Welcome to Penn State Actuarial Science!
If you are a new student, congratulations! Penn State has one of the largest actuarial programs in the U.S. so there are lots of resources to help you along the path to becoming an actuary! To learn about the beginnings of the Actuarial Science program at Penn State, read this SOA article written by Dr. Shapiro, the founder of the program. Check out this Word document for information on the actuarial program at Penn State today.
Should I Major in Actuarial Science?
Are you really good at math?
Then you should consider Actuarial Science. This Word document provides info on the actuarial profession to help you decide if it is right for you.
If you excel in Mathematics and/or Statistics, consider Actuarial Science. Actuarial Science is often found in a university's Mathematics Department, but some schools offer it under their Statistics Department or Business School. Penn State is unique, as we offer the major under all three. It can help to place out of Calc I by getting a 5 on your AP Exam. See this Math Department website on whether you place out of Calc I and II.
Find out if you are suited for Actuarial Science by taking this Quiz!
Then you should consider Actuarial Science. This Word document provides info on the actuarial profession to help you decide if it is right for you.
If you excel in Mathematics and/or Statistics, consider Actuarial Science. Actuarial Science is often found in a university's Mathematics Department, but some schools offer it under their Statistics Department or Business School. Penn State is unique, as we offer the major under all three. It can help to place out of Calc I by getting a 5 on your AP Exam. See this Math Department website on whether you place out of Calc I and II.
Find out if you are suited for Actuarial Science by taking this Quiz!
Things to Know
This section will outline some important pieces of information that you may find helpful during your freshman year.
There are three ways to pursue Actuarial Science at Penn State:
1) Actuarial Science Major through the Smeal College of Business
2) Mathematics (Actuarial Science Option) through the Eberly College of Science
3) Statistics (Actuarial Science Option) through the Eberly College of Science
All three of these require the same Actuarial courses, but the entrance to major courses differ.
Check out this sample schedule for the Actuarial Science (Smeal) major, this for the Math major, and this for the Stat major.
It may be helpful for Eberly students to look at the Smeal schedule because the Smeal schedule incorporates exams, all VEE courses, and a Statistics minor.
Planning your schedules ahead of time and having an experienced Actuarial Science student proofread it is crucial and more important than you may realize. I highly recommend drafting a rough schedule of important classes (all entrance to majors) to make sure you are on track to pass exams and get an internship. Remember that many courses require prerequisites, so a good rule of thumb is to know exactly what courses you want to take a full two semesters in advance.
Meet with your academic advisor at least twice during your first year. They will make sure you are on track to entering the major. Also, try your best to enter the major one semester early (between your third and fourth semesters) so you can spread out your actuarial courses a little more to provide adequate time for exams.
The Actuarial Science Club holds many events throughout the year, as you might have seen from the homepage. These events range from Excel/VBA workshops to company information sessions to frisbee games (with free ice cream)! Take advantage of as many of these opportunities as possible, especially ones that can expand your network and can lead to internships/jobs. Also, most of our events are great bonding experiences with fellow actuarial students who would surely love to give you helpful advice!
There are three ways to pursue Actuarial Science at Penn State:
1) Actuarial Science Major through the Smeal College of Business
2) Mathematics (Actuarial Science Option) through the Eberly College of Science
3) Statistics (Actuarial Science Option) through the Eberly College of Science
All three of these require the same Actuarial courses, but the entrance to major courses differ.
Check out this sample schedule for the Actuarial Science (Smeal) major, this for the Math major, and this for the Stat major.
It may be helpful for Eberly students to look at the Smeal schedule because the Smeal schedule incorporates exams, all VEE courses, and a Statistics minor.
Planning your schedules ahead of time and having an experienced Actuarial Science student proofread it is crucial and more important than you may realize. I highly recommend drafting a rough schedule of important classes (all entrance to majors) to make sure you are on track to pass exams and get an internship. Remember that many courses require prerequisites, so a good rule of thumb is to know exactly what courses you want to take a full two semesters in advance.
Meet with your academic advisor at least twice during your first year. They will make sure you are on track to entering the major. Also, try your best to enter the major one semester early (between your third and fourth semesters) so you can spread out your actuarial courses a little more to provide adequate time for exams.
The Actuarial Science Club holds many events throughout the year, as you might have seen from the homepage. These events range from Excel/VBA workshops to company information sessions to frisbee games (with free ice cream)! Take advantage of as many of these opportunities as possible, especially ones that can expand your network and can lead to internships/jobs. Also, most of our events are great bonding experiences with fellow actuarial students who would surely love to give you helpful advice!
Tips for Success
Major Forum
Each year, the Actuarial Science Club hosts a Major Forum to teach incoming students about Actuarial Science at Penn State. This event is mandatory for all first-year students, so be sure to attend! The Major Forum was held on Thursday, August 29th, in 101 Thomas from 6:00 to 7:30pm.
Missed the Major Forum? Don't fret!
Here is a video of the presentation from the most recent Major Forum.
Here are the PowerPoint slides from the most recent Major Forum.
Find a mentor!
