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Added on August 18, 2010, 12:23 am

There is numerous pathways in getting an actuarial degree.

Cheapest will be doing it in IPTA like UM.
A bit more expensive will be doing it in IPTS like UTAR.

A lot more expensive will be doing it in overseas institution completely/partially.
Some of the cheaper (still costly though) options include twinning programme with American universities through the American Degree Transfer Programme.
In UK though, University of Southampton does give out scholarship up to 5,000GBP per annum (subject to academic performance) - probably the cheapest you can get in UK. Heriot-Watt, Kent and others are more expensive.

I am a Malaysian but I do not do Actuarial Science. I just know a bit of the process in getting into AS programme as I nearly went into this programme.

I am not expert, and what I say about AS may not hold true as I come from Engineering background.

What is the most important thing in an actuarial career is not the degree, but the papers you have taken.
Taking an actuarial degree eases the attempts of those papers as you tend to get exemptions from some of the papers.
In short, getting an actuarial degree does not lead you becoming an actuary, and not taking actuarial degree does not cut off your possibility in becoming an actuary as well.
If you do not wish to take Actuarial Science as your first degree yet wanting to keep yourself a reasonable option in attempting the field, degree with high contents of Mathematics are strongly desired. Engineering, Economics, Finance, Operational Research, Physics, Mathematics etc. to name a few. The strong Maths background in those courses provide you with a smoother start of your actuarial career as you are mathematically trained already.
But bare in mind, Actuarial Science is not Maths. It's a combination of a lot of subjects including Maths, Economics, Communication Skills etc. that form the umbrella of Risk Studies. Being good in Maths does not guarantee anything.

Your job opportunity will not be narrow shall you took an actuarial degree and not pursue the path of becoming an actuary. A lot of graduates of AS degree get employment in similar fields, like banking, finance etc.

If you are determined to become an actuary, just do an actuarial degree. It saves a lot of troubles and you get to concentrate on stuff in achieving your career. What you should be worrying is, do you really want to be an actuary? (Or, you are just another someone who thinks that 'I am good in Maths so I do Actuarial Science because I don't like anything else'. No offense though ) If your main interest lies in Maths, a degree in Maths will be better.

I am currently doing actuarial science in a local private university. Yes, there will be scholarship option for you. As for recognition, if you are serious about actuarial science, professional papers are actually more important. You can graduate at the world best university, but w/o any professional papers, you are still not really recognized.
For the SOA (society of actuary), some universities (or rather, most that offer actuarial science program, including universities in Malaysia) have exemptions on the VEE part. There are no exemptions for other parts (which are the exams).
Actuarial science is indeed a very specific course, but most universities teach more than just actuarial science. They include some business, economic and finance part. Hence, you may be able to look job in that sector if you don't want to be an actuary after taking up the course.
Its depends on your preference really. If you really want to major in other degree courses, then I suggest statistics or financial engineering. While they still differ from actuarial science, at least they are close compared to computering etc.

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Added on August 19, 2010, 12:21 am

Lol, I was a someone who went for actuarial science because maths is my best subject.
However, I find myself happy, though not without stress, with my current course =)
But you're right about that. If main interest lies in maths, degree in maths or applied maths is also a viable option. Actuarial Maths focus more on probability. Hence, if you are the type that prefer calculus, then maybe you may not like actuarial maths.