Hey there! I just received my SPM result and I got 9As for it. I’m struggling to pick which pre-u course to go for. I’m a science stream student but I personally don’t really enjoy science subjects. I would rather go for arts pre-u courses. And because of that I’m struggling to pick either Fia or a levels.

I’m currently interested in studying Actuarial science as my degree course. It’s a tough degree to study. I’m planning to go overseas when pursuing my degree but because of the hard and tough degree course, I’m scared I can’t cope with the studies because I need to adapt in the new environment at the same time. But at the same time, I’m afraid that I might change my mind whether to study the actuarial science course or not. I’ve made some research and found out that APU,Heriot Watt and Sunway university have exam exemptions for actuarial studies. These universities offer Fia pre-u courses and these are the local options. But there’s also better ranking universities that offer actuarial studies too.

I’ve also heard that A levels are hard and tough and most A level students take science subjects and Arts if you wanna become a lawyer. For Fia students, they can only continue their degree at that particular university and have not many university options to choose from. I’m very confused atm ):

I’m choosing Sunway college if I’m taking A levels and Heriot watt if I’m taking foundation.(Current Plan) But I’m afraid I might change my mind whether to study actuarial science or not in the future.

Please feel free to give your opinion below as it would help me massively. Hope everybody is having a great time during MCO Please feel free to give your opinion down below. Thank you ))

trust me, just do medicine. i didn't qualify to enter medicine and i will always regret, especially now.

i can't even do anything to help besides sit at home

it is not a happy or fulfilling life, rich also but i just feel so useless

omg sorry emo rant please disregard, good luck in whatever you choose to do!

But I’m not really into science tbh. I’m usually got 60+ for those 3 science subjects in school. I don’t really like memorizing. That’s why I prefer the maths route which is the subject I’m better at.

It’s okay hahahaha At least you have a point tho Thank you very much

If u r uncertain of ur future career pathway, i ll suggest taking A-levels wif science subjects. its about 3/2-2 years of study which provide u plenty of time to figure out wat u really wanna do. Taking science subjects ll make it ez for u to switch to either science or art based courses wif ease in d future. A-levels r purely exam-based so if its ur cup of tea, it ll definitely suit u and secure ur goal to study degree courses overseas since its an internationally recognized cert.

If you plan to do A-Levels, do you have a sudden considerations doing Arts + Sciences + Maths?
Also do you find yourself planning to do Engineering or STEM related fields afterwards?

You can get 9As in SPM, most likely can maintains a chains of Bs and Cs in A-Levels

If you want the easy life, I guess 3 subjects is quite manageable in A-Levels.
Please do Maths, Physics and Chemistry/Economics/Accounting for another 1.5 years.

If you did well, automatically Heriot Watt will offers a scholarship to their university for Actuarial Sciences.
You can open your horizons going overseas, with decent A-Levels results too. But then your parents mesti ada $$$ first lah.

Thanks for your opinion! But A levels are tough and hard based on what I’ve heard. And I’m not really into science subjects as I hate memorizing. That’s why I’m afraid that I’ll get bad results for it and unable to go top overseas universities.

Thank you so much for your opinion. Tbh I’m not really into science subjects. I don’t really like memorizing stuffs. But why not give it a go, right? Yea, I’ll think about it. But based on what I’ve heard,A levels are hard and tough. I’m afraid that I might get bad results for it and unable to go top oversea universities when pursuing my degree. For engineering, I’m not really into physics as I hate memorizing the formula hahaha but I got A+ for it during SPM (Sorry not boasting) Tbf I often got 50-70 for the 3 science subjects in school and those results aren’t really good. That’s why Ill go for the maths route. And can you explain why don’t you go for the Fia option? Thanks wink.gif

If you ain't interested in Physics stuff, I think you won't like to know that in A-levels Maths and Further Maths, students mostly need to take the Mechanics components now.

In an Engineering Degree, most of the time you just plug in numbers into formula, see whether this is applicable in real life application.
The innovative part is on projects based assignments only, which is based on your creativity only.
Finals most of the time most of the formulas are already given in the data sheet.

Anyhow, I personally recommend you going for A-Levels just for the overseas opportunities, if you did well.
If you don't, you will eventually just end up in Malaysian university as always, you can even join into IPTA [Government Private University] as an second option.

I won't recommend the Foundation route, as some IPTS (Private University) might not recognize your Foundation, due to different course structures offered in Different Universities.
So make sure you go to the Enrollment Center to ask about their Entry Requirements.

Basically, if you ain't interested in doing STEM , most of the private university are okay.
If you're planning to do a STEM degree, better go to IPTA, as the facilities are much better in contrast to most mid-tier universities, where some seriously lack the facilities for students to actually design something for their FYP projects.

Go with what your heart wants. If you're interested in something, it could be made possible however difficult it is. If there's no interest, no point.

Getting degree, being away from home, and to somewhere foreign is extremely challenging and daunting. But why don't you try to take it as an opportunity to grow up? It could be extremely helpful in your future career, because you'll learn to be independent and that's a trait that has rooted itself everywhere and becomes precious. If going overseas for your first degree is too much to cope, take baby steps: do your A-Levels somewhere away from your home, cross to some other states. If you're in KL, go to Penang. Adjust yourself, in small steps, to a new environment, and you'll find ways to cope and make yourself comfortable in a foreign environment. Then, moving again to another new place will not be as challenging anymore, so when you go overseas, you'll already know what to expect. You'll just have to deal with the culture shock (Don't underestimate culture shock though, it could be overwhelming at times).

