Why Did I Choose To Study Actuarial Science at UCSI?

Picture this. For your whole life, you’ve always been good with numbers. Not only can you easily grasp new concepts, theories and symbols, you can also recognise the relationships between them and come up with creative solutions fairly quickly. Solving problems from different perspectives just comes naturally to you.

And since mathematics is basically about pattern finding and logical thinking, you excelled in subjects such as Mathematics and Additional Mathematics, and sometimes Physics too.

You grow to love it. After all, numbers just make more sense to you.

Does any of the above relate to you? If it does, then we are probably quite similar.

As someone who loved mathematics, the most popular suggestion from my teachers and peers was Actuarial Science.

It is a common misconception that Actuarial Science is all about mathematics, when in reality it consists of a combination of mathematics, finance, statistics and probability. It focuses more on the practical side of mathematics, which basically means applying mathematical and financial concepts in solving real problems in risk management, insurance and business.

Being an Actuary has been gaining popularity in recent years. It is not surprising, given that it is consistently rated as one of the top jobs worldwide in terms of pay, job security and work-life balance.

However, you should also be prepared to put in much time and effort in passing a number of preliminary papers (depending on the Actuarial organization of your choice) in order to get your certification. Even with proper preparation and discipline, Actuarial exams can still be quite difficult to pass. If you’re not willing to say goodbye to your social life, then this is probably not the best path for you.

So, after getting to know more about Actuarial Science, we’ll get back to the second part of the question: why UCSI University?

After some research, I’ve found that only a few universities offer Actuarial Science in Malaysia, one of them being UCSI University. In fact, UCSI University is considered as one of the best private universities for Actuarial Science for a few reasons:

• UCSI University is the first private university to be recognised by both the Society of Actuaries (SoA) and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA).
• UCSI University has the most comprehensive SoA exam coverage in Malaysia.
• UCSI University provides several exemptions for both SoA and IFoA. (For more details, you should feel free the click this link.)

Besides, after almost a year of study, I feel that UCSI University has given me a basic understanding in mathematics, probability, finance and business that is required for some of the preliminary papers, namely Exam P and Exam FM for SoA. Personally, I feel that my Probability Theory course has helped me tremendously in my preparation for Exam P.

Not only that, I’ve noticed that many of my peers have passed several papers while still attending classes at the same time, and a handful of them even managed to complete all papers before graduation. This shows that becoming a certified Actuary before graduation is definitely doable, and it all depends on how much time and effort you are willing to put in.

So far, I think I made the right choice!