Having a mentor who knows the actuarial curriculum can help you tremendously with your own college career. A mentor can be a professor, a member of the club's executive board, or any exceptional student that has passed exams/gotten internships. Don't think of finding a mentor as some intimidating and uncomfortable challenge - most of the time you won't even realize someone is your mentor until you reflect on all the great advice they've given you. The ideal way to find a mentor is to just go to club events and click with other students who have been successful. You can also fill out the Mentee form on the website, and we can assign a mentor to you. Nothing about finding a mentor is daunting - every actuarial science student at Penn State was in your shoes at some point and will be glad to help you out.
Start studying for your first actuarial exam as early as possible!
Once you take Math 141, you have the necessary mathematical knowledge to self-study for the P exam. Getting a jumpstart on actuarial exams benefits you in many ways: 1) It will be the best indicator of whether or not you wish to continue pursuing Actuarial Science, 2) The earlier you start the more likely you are to pass on your first attempt, and 3) Learning to self-study is critical to pursuing an Actuarial Science degree and will greatly help you throughout your college career.
Attend the Actuarial Science Career Fair!
Some first-year students may say that there is no point in going to the Career Fair because companies are unlikely to hire freshmen for internships - don't take this advice! First-year students should go to the Career Fair to become accustomed to the environment so that during sophomore year, nerves and fear will be a thing of the past. Your primary goal should be to get a feel for what the Career Fair is and how to talk to recruiters as opposed to getting an internship. If you're up to it, make it your goal to get an interview: with the right preparation (i.e. professional resume, appropriate business attire, practicing conversations with recruiters), getting an interview, even as a freshman, is very attainable. With the 30+ companies that come to Penn State and three quality hours of talking to recruiters, getting an interview is almost guaranteed (as long as you adequately prepare) - we have even had several freshmen earn full internships. And remember, the dress attire for the career fair is business professional so make sure you have a full suit and tie come mid-September!
If you want to get a feel of how the career fair is organized, take a look at the Past Events page. The last few career fairs' brochures are hyperlinked into the table so you can see what companies attend. Also, there are a bunch of other hyperlinked files into the club's many other events, so check those out too!
One last thing - remember that the extra effort you put into your first year will prove to be exponentially helpful over the next 3 years. And the extra effort you put into the first few weeks of your college career before the Career Fair will prove to be exponentially helpful.
Each year, the Actuarial Science Club hosts a Major Forum to teach incoming students about Actuarial Science at Penn State. This event is mandatory for all first-year students, so be sure to attend! The Major Forum was held on Thursday, August 29th, in 101 Thomas from 6:00 to 7:30pm.
Missed the Major Forum? Don't fret!
Here is a video of the presentation from the most recent Major Forum.
Here are the PowerPoint slides from the most recent Major Forum.
Find a mentor!
Having a mentor who knows the actuarial curriculum can help you tremendously with your own college career. A mentor can be a professor, a member of the club's executive board, or any exceptional student that has passed exams/gotten internships. Don't think of finding a mentor as some intimidating and uncomfortable challenge - most of the time you won't even realize someone is your mentor until you reflect on all the great advice they've given you. The ideal way to find a mentor is to just go to club events and click with other students who have been successful. You can also fill out the Mentee form on the website, and we can assign a mentor to you. Nothing about finding a mentor is daunting - every actuarial science student at Penn State was in your shoes at some point and will be glad to help you out.
Start studying for your first actuarial exam as early as possible!
Once you take Math 141, you have the necessary mathematical knowledge to self-study for the P exam. Getting a jumpstart on actuarial exams benefits you in many ways: 1) It will be the best indicator of whether or not you wish to continue pursuing Actuarial Science, 2) The earlier you start the more likely you are to pass on your first attempt, and 3) Learning to self-study is critical to pursuing an Actuarial Science degree and will greatly help you throughout your college career.
Attend the Actuarial Science Career Fair!
Some first-year students may say that there is no point in going to the Career Fair because companies are unlikely to hire freshmen for internships - don't take this advice! First-year students should go to the Career Fair to become accustomed to the environment so that during sophomore year, nerves and fear will be a thing of the past. Your primary goal should be to get a feel for what the Career Fair is and how to talk to recruiters as opposed to getting an internship. If you're up to it, make it your goal to get an interview: with the right preparation (i.e. professional resume, appropriate business attire, practicing conversations with recruiters), getting an interview, even as a freshman, is very attainable. With the 30+ companies that come to Penn State and three quality hours of talking to recruiters, getting an interview is almost guaranteed (as long as you adequately prepare) - we have even had several freshmen earn full internships. And remember, the dress attire for the career fair is business professional so make sure you have a full suit and tie come mid-September!
If you want to get a feel of how the career fair is organized, take a look at the Past Events page. The last few career fairs' brochures are hyperlinked into the table so you can see what companies attend. Also, there are a bunch of other hyperlinked files into the club's many other events, so check those out too!
One last thing - remember that the extra effort you put into your first year will prove to be exponentially helpful over the next 3 years. And the extra effort you put into the first few weeks of your college career before the Career Fair will prove to be exponentially helpful.