A-Levels is not as tough as people say. Okay, it's not easy, but it's not impossible. If you want to do Actuarial, you may need to relook whether you should go for the Business option as I've heard fundamentals in economy benefit. But the core of Actuarial Science lies in robust analytical skill, so make sure you pick subjects that could hone your skills, not just mere providing colourful results.

This post has been edited by Just Visiting By: Apr 4 2020, 10:34 PM

TBH, you shouldn't be memorising formulae for Physics, unless you mean general formula. Because, like Physics, Actuarial Science requires you to apply some maths too. So, the scenario is very similar. Just that, instead of using maths to solve real-life situations for Physics, you use them to analyse and predict the future(risks) for Actuarial Science. So, you shouldn't really say something like I hate Science subjects with that reason because there are many subjects that require you to do the same thing. Besides, the best way to learn them is to understand the key concepts of each subject you take. So, please change your way of learning if you didn't study things with this way. Just a piece of advice.

Please, don't hear whatever your friends said about the difficulty of certain routes. You can't use SPM to compare with Pre-U levels. Like what I saw few weeks ago, just think it in this way. SPM is a Level 100 boss, Pre-U programmes are level 200 bosses or above. If you're a Level 150 adventurer, SPM will be a piece of cake for you. But does that mean you're good enough for Pre-U without putting effort to level up yourself? Of course, there are people who already are level 200 before they even started Pre-U levels, but how sure are you that you're not one of them? So, don't ever listen to people that say certain things are hard blah blah, nothing can't be learnt with effort.

And btw, if you're keen on taking Actuarial Science as your degree, university ranking shouldn't be the major thing you consider. The most significant thing to consider is the exemptions offered by the universities. Like, since you're considering A-level, I would assume you're interested in studying abroad in the UK. You should read reviews about the teaching quality for this degree in the universities you wanna enrol into and of course, the student life in the universities. Because if you're not from Ivy League universities or Oxbridge, university ranking really doesn't matter since there's no such thing like overseas graduate are more preferred in the local industry anymore, this is purely my opinion.

This post has been edited by Yenactiet: Apr 5 2020, 10:00 AM

Don't listen to this person TS

Medicine requires commitment, more so than the actuarial profession as medical students need to fork out large sums of money just to study a MBBS and expend another 4-5 years just to read a MD and become specialized to earn more than the average GP. If you don't have the passion and stamina, it's safe to say that you will wear out sooner than you should and might even endanger lives as a result

This post has been edited by ZenithSkirmisher: Apr 5 2020, 07:29 PM

I am currently studying actuarial science at Heriot Watt and can confidently tell you that A level Physics will not help you whatsoever in an Actuarial Science degree. Instead, it might be better for you to take up business related subjects such as Accounting or Economics as Actuarial students need to possess a solid foundation in finance and business in general in order for them to solve problems faced in an Actuarial Science course. Concepts like time value of money,arbitrage, equity, corporate finance, economics ,along with statistical concepts such as expectations, variance , probability etc are needed in order to comprehend and solve problems related to insurance and financial maths, the latter of which is what I learnt during my 1st year. The maths which actuaries use will encompass no more than linear algebra, probability,statistics and calculus(both single variable and multivariable) , of which both A level maths and further maths will prepare you sufficiently for.

This post has been edited by ZenithSkirmisher: Apr 5 2020, 07:27 PM

May I ask how's your experience in there? Because I'm going there to study for the same degree as yours too. Though I'm from STPM background so, maybe I'm too ignorant to talk about A-level subjects... because I literally forgot A-level maths involves mechanics too

Thank you so much for your advice. But may I know which pre-u route did you take? The foundation route or the a level route. Because I’m not 100% sure whether I will study actuarial science in the future. That’s why I’m leaning towards a lvls. What’s your opinion on that. And how is your experience over there? And is the environment in heriot watt nice? Are the lecturers good? Are you enjoying your university life over there? And finally is actuarial science tough? I’m curious to know more about it. Thank you so much for your advice btw wink.gif

Thank you so much for your advice. Yea it’s really tough to study medicine tho. Plus I’m not really into biology. Thank you so much for your advice. Much appreciate it

Actuarial science is most definitely a hard discipline to study, since it’s very broad as it incorporates elements from other disciplines such as programming,maths,accounting,economics,finance , insurance,statistics and data science . However, nothing is insurmountable provided you expend the necessary amount of effort.
The lecturers are competent at what they do, though our actuarial maths lecturer Mr Karamjeet can be a rather difficult person at times to deal with as he’s rather strict and meticulous person and doesn’t allow a large margin of error in our work. There’s also a Dr Soo who teaches us probability and stats, personally I feel that she is a dedicated and responsible lecturer even though my other course mates complain that she teaches too fast during lecturers, as she was always there to answer any doubts I might have regarding the material.
The environment of Heriott Watt is ok rather good. We have 2 very large lecture theaters capable of accommodating more than 200+ people. There are also several restaurants offering various dining options, from western to eastern Chinese and mamas food. We also have a small bakery shop selling light beverages and confectioneries as well.
As per the clubs, we have an excellent Actuarial Students Society that organizes industrial trips to insurance companies and other places along with a newly established data science society dubbed HWUM SOLID. There are also several other clubs dedicated to culture, charity and professional development such as the Toastmaster club, Ariston club and the Chinese Cultural Society.

This post has been edited by ZenithSkirmisher: Apr 6 2020, 04:44 PM