Actuarial Science?

I am a junior interested in Actuarial science
Not many good schools have an actuarial science program, but I heard that UMich Ann Arbor does. Does the actuarial science program offered by UMichigan do a good job help prepare students to pass the exams for being an Actuary? If not, are there any other schools that you would recommend ?

No direct experience, but possibly helpful links: 1) ranking at 10th in country: http://www.collegevaluesonline.com/rankings/best-value-actuarial-science-programs/

  1. ranking and local competitors: http://math-colleges.com/university-of-michigan-ann-arbor

  2. a community board: http://www.actuary.com/actuarial-discussion-forum/showthread.php?11699-Actuarial-Degree-in-University-of-Michigan-Ann-Arbor-VS-University-of-Illinois-UC&s=44c7c53789dee8e86532be4674b334f2

Keep in mind that while few schools have that major, many colleges have an actuarial track for math majors. Very few actuaries major in actuarial science.

If you like Michigan it’s an excellent choice, but don’t rule out other schools because they lack an actuarial science major.

full disclosure I took the “actuarial math” route when I was at Michigan several years ago. I worked in insurance for a few years, went back to grad school for my MBA, and now I’m in a completely different industry. I highly discourage you from getting bogged down by whether or not you’re taking “actuarial sciences” courses. Believe it or not, actuarial exams aren’t that difficult in terms of level of math required; you need a solid understanding of calculus and a good grasp of some statistics concepts, but overall much of the material you will end up self-studying anyway. I highly highly recommend you look into CS or a statistics/data-analytics oriented math track – technical / analytical techniques are already in high demand, and will be even more important when you’re ready to hit the job market. Feel free to PM me!