<p>I’m a junior at a public high school in new england, white male, gpa 3.8, 1780 SAT (just took again), good ECs,
looking to major in actuary science. My ideal school would offer internship
possibilities in or near a big city, have a great pep band, and social life would
not revolve around drinking. I’ve narrowed my list down to these 8 schools, all with great
actuary science programs:</p>
<p>Drake University
Binghamton University
SUNY Albany
UConn (OOS)
Florida State University
Towson University
Bryant University
University of Saint Thomas </p>
<p>I’m looking for comments on fit, chances, personal knowledge about the actuary program,
pep bands, if social scene is dominated by drinking, etc. Thanks in advance for any insights you can give me as I start this process!</p>
<p>Just checking, have you run the net price calculators for these schools and are they all affordable for you?</p>
<p>Yes, I’d have to get a really good scholarship at Bryant, U of St Thomas and UConn, but the others would work.</p>
<p>Drake’s social life does center around drinking so it’s probably not a good fit.</p>
<p>I am curious about your interest in actuary programs as a determining factor. Do you have family experience or internship experience with this field? Otherwise, I am concerned about such a specific career goal limiting your college search at this point.</p>
<p>Choices make sense. I think it is a good think that you have a potential career path in mind. And if you change your mind, all of these schools offer many other options in terms of potential majors as well. If anything, I’d look to see if there are one or two more SUNY schools that are more safety schools offer actuarial science to give you a couple more options that are both academic and financial safety schools. </p>
<p>You can major in stats or math rather than actuarial science to broaden the options. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com”>http://www.beanactuary.com</a> can give you help on preparing for an actuarial career. A specific actuarial major in college is not needed if you choose appropriate courses (often based on an statistics or applied math major).</p>
<p><<Florida State University and UConn<<<</p>
<p>These will each cost about $40k per year.</p>
<p>You wont get merit money at either school unless your SAT goes up a LOT</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>fsu and uconn are fine schools, but they will have drinking.</p>
<p>I like the idea of going to a school with a strong actuarial program because I have read that in this field it is the exams that matter rather than your major or the prestige of the college and I’d like to be part of study groups with students who have common goals.</p>
<p>I am surprised to hear that Drake’s social life is centered around drinking. I had read that they are strict about no underage drinking in the dorms, and Des Moines is nearby, giving students something to do. I did read that students at UConn often find there is nothing to do in Storrs, and that there is a lot of drinking there.</p>
<p>Robert Morris University in PA has a strong program but I’m not sure how it is overall as a school, that might be a good safety. I am trying to choose schools that are “Centers for Actuarial Excellence” Does anyone know anything about this school? I know it’s outside of Pittsburgh so internship possibilities are there.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your input. I guess I do need help coming up with a few more financial and academic safeties.</p>
<p>Here is a list of all of the schools that are rated by the Society of Actuaries as either ADVANCED or CENTERS FOR ACTUARIAL EXCELLENCE. (I took out all of the international schools on the list).</p>
<p>Do any of you see any schools that would be good schools to consider adding to my list? Thanks so much for your help! </p>
<p>Abilene Christian University Texas United States
Auburn University Alabama United States
Aurora University Illinois United States
Ball State University Indiana United States
Baruch College New York United States
Bentley University Massachusetts United States
Binghamton University New York United States
Bowling Green State University Ohio United States
Bradley University Illinois United States
Brigham Young University Utah United States
Bryant University Rhode Island United States
Butler University Indiana United States
Carroll University Wisconsin United States
Central Washington University Washington United States<br>
Columbia University New York United States
DePaul University Illinois United States
Drake University Iowa United States
East Tennessee State University Tennessee United States
Elizabethtown College Pennsylvania United States
Florida State University Florida United States
George Mason University Virginia United States
Georgia State University Georgia United States
Illinois State University Illinois United States
Indiana University Northwest Indiana United States
Indiana University–South Bend Indiana United States<br>
Kent State University Ohio United States
Lebanon Valley College Pennsylvania United States
Maryville University of St. Louis Missouri United States
Michigan State University Michigan United States
Middle Tennessee State University Tennessee United States
Minnesota State University - Moorhead Minnesota United States
Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri United States
Morgan State University Maryland United States
New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey United States
