Im studying actuarial science in UK currently. well to be exact in Heriot-Watt University.. they offer full exemption if u get 1st class which is not easy.. Here just some additional info about good uni for actuarial in UK:

City Univ
LSE
Southampton
Warwick but the course is known as MORSE

Ya u dun really need an actuarial science degree to become actuary. xD!

@xchoit
when you mean full exemption means that once you graduate you already are a qualified AS??

ya interested to know here too...............

well if im not mistaken u get exemption from all the CT exam.. hmm maybe more i cant really remmber about it.. So there is still other exams that u need to take later.. This is provided that u get 1st class or the minimum mark/score which is set up by the uni and the FOA for the modules.. btw qualified AS as in? to get job?

none universities provide full exemption from professional actuarial bodies. you still need to take and pass final few papers to become qualified actuary.

yup since the board have like 2 section (not sure how many exactly xD) of exemption.. just an analogy

1st part ; 9 test
2nd part ; 8 test

some university will tell u that u get full exemption.. well they actually means exemption from the 1st part.. not all the exemption offered by the actuarial board

well if i still remember the 1st part is called CT right? Core technical?

This post has been edited by xchoit: Jun 18 2008, 01:52 PM

Hi everyone,

Interesting thread; I'd like to share some info here.

I'm taking Business (Specializing in Actuarial Science) in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

I've just completed my 1st year (taking Business subjects); going into my 2nd year to study actuarial science proper in August.

Before I elaborate on exemptions (professional papers), reading the following link would be useful:
IOA Exams

Currently, NTU offers exemptions for the CT Series of the IOA (8 Papers) provided you do well for each of them. So far, after 1st year, I've cleared CT7 and CT2 (CT2 I think).

The advantages of studying in NTU is of course, you don't need to worry about:
1. Finding a tutor/lecturer for the exemptions
2. Finding course materials
3. Paying additional examination fees
4. Registration, admin procedures associated with the exemptions.

The bad thing is of course, Singapore is expensive compared to Malaysia. Less expensive compared to other developed countries though.

As for NUS, they do offer a joint honours degree with ANU shown here:
NUS/ANU
As you can see, only 8 people get to go ANU per year.

I think Singapore Management University (SMU) offers some sort of actuarial major also. I don't know about the details though.

That's how actuarial studies work in Singapore in general nowadays. This means that for CA, ST and SA Series of the IOA, you need to somehow take them while you work, or go to graduate school outside Singapore.

As for job prospects for an actuary, exemptions matter most. The degree is only complementary at best. And if you want to know about salary, I'd say it's definitely worth it for people with all 8 CT exemptions, especially for a 22 or 23-year-old fresh graduate.

That's all I have to share for now. If you have any inquiries, feel free to ask me.

Cya!

the only place that provides cheap acturial science course is UTAR Dangers is that its a very new uni but then if u plan to work in malaysia as an actuaries its kinda a OK..

but for acturial science. many of my friends told me that most of the suicide cases in malaysia involving successfull people are actuarist, One of my friends dad was an actuarist and when he did a mistake in calculation he jumped off a 22 story building.

this is what i heard la not generalizing. maybe the course is tought because in the real world its gonna be tougher.~?

Thx for sharing the experience.... I'm now gonna take Accounting in Uniten and planning to get actuary professional cert and ACCA after finish studying........

Malaysia here still short of qualified actuaries. cause too many students failed to pass final few professional papers. take USA-SOA as example. a lot of students cannot pass paper 5-8. too tough to get it through. my colleagues, 6 of them sat for paper 5. only 1 passed.

but the reward is great. the moment you pass 1 paper, you get few hundreds increment. from paper 5 onwards, the reward is even greater.

More accurately..... LIfe Ins acturies (FSA) less than 60ppl
General Ins actuaries (FCAS) only 4ppl

wats de requirement 2 enter NTU??
de fees is high?

lol few years back got 1 got killed by huge thing dropping from construction site

Hi shimy,

NTU's website here has all the information you'll need:
NTU Admission Information

As you can see, total fees (tuition fee, miscellaneous fees) add up to nearly $10,000/year (AY 08/09) if you take the Tuition Grant. By taking the Tuition Grant, you will be bonded; you need to work in any Singapore-registered companies for 3 years.

As for accommodation, I have to pay $155/month (cheapest).

Living expenses varies a lot among individuals. For a start, the estimated monthly cost of living shown in the website above is a good guide.

So doing the math, you would need to spend about: $10,000 + $155x12 + $200x10* = $13,860 ~ $14,000/year**
*Living expenses estimated at $200/month (which I can achieve ) for 10 months cuz I assume you'll go back home during summer break.
**Rounded up to include cost of books, etc.

No doubt $14,000/year is a huge amount but as you can see from the site, NTU offers a lot of financial assistance and/or scholarships. If you apply for loan (which you will most certainly get), the loan will help you finance the tuition fee and maybe even accommodation. So practically, you only need to worry about monthly living expenses.

In my opinion, I think going to NTU is worth it because you are receiving a world class education at a cheaper price than other developed countries.

Admission requirements are stated in the website as well. But from my observation, the lowest CGPA I know to get into Business is 3.92 for STPM science stream students. Yea, Business is hot in Singapore; not engineering. They even have SMU, dedicated to business-related courses only. In Malaysia, everyone got the hots for engineering.

That's all I have to share for now. Sorry for long post; I guess I'm too enthu in promoting my school.

hey ..thanks 4 ur info ..
i m really interested 2 go 2 NTU ..
but i m still waiting 4 my a-levels result ..
it ll b out in august or september ...
can i seek more info frm u ?
if i wanna do acturial science,wat programme shld i enrol?
wats de min requirement 2 enrol?
how can i get loan bcuz i afraid i cant afford de tuition fees?
how 2 get tuition grant?
thanks 4 ur help .. i really appreciate dat ..

math T is tough alright...took it..not to mention Further maths..o man......

pure maths is alright but i heard further maths is damn hard la

well, most further maths candidates sit for this as private candidate............

hi there. i just wanna share some opinion..

if u want to be an actuary..u must pass n take 8 papers only to be a fellow now. well all the professional exams are very tough. u can view www.soa.com to have a look around actuaries world.

i'm currently taking actuarial science course in one of the ipta.. i'll grad in one year. if u want to study this course, it's not about math only.it's also about insurance study,economics,finance,accountancy.so u have to read,memorizing,understanding n applying in your life if u can.

most of my friends can get png more than 3.50 and even 4 flat. i wish u good luck !! study smart ok!!

@mydandelion
you getting 4 flat too? anyway ipta doesn't give any exemption from the papers i heard....and it used to be 8 papers to be a full-fledged actuary right just that now there is an additional set of papers?