Though I ve shot an email to the department, but I have to wait till the monday to hear back. By any chance, does anyone here knows that if any of STATS 404, STATS 408 and STATS 504 counts for the “ intermediate or advanced courses related to Actuarial Mathematics” to complete the concentration program? It only says that “•Some Statistics courses numbered above 400” are valid on the major site.
STATS 404 - Effective Communication in Statistics
This course focuses on the principles of good written and oral communication of statistical information and data analyses. Participants study communication principles and apply them in writing assignments and oral presentations of statistical analysis. Topics include giving constructive feedback and rewriting to improve clarity and technical correctness.
STATS 408 - Statistical Principles for Problem Solving: A Systems Approach
Our purpose is to help students use quantitative reasoning to facilitate learning. Specifically, we introduce statistical and mathematical principles, and then use these as analogues in a variety of real world situations. The notion of a system, a collection of components that come together repeatedly for a purpose, provides an excellent framework to describe many real world phenomena and provides a way to view the quality of an inferential process.
Evaluation is focused on clear writing that illustrates understanding of the theory by providing new applications of the theory. Points are obtained from four activities: a journal (max 20 points); test score (max 30 points); and discussion section leader bonus (max 5 additional points).
STATS 504 - Statistical Consulting
Applications of statistics to problems in engineering, physical and social sciences; students will be expected to analyze data and write reports.
Honestly, if it were me I would not do Actuarial Math. I didn’t go too far into it besides Math 217 and 425. If you simply like math for the sake of it and thinking about grad school, then I guess go for. If it is for career reasons, then no.
You are young. I thought I was dead set on this major when I was young, oh boy. I was wrong.
It is a very specialized/pigeonhole major. Something like Statistics/Econ or Data Science will be more versatile in the job market and applicable in many industries.
Jobs for actuary don’t even require a college degree as long as you can pass their certification exams. You can always still be an actuary if you want.
Math department has historically the lowest average grades. Again, Stats/Econ or Ross will let you chill out more and enjoy your college experience. Being a good networker will get you far.
Wow, I don’t agree ForeverAlone - Actuarial Science is a great major if you want to be very, very employable and enjoy a better wage scale than other F500 Finance personnel. Good Actuarial programs will get you through at least the first two exams before your graduate. Employers are not going to hire you if you don’t have a degree regardless of how many exams you’ve passed.
Wayne, I never said Actuarial Math is a bad major or career. Instead, I’m saying s/he is better off doing something else more flexible and less stressful
I can speak to your question since I took the actuarial math route when I was at Michigan. I 100% agree w/ ForeverAlone, believe it or not Actuarial Math is not the ideal major if you want to be an actuary. Industry has moved quickly in the past decade to use more modeling and data science techniques to analyze actuarial data. I recommend you major in statistics or applied math, and possibly get a minor in computer science. Business skills are important as well, so look into taking some courses in IOE or at Ross. I haven’t really looked extensively into the latest actuarial curriculum at Michigan, but from my understanding the courses are still tailored to succeeding on the first few actuarial exams. IMHO you really don’t need to take classes to prepare for these exams. The first 4 actuarial exams are fairly straight forward in terms of the math used (some light Calculus, lots of statistics). Most serious actuarial candidates, regardless of major, are able to self-study for these tests using the many exhaustive test prep materials. (full disclosure I worked in insurance for a couple of years, now I work in a completely different industry/role after getting an MBA. I got bored of being an actuary )
Hello guys, I know it’s a old thread but does anyone know can I CHOOSE which two intermediate courses to count into my major GPA? I took Econ 402 in the past fall semester and it sucks ( sign* and I would like to take Acc 315 and Acc 318 in the upcoming winter semester. All the three courses are on the intermediate course list. So does UM automatically chooses the first two intermediate courses I complete to count into my major GPA? Can I request to choose the later two ( to get rid of Econ 402 you know) ? @ForeverAlone@wayneandgarth@Mich08
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