New York University Stern School of Business New York United States
Northern Illinois University Illinois United States
Northwestern College Iowa United States
Ohio University Ohio United States
Oregon State University Oregon United States
Otterbein University Ohio United States<br>
Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania United States
Purdue University Indiana United States
Rider University New Jersey United States
Robert Morris University Pennsylvania United States
Rochester Institute of Technology New York United States
Roosevelt University Illinois United States
Saint Mary’s College Indiana United States
Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville Illinois United States
Spring Arbor University Michigan United States
St. John’s University New York United States
State University of New York at Albany New York United States
Temple University Pennsylvania United States
Texas Tech University Texas United States
The Ohio State University Ohio United States
The University of Iowa Iowa United States
The University of Texas at Dallas Texas United States
Towson University Maryland United States
UMass-Amherst Massachusetts United States
University of Akron Ohio United States
University of Alabama Alabama United States<br>
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) California<br>
University of California, Santa Barbara California United States
University of Central Florida Florida United States
University of Central Missouri Missouri United States
University of Central Oklahoma Oklahoma United States
University of Connecticut Connecticut United States
University of Evansville Indiana United States
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Illinois United States
University of Indianapolis Indiana United States
University of Louisville Kentucky United States
University of Manitoba Manitoba Canada
University of Michigan Michigan United States
University of Minnesota Minnesota United States
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Nebraska<br>
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill North Carolina United States
University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina United States
University of North Texas Texas United States
University of Northern Iowa Iowa United States
University of St. Thomas Minnesota United States
University of Texas at Austin Texas United States<br>
University of Wisconsin – Madison Wisconsin United States
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Wisconsin<br>
University of Wisconsin–Madison Wisconsin United States
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Wisconsin United States
Utah State University Utah United States
Washburn University Kansas United States
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania United States
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts United States
Xavier University Ohio United States
Youngstown State University Ohio United States</p>
<p><a href=“Universities & Colleges with Actuarial Programs (UCAP) | SOA”>http://www.soa.org/education/resources/actuarial-colleges/actuarial-college-listings-details.aspx</a></p>
<p>it’s because Drake’s social life centers on the fraternities, which encourage drinking. Drake is trying to crack down on it because it’s been a big problem in the past few years. </p>
<p>Robert Morris is known as a very conservative university. If you’re into conservative politics, it’d be perfect. If you’re not… not so much.</p>
<p>What are your stats?
What’s your budget?
What’s in-state for you?</p>
<p>For the publics, your in-state universities are probably best, so I’ll leave that till we know
what state you live in.
As for privates:
Bentley, Bryant, Bradley, Butler, have strong reputations for business.
RIT is a tech school with co-ops, strong reputation in the Northeast, career-focused.
DePaul is quintessentially urban (Chicago). Same thing for Maryville (St Louis). Xavier (Cincinnati - cool city). All three Catholic if it matters to you.
Elizabethtown would be a good safety but not urban - although a quick train ride to Philadelphia (and easy access to DC, Baltimore, and NYC).</p>
<p>My stats are 3.8 GPA, 4.0 the last 2 years (UW), SAT 700 M 550 R 530 W, several ECs, some leadership, volunteer and work experience. I will be taking AP Stats, AP Calc and AP Physics next year.</p>
<p>None of the state universities on the list are in-state for me. My family has a high EFC. My parents’ contribution can be about $30,000 to $35,000. a year max. I am Catholic so those 3 choices are worth looking into.</p>
<p>I was also considering George Mason and Ohio University. I know Ohio University is on the Top 10 Party School list, but I have read great things about the school too. Would those be good choices?</p>
<p>I heard Bentley doesn’t give much aid…</p>
<p>One of the schools I was looking at that only has an introductory Actuary program but is ranked as one of the best undergraduate Math programs is Clemson University. </p>
<p>I just don’t want to be around a lot of rowdy students drinking on campus, I came across Albany’s “Kegs and Eggs” party on youtube last night and now I’m wondering if I should cross Albany off my list.</p>
<p>Thanks again for your help!</p>
<p>Among the state schools: Auburn, Michigan state, George Mason, tOhioState, Penn State, NYU, UAlabama, UConn, UMinnesota, UNebraska, UNC-Charlotte, UWisconsin Madison, UWisconsin Eau Claire.</p>
<p>You can always apply to Honors.
