Hello!!!

[piano]

Any one here from the University of Central Florida statistics or actuarial science department? I am the first one to post, and graduated from the statistics departement with a B.S. a few years ago.

I wonder if anyone knows about the forum who goes to UCF currently.

If so, please respond!

[sw1ndl3r]

Hey! I'm a junior at UCF and am doing the Actuarial Science track. I have Dr. Han for Life Con I this semester and Dr. Kellison for Theory of Interest, both are great teachers with their own styles. It also helps that they always relate the topics to real world applications and their tests have mock SOA questions on them.

[tommie frazier]

I am a fan of daunte culpepper's and also george o'leary. can I chat in here?

[piano]

Of course, you can chat. I graduated from the statistics department at UCF in 2004. And I am in the PhD in statistics program at NC state, and earned my masters in statistics in May 2006. I was kind of lazy to start taking the exams because I was taking so many courses, and even now!! I am taking my PhD courses and they are probably as hard as the toughest exams, but it is different! The questions are theoretical, which you will never see on an actuarial exam, and the way of thinking is different.

I took Course 1 in May, and it was easy. I got 9/10. Misread two questions and I knew it!!! However, I know nothing about Course 2 and I will not have any time to study it until after this year. I cannot have measure theory and interest theory in my brain at the same time!! However the PhD courses will help me with Exam 4.

I think the exams are pretty fun to study for. It was refreshing to have been tested so many times on statistical theory and take exam 1 at the end of my masters degree. However, I have to learn all the finance stuff that I have never taken before. Exam 2 and Exam 3A and 3B will be toughest for me. Exam 4 will be easier.

Finally, why are so many faculty leaving UCF? Ms. Guo left, Dr. Eric Ulm left, Dr. Hoffman left, Dr. Ibrahim left. It is good that they brought Kellison in. How much is he there? And is that guy from University of Waterloo there? U of W in Canada IS the best actuarial program in North America, and you could do PhD level research in the field over there.

How many people are in the masters of act science now at UCF? I have been away from Orlando for over 2 years?

[Mil]

piano, we have about 50 undergrad students now and about 20 in a grad program. I think Kellison is going to stay for a while and will help expand the department. They also hired Dr. Modisett to teach new material for FM, M and C.

[sw1ndl3r]

Originally Posted by piano

I think the exams are pretty fun to study for. It was refreshing to have been tested so many times on statistical theory and take exam 1 at the end of my masters degree. However, I have to learn all the finance stuff that I have never taken before. Exam 2 and Exam 3A and 3B will be toughest for me. Exam 4 will be easier.

Finally, why are so many faculty leaving UCF? Ms. Guo left, Dr. Eric Ulm left, Dr. Hoffman left, Dr. Ibrahim left. It is good that they brought Kellison in. How much is he there? And is that guy from University of Waterloo there? U of W in Canada IS the best actuarial program in North America, and you could do PhD level research in the field over there.

The material for Exam 2 does not seem that difficult, as I'm currently taking the courses that cover it. Exam 3 is now split into 2 portions? Exam 3 will be difficult due to the sheer amount of relationships and formulas.

I'm not sure about the professors leaving, but the guy from Waterloo did leave. Possibly they are getting jobs in the field?

[piano]

I think the reason is that the professors at UCF in the stat department were underpaid. One of my teachers once gave me some data points. And the entry-level actuary salary around $45K is not that much lower than what a professor with a PhD in statistics would get around $55K at UCF. And it is not easy to get a professor job with PhD in statistics. Only the top students from my program had any luck, and the positions were at the University of South Carolina, and UNC-Greensboro.

However, the PhD in statistics could open other doors such as the biostatistics and the pharmaceutical industry as well. And the entry-level positions in the pharm industry with PhD will get as much as ASA about. Are there any positions if you were ASA or FSA that would want a PhD in statistics as well because they would be considered higher-level and are more research-based?

So I could see why they are all leaving. However, the faculty at NC State does not leave that much. So I wonder what the reason is at UCF besides the salary.

[piano]

From reading the posts; yes, Exam 3 is split up.

[Jeni]

I graduated from the actuarial program in 2005. I did not know so many professors left! I have to say Dr. Ulm and Dr. Han were two of the best professors I ever had. When I was in school, I did not pass any exams due to the fact that the courses were as intense as studying for the exams. If you failed one exam and went on to study material in classes for a higher exam, it was difficult to study for two exams at once, in a sense. However, I have been able to pass exams with a lot of help from past courses. So, don't be discouraged if you find it difficult to pass exams and take courses at the same time. As for only the top of the class finding positions, I must disagree with you. I know many people that have been successful in finding positions, even those who struggled in college.