what shud i study in a-level if i wanna study actuarial ?

[Tomarse]

hey, ya, i wanna know what shud i study next time if i wanna pursue my dream to be involve in a job which have to do with maths. and btw..is singapore a bad country? i heard its superbly stressy there

[bush]

Mathematics is compulsory. Further mathematics,highly recommended(what's the point of not taking it if you already know your proposed degree is mathematically rigorous?)

The third or fourth subject can be economics, physics, or chemistry(the common ones). Law and other subjects can also be taken if you do want to take them.

[Seiryu]

Look out for more info in this thread

Actuarial Science (http://www.recom.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=706&highlight=actuarial+science)

[Tomarse]

how much will it cost to study actuary in UK or US? thanks for helping! really appreciate that :D

[bush]

Not cheap.

Prepare at least RM400k-500k

[Tomarse]

are there any scholarship that send pupils to uk and us to study this course?

[bush]

Yes. BNM, JPA, and others.

[Tomarse]

i like maths but i don quite like accounts...is it a good choice to take actuarial?

[bush]

i like maths but i don quite like accounts...is it a good choice to take actuarial?

A passion in mathematics, though important for one to pursue AS, is not the only indication of one's suitability in reading AS.

Accounting has nothing to do with AS. Don't confuse them.

[Seiryu]

You have to like economics, finance, business and stuff. You will be dealing with risk and money.

[Tomarse]

erm..is it a must for someone to take econs in form five if he or she intend to take actuary?

[Jei]

Not necessary.
Two choices of doing actuary from my point of view.
Studying A-Level and score well in exam and apply for overseas university if u can.
OR, studying ADP( American Degree Transfer Program) 2+2.

[Tomarse]

actuary is more like a double major. thats what my uncle told me. is it true? thanks for helping!

[Jei]

Cant answer for this cos i dunno what is double major mean.
All i know is actuary is under business course but its math is science-based math.

btw, what is double major mean ?

[Tomarse]

erm..i think its taking up two major at the same time? not very sure.
btw..is US a better choice for taking actuary or UK?haha

[Jei]

US.
I think actuary is not double major.
Studying actuarial science is not that easy, especially to become fellowship.
U had better be well-prepare for the future.
But i strongly believe that actuary in not the only way after i graduate in the actuarial course.I may become something else .
Hahah ...

[Seiryu]

Let me try my best to help.

actuary is more like a double major. thats what my uncle told me. is it true? thanks for helping!

This really depends on universities and scholars. Some scholars choose to do double major in Actuarial Maths/ Actuarial Science/ Actuarial study + Economics, while others might just stick to one. Actuarial Science itself is not a double major.

Most scholars do double major.

btw, what is double major mean ?

Double major is majoring in two distinct courses, ex. economics and finance. There can be triple major, quadruple major etc etc etc. Depends on how keen and how rich you are.

US.
I think actuary is not double major.
Studying actuarial science is not that easy, especially to become fellowship.
U had better be well-prepare for the future.
But i strongly believe that actuary in not the only way after i graduate in the actuarial course.I may become something else .
Hahah ...

A little clarification here : a scholar who has a degree in actuarial science IS NOT AN ACTUARY until he has been granted the title "associate" by any professional actuarial board. In US you will need to complete a total of 5 professional papers in other for you to obtain the "associate" title.

Completing all 8 or 9 professional papers earns you the title "fellow".

So basically, for an actuary a degree is not THAT important, what matters is the amount of professional papers you pass. And people say actuarial science is tough. According to seniors, the degree is not tough, the professional papers are the killing ones.

I may be wrong but hope that helps. :wink:

[Jei]

Oic ...
sorry for providing wrong information ...
thanks for giving me more views on actuary...

btw what r u majoring , Seiryu?

[Seiryu]

Hello Jei,

I have no major for the time being as i'm doing ACTP (American Credit Transfer Program, another name for ADP) under JPA in INTEC right now. I will only major in actuarial science starting next year.

[bush]

erm..i think its taking up two major at the same time? not very sure.
btw..is US a better choice for taking actuary or UK?haha

US

.....................what better choice?..........there are good universities everywhere, so stop being such a pain.