You’d definitely qualify at UWisconsin Eau Claire (they have an excellent honors college, top 15 among the hundreds of regional universities). UWI Eau Claire would be a safety for you and the honors college would be a nice bonus.</p>
<p>Don’t “guess”. Run the Net Price Calculator on each website.*</p>
<p>As far as drinking goes, Bing is better than Albany, that’s true. With so many choices, you can keep Albany as a safety.</p>
<p>You should retake that SAT and get your W/CR scores above 600.</p>
<ul>
<li>here’s a bunch of NPCs, look for the others (“net price calculator” + college name)
<a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<a href=“Undergraduate Admissions | Auburn University”>http://auburn.edu/admissions/netpricecalc/freshman.html</a>
<a href=“Estimating Costs | Niner Central | UNC Charlotte”>https://finaid.uncc.edu/aid-basics/estimating-costs/net-price-calculator</a>
<a href=“Net Price Calculator | Scholarships & Financial Aid | University of Nebraska–Lincoln”>http://wam.unl.edu/cost/calculator.jsp</a>
<a href=“Office of Student Financial Aid – UW–Madison”>Office of Student Financial Aid – UW–Madison;
<a href=“Net Price Calculator | UW-Eau Claire”>https://www.uwec.edu/finaid/costs/vsa.htm</a>
<a href=“Estimate Your Cost”>Estimate Your Cost;
<a href=“Net Price Calculator - Incoming Freshmen - The Ohio State University”>http://sfa.osu.edu/npc/</a>
<a href=“http://collegecostestimate.ais.psu.edu/cgi-bin/CollegeCostEstimate.exe/launch/CollegeCC/netpricecalc”>http://collegecostestimate.ais.psu.edu/cgi-bin/CollegeCostEstimate.exe/launch/CollegeCC/netpricecalc</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Thank you for the NPCs…that was a bit depressing. While my parents have a high EFC, I do have younger siblings and I don’t want them to be paying that much. It looks like the state universities are not going to give me any aid at all, maybe $1,000. Do you know of schools from the list above that can be more affordable to students with a high EFC?</p>
<p>Don’t forget to run the NPCs on each website, since colleges calculate differently.
Also, remember that your EFC is the minimum colleges will expect your parents to pay but many colleges don’t meet need and therefore will expect them to pay more.
Public universities do not provide financial aid to OOS applicants (except for UNC-CH, which is very very selective for OOS students, and UVA to a certain extent); they exist to serve their state’s population. Some public universities offer merit aid, which is given based on test scores (and, depending on the scholarship, accomplishments, essays, interviews…) and aren’t related in any way to your EFC.
The highest ranked university with an automatic merit scholarship system is the University of Alabama, with a great Honors college often mentioned on these pages.
If your parents don’t have 36-45k set aside for your education (each year) and you have a high EFC, you’re going to need to look for merit aid. Start looking for universities you can afford and then look at their major programs: if they have a program in applied math or actuarial math, you’re fine.</p>
<p>OP, if you have a high EFC then go to the Financial Aid forum and look at the stickied threads for merit aid. Some OOS public Us try to lure students with high scores and good grades.</p>
<p>Just a quick comment about Drake U. I’m surprised at the comments about it being a big drinking school and heavily Greek. That hasn’t been our experience at all. My son is a junior there and loves it. He’s in a business fraternity but not a social one. He has nothing but good things to say about the social scene. I know he goes to parties occasionally but his friends are not in the Greek system and that doesn’t seem to be a drawback socially. There are lots of fun restaurants and street festivals in Des Moines-- it’s a great city to be a young professional from what I read and hear. My son isn’t a major drinker and I’d be hearing complaints from him if that was the main social focus there. Although I know drinking is something that’s a presence on every college campus to some degree.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What is your EFC at some of the 8 schools listed in the original post?<br>
It should not be higher than the maximum your parents can contribute. Otherwise, you need merit aid, loans to cover the gap, or a different school.</p>
<p>It is not necessarily true that public schools do not offer need-based aid to out of state students.
<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/college/T014-S003-best-public-colleges-for-out-of-state-students/”>http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/college/T014-S003-best-public-colleges-for-out-of-state-students/</a>
Unfortunately, the Common Data Sets do not break down need based aid by in-state/OOS status. You generally can assume that less grant money is available for non-residents; in some cases, sufficient n-b aid may not be available for OOS students. However, for $35K/year or less, you should be able to find affordable public schools even without n-b aid.
<a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger;
<p>At full sticker prices, Catholic schools often cost almost as much as selective private colleges (> $50K). However, only 4 Catholic schools (Georgetown, Boston College, Notre Dame, and Holy Cross) claim to cover 100% of demonstrated need. All 4 are very selective. So you may have trouble finding a Catholic school that comes in under budget. Again, run the NPCs to estimate your costs. As a crude rule of thumb, the more selective the college, the better the need-based aid. </p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Correction: At full sticker prices, Catholic schools often cost over $50K.
(I don’t mean to suggest that Catholic schools aren’t private, or that some of them are not very selective.)</p>