The UTAR person jz called me this morning, asking me whether I'm going, and ask me to bank in the money before 30th of may. Hahaha, i think UTAR's out for me, too high expenses, anyway, i can still be an actuary rite? as long as i have a degree, then i can proceed to take the professional paper. I heard so. IS this true?

98% about money, 2% about results.

I'm now officially out of UTAR 2008 May intake. the person cant wait, i said 10th of june they said cannot. they called me this morning and tell me to enrol in january 2008. bullshit.......

sure? tat person told me january next year?

college/uni which provide this course r quite limited.
i only know utar, UM and another public university( i forgotten the name...lol) provide this course.
NUS oso provide the course( its a joint program wit ANU) but only very few are selected to be sent to ANU.
so basically in malaysia, Utar will be the easiest to access. And to some extend the cheapest.

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!

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.