did i make a poor choice?

[jrubin]

My name is Justin and I will be a freshman in college next fall. I had a choice between going the the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Minnesota, and the University of St. Thomas (in St. Paul, Minnesota) to study actuarial science. Each school offers a degree in actuarial science but i ultimately chose the University of St. Thomas because i could go to a $180,000 private university for a total of $20,000 (for 4 years). Will i regret not choosing a large research university where students are prepared for the first 4 exams? St. Thomas only covers material for the first 3 exams (both MFE and MLC for SOA) which i think is largely due to the fact that it is a liberal arts university so i have to take courses in ethics, philosophy, religion, etc... Will my advantage in communication and other "soft" skills give me an advantage when competing for jobs or will i still be at a huge disadvantage when competing against candidates from the large institutions who will likely be one step ahead of me in terms of exams passed when we graduate? Did i make a huge mistake in choosing St. Thomas over the U of M and UW-Madison? Sorry for the length guys but any advice that you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

[Heathen]

Exposure to a wide veriety of experiences is a good thing as an undergrad. If you are still serious about an actuarial career after your sophmore year, you can overcome a curriculum that isn't actuarial science specific through self study and internships. Also if you are still serious at that time, I would suggest developing Excel, Access, and SQL skills before worrying about passing more than 3 exams before graduation. A good understanding of the insurance, finance, and risk management worlds would be good as well.

Good luck, Justin!

[carryme]

Covering material for 4 exams <> students having 4 exams passed by graduation

[tommie frazier]

in the tein cities, st thomas has a better known and respected actsci program than the U of MN.

I'm guessing you are from MN, and so I would want to choose between being a tommie and a badger. I hear nothing but raves about people's time in madison. and the program is good.

being a tommie is ok. don't sweat it.

[Salzmann]

If you check in the Careers discussion, you'll notice that the university name on the diploma is a much smaller factor in your marketability than number of exams, internships (if you have them), GPA and communication skills. In fact, some of us (gasp!) were not Act Sci. majors at all. And I'm practical enough to congratulate you on a choice that won't leave you with $70K in student loans to try and pay back on an entry-level salary. It can be done, but it postpones a lot of other things in life. My personal belief is that a decent state university is a better alternative to a prestigious one that leaves you in hock up to your eyeballs.

Enjoy the next 4 years (and pass a few exams, too).

[Maine-iac]

I agree with Salzmann. I went to a state university with no particular reputation for math and none at all for actuarial science, got a math degree and made a career as an actuary. The lack of a more prestigious degree has never had any appreciable detrimental effect on my career.

The fact that I graduated debt free (vs. $28K in debt that I would have needed to take on to go to the more prestigious school that accepted me) did have a noticeable positive impact on my quality of life. ($28K was a hefty sum back then. More than a year's starting salary.)

[jrubin]

Thank you guys very much for the advice. I really appreciate it. I feel much more confident in my decision.

[silverfox]

St. Thomas is a no-namer to me, but who really cares about stuff like that anyways?

[Alma]

I got a math degree and at most learned the material on the first exam, which equates to none of the exams now since they got rid of the calculus one. I passed the first 4 exams through self study. Learning the first 3 in school seems pretty good to me and you could learn the material on the 4th one on your own. Things probably have changed since I went to college though. I'm old.

[LGW]

if you're dedicated and smart you can pass exams on your own. i worked with an actuary who graduated from harvard law, never took a math class in college. he said math wasn't the hard part for him, it was the other stuff. i didn't major in act sci and i took all the non-math classes i could. philosophy, photography, english, etc. enjoy yourself in undergrad, there's plenty of time for the other shit later on.