, ironies, fun, learning points and increase in networks to be discovered in the process of applying for scholarships. I leave it to you to find out more later when it's your turn to apply.

However, JPA is a very popular scholarship. I think application for my year, 2004 batch, application reaches 13,000. Therefore, without straight A1s(10A1s and 11A1s stand more chance than 11A1s 1A2), your chance will be quite meagre. If you obtain an A2 in any of the important subjects (science subjects/core subjects), it's even much worse. I got 8A1s, 3A2s (A2 for Chemistry, Moral and EST). I paid for it - I didn't even get the interview. Petronas, on the other hand, does not fully emphasize on results (there are requirements though). They place high importance on interview and hence, people with good communication will stand a higher chance.

Just accept it. Scholarship applications can be very absurd sometimes. But, if you persevere, you will end up with something good in your hands.

Actuarial science is quite a specialised field. You may want to do some other course first (which is more popular for scholarship applications such as engineering courses) before actually venturing into actuarial science. My friend is now planning to study Economics under Petronas Scholarship. He is studying South Australian Matriculation (SAM), taking Economics, Business Accounting, Specialist Maths, Maths Studies and English - which is quite an equivalent for preparation for doing actuarial science.

If you are really into actuarial science, I propose that you pick up Economics in SPM. It will help, in a way. But make sure you can handle it. Ekonomi Asas is not a very hard subject though.

PS: Oh btw, I applied for Actuarial Science from JPA but got turned down (read above)

[Felicity]

dqbonafide, i have a few friends who are JPA scholars. They're studying their pre-u courses before going overseas ( Aust, US ) to study Actuarial Science. My bro is studying Act Sc in UKM and my sis's friend is studying Act Sc too in Singapore. My bro entered F6 and then, he applied to enter IPTA.

So, I guess you can do well in SPM, apply for the JPA scholarship to go overseas or do well in STPM and enter a local university.
Currently, my bro is taking professional papers to be an actuary. There are altogether 9 papers. (The more papers you pass, the higher your salary will be)

If you study Act Sc overseas, you do not have to take the pro papers but you have to take them privately if you're in a local uni.

From what i've heard from my sis's friend, you cannot be a mediocre to study Act Sc. You must be really good in calculating and you have to memorize a lot of long formulas ( coz the formulas won't be given in the exams )

[dqbonafide]

lol...i do know that act science is not a medicore subject.... i know what I am up against and lol my dad's a government servant ... haha no injustice there for me ...an extra 5% wont hurt !! :P My sis friend is studying under the scholarship of Bank Negara in UK if I am not wrong in Sheffield University..lol not sure if i got the name right but that is because he achieved academic brilliance 10A'1s 8O anyway when u apply for jpa is it possible to choose which uni u want to go or do jpa have the right to determine where are they placing you either locally or overseas?

[DecentMerson]

dqbonafide, i have a few friends who are JPA scholars. They're studying their pre-u courses before going overseas ( Aust, US ) to study Actuarial Science. My bro is studying Act Sc in UKM and my sis's friend is studying Act Sc too in Singapore. My bro entered F6 and then, he applied to enter IPTA.

So, I guess you can do well in SPM, apply for the JPA scholarship to go overseas or do well in STPM and enter a local university.
Currently, my bro is taking professional papers to be an actuary. There are altogether 9 papers. (The more papers you pass, the higher your salary will be)

If you study Act Sc overseas, you do not have to take the pro papers but you have to take them privately if you're in a local uni.

From what i've heard from my sis's friend, you cannot be a mediocre to study Act Sc. You must be really good in calculating and you have to memorize a lot of long formulas ( coz the formulas won't be given in the exams )

the number of papers depends on which 'syllabus' u are following... US' SOA and CAS have different number of professional papers than UK's or Aus'...

i think there's another thread dedicated to Actuarial Science.

[khor_albert]

lol...i do know that act science is not a medicore subject.... i know what I am up against and lol my dad's a government servant ... haha no injustice there for me ...an extra 5% wont hurt !! :P My sis friend is studying under the scholarship of Bank Negara in UK if I am not wrong in Sheffield University..lol not sure if i got the name right but that is because he achieved academic brilliance 10A'1s 8O anyway when u apply for jpa is it possible to choose which uni u want to go or do jpa have the right to determine where are they placing you either locally or overseas?Well, as far as I know, you are not allowed to choose your university. However, JPA will always send you to overseas. This fact will never change (PILN - Program Ijazah Luar Negara rite?). However, if your results are not very good in Pre-U, maybe they will send you to do your course locally, especially for medicine. Other JPA scholars please clarify this.

But lately, JPA seems to be sending students on twinning programmes as it saves cost. Academic excellence is not a key to getting a scholarship. It is just a passport. You will still need your communication and thinking skills to get through. This I can say.

[nick_khaw]

You can apply for a country, but JPA decides what country they send you to.

However, if they send you to the US, you can choose your uni.

[chenchow]

You can apply for a country, but JPA decides what country they send you to.

However, if they send you to the US, you can choose your uni.

and essentially which uni that you would eventually go, would depend on which university that you are able to gain admission to. So, it is upon you yourself to determine how good universities you could enter. There are JPA scholars in most of the top universities in US, so pretty much, the limitation would be yourself.

And in terms of selection of country, you get to state your preference, but do take note of which country that JPA sends for each particular course. For instance, JPA sends engineering students mainly to US, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, so don't state your preference of doing engineering in UK. The same goes with, don't state your preference of doing medicine in US.

Any clarification, please post here in ReCom.org