[strikingstar]

There can be triple major, quadruple major etc etc etc. Depends on how keen and how rich you are.

You can do multiple majors for the same price as a single major as long as you can fulfil all the requirements within the time needed to complete the single major.

Any summer school/extra semesters which you take (if you do need to take) to complete other majors of course means you have to spend more money.

[DecentMerson]

are there any scholarship that send pupils to uk and us to study this course?

many UK universities do provide pretty good scholarships (not as good as the older version of JPA, but u can get up to a full tuition waived) provided that you get like straight As for ur A-level.... or u got some other co-cus that make u a keeper...

but, even if you get a full-tuition waived, the cost of living in UK is pretty darn expensive... say u need 600 pound a month (on food and boarding and some other misc. expenses..) that's still about RM 4k a month....

probably u can work a bit... but as mentioned many times, the actuarial degree is not that important... is the professional papers that count.. of course, getting a good CGPA from a good uni, with a couple of papers under ur belt opens up doors...

[Jei]

Seiryu, maybe someday i will go INTEC to find the jpa scholars, but not now ....
Living costs in UK is high, but if u half work half study, i think u manage to cope up ur living expense.

[Seiryu]

If US is your choice, i would suggest you to apply for other scholarships. . . Beginning this year, JPA sends scholars to US under twinning programme. Twinning programme is a big "vaccuum machine" because scholars under twinning are not eligible to enter top universities in US. :roll: Other scholarship providers like BNM, Khazanah, and MARA send scholars straight to US after one year preparetory in INTEC, but take note that most of the shcolars under these scholarship providers except MARA didn't get the courses they wanted.

[bush]

Who said not eligible? It's only difficult to transfer to a school that you want.

[Seiryu]

My head of program was 100% assuring us that Ivy league universities or Ivy league standard universities DON'T accept transfer students. :cry:

[strikingstar]

Who said not eligible? It's only difficult to transfer to a school that you want.

Twinning = transfer? Surely not?

My head of program was 100% assuring us that Ivy league universities or Ivy league standard universities DON'T accept transfer students.

Tell ur head of program to go boil his head. He's spouting rubbish. Only Princeton doesn't accept transfers.

[Seiryu]

Tell ur head of program to go boil his head. He's spouting rubbish. Only Princeton doesn't accept transfers.

omg. . . lol don be so mean lerr. She is a nice lady.

Anyway tomarse and Jei, if you guys are reading how old are you two?

[bush]

Who said not eligible? It's only difficult to transfer to a school that you want.

Twinning = transfer? Surely not?


Blardy sure.......JPA is famous for coming up with fancy(often misleading) terms. Think ATU..........wtf.....

IIRC, the ' iklan biasiswa' mentioned that JPA US bound scholars will be doing a few years here before going off to schools in the US, exactly like what fellows enrolled in the ADP programs of HELP, Taylor's, Sunway and others.

[Jei]

18 years old.
cant get JPA due to several reasons.
But will still keep going with my target.
If from this year begins, actuary course in under twinning program for US bond, then how many year will u need to work with government?
Is that it is same with the previous JPA Scholars who get actuarial science and 1 year foundation then 4 year overseas ???

Hope u understand my broken english.

[Seiryu]

18 years old.
cant get JPA due to several reasons.
But will still keep going with my target.
If from this year begins, actuary course in under twinning program for US bond, then how many year will u need to work with government?
Is that it is same with the previous JPA Scholars who get actuarial science and 1 year foundation then 4 year overseas ???
.

=.='

u're same age with me? Lol. . U remind me of the "ME" two years back, who came recom seeking for more info to double assure that i am into actuarial science. :lol:

Nvm. regarding JPA, We need to work with the government for six years. and Yes, ALL previous JPA scholars who got to go US did one year foundation here and four years foundation overseas. Good ei?

Well. . there're pros and cons to this new policy lar, cons is obvious. The Pro is without the new policy, people like me won't even get the chance to enroll in US unis :roll: The number of scholars heading to US increased from 60 last year to 260 this year. Imagine that!

