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SOA exam P

secondrate

Joined
1/20/11
Messages
18
Points
11
hi guys, i'm an undergrad hoping to pursue mfe.

anyway, i was just wondering whether taking the SOA exam P will be a plus on my application. the thing is, i don't have the time to review for it as i'm also involved in research in my university (field related to probability & risk, the second time i'm doing research. for the first one, which i did last academic year, the results of the research are now under MCAP publication review (methodology and computing in applied probability). it was about bond pricing in the dothan model).

plus i thought that spending $200+ for an exam would be really expensive on my part and i'd like to save up for grad school.

hope to get some valuable advice!

P.S. am i correct to say that just because i don't study in the u.s. then i'd have to exert more effort in demonstrating that i am capable for the mfe program? looking at the resumes of those pursuing mfe/mathfin in cornell and nyu, only 1 or 2 of them did their undergrad degree in singapore -- where i'm currently studying.
 
and oh, now that i've checked the SOA exams, it seems that the exam P (probability), FM (financial mathematics), and MFE (models of financial economics) overlap with MFE (financial engineering)...

this makes me think that i'm doing the wrong thing of doing research when i could've taken these exams to kind of demonstrating my ability. or am i mistaken?
 
Actuary exams are not worth your time if your goal is MFE. The suggested study period for an SOA exam is 3 months. In 3 months you could accomplish all of the following:

1) Brush up on your C++
2) Take some math courses you were lacking
3) Study Q/V for GRE and get a fantastic score...

Each of these things individually are more important than an SOA exam. Combined there is no question.
 
Don't do it.
 
a couple friends of mine in the baruch mfe program got 9/10 and 10/10 respectively in the probability exams. I wanted to take the exams myself but they said it was incredibly easy. But then again, they are really smart guys and very good in probability as well so it was probably easy for them. I would consider asking them for advise. One is ivan i forgot what his user name is and the other is andrew chang. both are here in quantnet. good luck
 
thanks MRoss, SYau, rajanS.

are you from baruch too, rajanS? It would be interesting to note that all of you from Baruch have suggested the same thing.

I'm honestly against it as well but the fact that the actuarial exams also test on these financial models bothers me. I may be a bit naive but isn't actuarial science more concerned with insurance? If that's the case, why do they have to learn models of financial economics?
 
MRoss

Oh yeah, what you said is true. my friend reviewed for it over the summer and at that time i did an internship with a bank, right after my first year in university.

this year's summer, my friend reviewed for the second exam which is financial mathematics while i went for a 6 week research experience abroad.

and now my friend's reviewing for the third exam while i'm taking more academic units and doing research.

hmm, it may just be a matter of preference and priorities?
 
The one good thing about the SOA exams is that it teaches you true study habits. Spending $200 every 3 months because you think that "this time" you will study harder is disconcerting.

No one should take the SOA exams unless they plan on becoming an actuary. Period. That's why they are called actuary exams. If you have a burning desire to take an exam go for the CFAs.

For example: A friend of mine currently enrolled in an MFE program told me that he had hoped that studying for (and passing) the P exam would give him a stronger foundation in probability for the MFE probability courses. He said that it did not help at all as the SOA P exam is firmly application while prob courses in grad school are typically theoretical.
 
MRoss,

Yeah I had the same thoughts as your friend 'till you clarified them now. Thank you very much!

And oh, what do you think of a student's chances to get into a top MFE program in the US if he/she came straight away from an undergrad school in singapore? I mean compared to other international students from India and China (who by the way make up bulk of the international student population in MFE programs such as NYU, Cornell, and Columbia), would my degree be that recognized?

I was thinking that perhaps I should just first pursue an MS in Applied Math somewhere in US/Europe before applying for MFE. Afterall, I would be 22 once I finish university.
 
secondrate said:
thanks MRoss, SYau, rajanS.

are you from baruch too, rajanS? It would be interesting to note that all of you from Baruch have suggested the same thing.

I'm honestly against it as well but the fact that the actuarial exams also test on these financial models bothers me. I may be a bit naive but isn't actuarial science more concerned with insurance? If that's the case, why do they have to learn models of financial economics?
Click to expand...
Modeling derivatives is a foundation of more advanced actuarial modeling. Besides for the fact that insurance operates identically to an option mathematically...Actuarial science is a very broad field, borrowing much from mathematics, finance, and economics.
 
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