Majors to be an Actuary and Universities to Attend

To start off, don’t worry about my GPA and all of that stuff, I assure you that it is great.

I am currently interested in becoming an actuary. I love mathematics and haven’t had any challenging courses yet (until AP Calculus next year… maybe). First off, I would like to know what I should be looking for as a major. I have heard mathematics is a good major, as well as economics. Actuarial science and accounting I have heard are poor but I have no idea. Which major would you choose for the best preparation for the tests?

And now for colleges to select from. I like the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin - Madison because they are very near my location, but I am willing to travel for college. My dream college is Columbia University but I am willing to look at more realistic choices. Other colleges would include:
NYU
Yale
Cornell
Northwestern
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (very close to my home – very cheap – love the area – not the strongest)
Princeton
Dartmouth

Which colleges would you recommend for an economics/mathematics major to prepare for the actuary tests? They do not need to be Ivy League schools, and please don’t send me to Harvard or Stanford.

See http://beanactuary.com/ for more information on actuarial preparation.

No specific major is required, but the suggested course work includes such subjects as math, statistics, economics, and finance. Some schools have an actuarial science major or an actuarial concentration within the math or statistics major that can be a convenient checklist of some of the suggested courses, but that is not strictly necessary.

Why do you think that Minnesota is “not the strongest”?

There are certain schools that have received an accreditation by the SOA.

You can find them here. https://www.soa.org/Education/Resources/actuarial-colleges/actuarial-college-listings-details.aspx .

Usually actuaries don’t advise you to major in actuarial science… so if you went to one of these schools I would suggest to major in math, stats, econ, or finance (like the above posted said) and get a minor in actuarial science. Regardless, most companies don’t care about what school you go to as long as you pass the first 2 exams by the time you apply to a position. Any of the schools you have listed would be fine in helping you achieving your actuarial endeavors.

You haven’t even taken calculus yet? What exactly makes you interested in becoming an actuary?

You say Columbia is not realistic for you, but Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth are?

I know many actuaries. They attended SUNY Albany, Binghamton, Union College, Cooper Union, Bryant, Texas, NC State, Alabama, etc. You can prepare for the career at any good school. It’s all about the overall fit. Come out of any school with a high GPA in any math-intensive major, with at least 2 exams passed, and you will have plenty of opportunities. If you choose math or applied math, I would also suggest a double major or minor in computer science. It has a lot of overlap with math, so often not many additional courses needed. Actuaries do lots of programming these days.

I have no data to back this up, but Temple U in Philadelphia is reputed to have a top notch actuarial program. If you are a high stats student, you will likely qualify for generous merit aid.

Madison has a nice program where Actuarial Science and Risk Management are part of their business school. My son was close to enrolling in the program before he ended up choosing Michigan

My brother the actuary majored in math at Reed, got his PhD at Virginia, and taught at both Temple & Penn. If you meet its standards, I think Penn would be an excellent choice. You do realize that the qual exams to be a full member of the Society of Actuaries are grueling? https://www.soa.org/member/ Sheesh, I only had to take one exam (albeit 3 days worth) to be an attorney.