[can be ignored] The fact is three years ago till the last day i received JPA i was actually aiming for NUS/ NTU of singapore and Actuarial Maths in UM as second resort (with a little dream of studying in LSE =P). Now that i can fly, i get to switch my aim to MICHIGAN AA and keep Wisconsin Madison as second resort ! ! ! =) [/can be ignored]

Hei though u didn't get JPA, the road hasn't ended. For actuarial science, what matters is the professional paper remember?

Speaking of which, i can't find the damn study list for Probability Paper in SoA. . . can anyone help?

[strikingstar]

Tell ur head of program to go boil his head. He's spouting rubbish. Only Princeton doesn't accept transfers.

omg. . . lol don be so mean lerr. She is a nice lady.

Anyway tomarse and Jei, if you guys are reading how old are you two?

Well, she's nice but provides false information then.

[strikingstar]

Who said not eligible? It's only difficult to transfer to a school that you want.

Twinning = transfer? Surely not?


Blardy sure.......JPA is famous for coming up with fancy(often misleading) terms. Think ATU..........wtf.....

IIRC, the ' iklan biasiswa' mentioned that JPA US bound scholars will be doing a few years here before going off to schools in the US, exactly like what fellows enrolled in the ADP programs of HELP, Taylor's, Sunway and others.

And those fellows in the ADP program were allowed to transfer to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, MIT etc? As in they qualified as transfer applicants?

[bush]

And those fellows in the ADP program were allowed to transfer to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, MIT etc? As in they qualified as transfer applicants?

I dunno. There were cases where some managed to get into Cornell.

One guy got into Princeton......I believe that was before the no-transfer rule. There's also a successful stanford applicant.
http://www2.help.edu.my/departments/adp/List_of_Students_Transferred/index.php

[strikingstar]

Wah, 10 whole yrs and they only managed to put 1 person each into Stanford and Princeton.

[bush]

Wah, 10 whole yrs and they only managed to put 1 person each into Stanford and Princeton.

No one said our IPTS'es are Ivy feeder schools................Who in their right mind would do ADP and hope to transfer to famous American schools?

[DecentMerson]

18 years old.
cant get JPA due to several reasons.
But will still keep going with my target.
If from this year begins, actuary course in under twinning program for US bond, then how many year will u need to work with government?
Is that it is same with the previous JPA Scholars who get actuarial science and 1 year foundation then 4 year overseas ???
.

=.='

u're same age with me? Lol. . U remind me of the "ME" two years back, who came recom seeking for more info to double assure that i am into actuarial science. :lol:

Nvm. regarding JPA, We need to work with the government for six years. and Yes, ALL previous JPA scholars who got to go US did one year foundation here and four years foundation overseas. Good ei?

Well. . there're pros and cons to this new policy lar, cons is obvious. The Pro is without the new policy, people like me won't even get the chance to enroll in US unis :roll: The number of scholars heading to US increased from 60 last year to 260 this year. Imagine that!

[can be ignored] The fact is three years ago till the last day i received JPA i was actually aiming for NUS/ NTU of singapore and Actuarial Maths in UM as second resort (with a little dream of studying in LSE =P). Now that i can fly, i get to switch my aim to MICHIGAN AA and keep Wisconsin Madison as second resort ! ! ! =) [/can be ignored]

Hei though u didn't get JPA, the road hasn't ended. For actuarial science, what matters is the professional paper remember?

Speaking of which, i can't find the damn study list for Probability Paper in SoA. . . can anyone help?

well... go to soa.org to browse around... study list for Course P... u can find it probably under the Exam application form or something like that

need more info.... go to www.actuarialoutpost.com/
go to the forum... pretty resourceful, and definitely one of the biggest forum for actuarial students.

just google...

[Tomarse]

sorry for not replying what u asked earlier...i am 16..in form 5. gonna study in singapore end of this year and need to know wat i need to take actuarial and what is actuarial. that is why i am here..haha. and thanks a lot seiryu and gang for helping out. i roughly got the idea what is actuarial about and what i need to take that challenge. :D thank you!!

[DecentMerson]

sorry for not replying what u asked earlier...i am 16..in form 5. gonna study in singapore end of this year and need to know wat i need to take actuarial and what is actuarial. that is why i am here..haha. and thanks a lot seiryu and gang for helping out. i roughly got the idea what is actuarial about and what i need to take that challenge. :D thank you!!

just some words of advice, don't set a rigid target now yet. U are only 16, and explore more before deciding what you want to do... of course, it's good to know what you want to do early... but setting such a target too young an age might limit your options...

it's rather sad that the society is doing this to us, forcing us to make choices like deciding ur major in ur first year of Uni (for most local Unis, and UK and Aus Unis)... how many 19-20 years old know what to do for their next 30-40 years?

that's why, do what you like... :) not what you wish you like, or what others think you should like... :)

good luck!

[Seiryu]

need more info.... go to www.actuarialoutpost.com/
go to the forum... pretty resourceful, and definitely one of the biggest forum for actuarial students.

just google...

Thx decent, actuarialoutpost is REALLY a great site.

[fire-ablazed]

Hey. I'm currently in Form five too, and I too am going to Singapore to study under ASEAN scholarship next year.

I'm extremely interested in mathematics, and everyone's been recommending actuarial science. but when i read the forums, i realised that there are so many ppl studying it, but not many actually succeed. Can I know if I can still get a scholarhip under JPA or BNM to do actuarial science overseas after my ASEAN scholarship's over?

Another thing is..is it safer to get a degree say in..engineering before pursuing my another degree in actuarial science later on when I'm working?

And...what are the differences between actuarial science and actuarial maths?

Thank you so much!

[Tomarse]

wow....you actually got ASEAN this year? It's pathetically hard to get. I don't know why. haha! i applied too, and only pass until the exam level. Even the top student in my school doesn't stand a chance.

[bush]

Hey. I'm currently in Form five too, and I too am going to Singapore to study under ASEAN scholarship next year.

I'm extremely interested in mathematics, and everyone's been recommending actuarial science. but when i read the forums, i realised that there are so many ppl studying it, but not many actually succeed. Can I know if I can still get a scholarhip under JPA or BNM to do actuarial science overseas after my ASEAN scholarship's over?

Another thing is..is it safer to get a degree say in..engineering before pursuing my another degree in actuarial science later on when I'm working?

And...what are the differences between actuarial science and actuarial maths?

Thank you so much!

Don't jump into the bandwagon if you are not sure of what you're getting into.

If you are thinking of a Malaysian government overseas scholarship, you should reject ASEAN pre-u scholarship. Because once you go down that road, it would be near impossible to get a scholarship from the Malaysian government.

Malaysian companies may take you, but I won't take my chances.

It is possible to get a second degree but let us be realistic. When we have gotten our first degree, we would have spent 16-17 years of our lives on books. Would you still have the drive to prepare for a set of extremely difficult professional papers? Would you still want to go back to university? If so, who would be paying your tuition fees? How about your job? Marriage and all things adults worry about?

[DecentMerson]

Hey. I'm currently in Form five too, and I too am going to Singapore to study under ASEAN scholarship next year.

I'm extremely interested in mathematics, and everyone's been recommending actuarial science. but when i read the forums, i realised that there are so many ppl studying it, but not many actually succeed. Can I know if I can still get a scholarhip under JPA or BNM to do actuarial science overseas after my ASEAN scholarship's over?

Another thing is..is it safer to get a degree say in..engineering before pursuing my another degree in actuarial science later on when I'm working?

And...what are the differences between actuarial science and actuarial maths?

Thank you so much!

most of the time 'actuarial science' = 'actuarial math'...

they are used interchangeably in my school.

[exec]

I think actuarial math is more generally used in Canada....

[koln_auhc]

hei would like to know which jc you got into?

well, the moment you arrive here there will be tonnes of asean scholars. three to four hundred for whole asean that is. hehe so don't be shocked.

[Wei_Ming]

Hey. I'm currently in Form five too, and I too am going to Singapore to study under ASEAN scholarship next year.

I'm extremely interested in mathematics, and everyone's been recommending actuarial science. but when i read the forums, i realised that there are so many ppl studying it, but not many actually succeed. Can I know if I can still get a scholarhip under JPA or BNM to do actuarial science overseas after my ASEAN scholarship's over?

Another thing is..is it safer to get a degree say in..engineering before pursuing my another degree in actuarial science later on when I'm working?

And...what are the differences between actuarial science and actuarial maths?

Thank you so much!

Don't jump into the bandwagon if you are not sure of what you're getting into.

If you are thinking of a Malaysian government overseas scholarship, you should reject ASEAN pre-u scholarship. Because once you go down that road, it would be near impossible to get a scholarship from the Malaysian government.

Malaysian companies may take you, but I won't take my chances.

It is possible to get a second degree but let us be realistic. When we have gotten our first degree, we would have spent 16-17 years of our lives on books. Would you still have the drive to prepare for a set of extremely difficult professional papers? Would you still want to go back to university? If so, who would be paying your tuition fees? How about your job? Marriage and all things adults worry about?

Actually.. a few of my friends got scholarships from Malaysian companies.. one from Bank Negara Malaysia and two from Shell to be exact.. and one more continued with her JPA after completing Singapore A-levels. Considering the ratio of the number of ASEAN scholars I know to the ratio who got Malaysian company scholarships as opposed to Singapore company scholarships... it is rather high.

Besides, you can apply for Singapore company scholarships as well.. so I think taking ASEAN is a safe bet. There are a lot of ASEAN scholars who opt out for JPA and other scholarships even after taking up the ASEAN scholarship.

[eslite]

Besides, you can apply for Singapore company scholarships as well.. so I think taking ASEAN is a safe bet. There are a lot of ASEAN scholars who opt out for JPA and other scholarships even after taking up the ASEAN scholarship.
Do note that JPA results would be released at about May/June/July so if you do intend to take up JPA you have to pay MOE. A few of my friends did so last year and they had to pay about $5k.

[Randomphantom]

Heard from my prof that its quite risky to be an actuary in Malaysia. If anything fouls up, into the slammer you go. Is that true?

[Wei_Ming]

Besides, you can apply for Singapore company scholarships as well.. so I think taking ASEAN is a safe bet. There are a lot of ASEAN scholars who opt out for JPA and other scholarships even after taking up the ASEAN scholarship.
Do note that JPA results would be released at about May/June/July so if you do intend to take up JPA you have to pay MOE. A few of my friends did so last year and they had to pay about $5k.

Basically, a cost-benefit analysis needs to be done. What if you don't get JPA? Or JPA offers you a course you are not interested in? Or JPA sends you to a country you do not want to go? By then, forgoing JPA means forgoing ASEAN as well... not a smart move from my point of view...

[awesomeming]

What is the difference between the GCE London A levels offered by EDEXCEL and the GCE Cambridge A levels offerd by CIE?

[Sillyboy]

What is the difference between the GCE London A levels offered by EDEXCEL and the GCE Cambridge A levels offerd by CIE?

Hmmm...London A levels are modular based. Basically, each subject is divided into 6 units(except for law and accounting) The exam will be completed in 3 stages, that means throughout the course, you will take the external exam 3 times. More often that not, the 6th unit is the hardest as it incorporate everything from the previous units. The perk of doing London A levels is that each unit is independent of each other, what is tested in unit 1 will not be tested again in the other units, except for unit 6. But take note that the exam fees may go up to 3000++ if u take 4 subjects. And of course, the syllabus is slightly different from the Cambridge A levels.

[hancc]

Heard from my prof that its quite risky to be an actuary in Malaysia. If anything fouls up, into the slammer you go. Is that true?

It applies anywhere in the world, disqualifications are not uncommon.

Btw, I wouldnt encourage people to leap into the actuarial field unless u really know what u are after. As I am graduating this year, I applied for an actuarial job in Allianz, Malaysia and there were 220 other applicants. But there are usually less than 20 entry jobs each year. More and more people are graduating from actuarial science, including many coming back from overseas.