Record number of students pass actuarial science exams

North Central College faculty helped prepare a record 11 students who passed actuarial exams this summer: Shane Coate ’17, Nicholas Drendel ’16, Roman Gilbert ’16 (two exams), Kenneth Hoffman ’16, Phillip Klimaitis ’18, Connor Oats ’18, Miguel Purgimon Colell ’16, Melissa Reuter ’17, Daniel Rotolo ’17, Kevin Schroeder ’16 and Nathaniel Wuthrich ’16.

North Central’s actuarial science program—a major offered jointly by the mathematics and finance departments—seeks to give students a competitive edge as professionals. It encourages them to complete an internship and pass at least two exams prior to graduation. Actuaries are required to take a set of 10 exams over the course of their career. The exams are mathematically and financially based and the first exams focus on calculus, probability and financial mathematics.

“Until 2013, North Central had an average of one student passing an actuarial exam per year,” says Marco V. Martinez, assistant professor of mathematics. “To improve this average, the mathematics department created a series of seminars to prep for the exams. Last year, six students passed exams and now we have 11 students. North Central is working to keep up with the industry standards for actuaries.”

Tyler Bixby ’16, president of the College’s Actuarial Science Club, says, “Normally, actuaries do not finish all their exams until eight to 10 years into their career, so getting a head start on the exam process during college is a huge advantage. The first few exams are known to be on the same scale of difficulty as the bar for lawyers.”

Actuarial positions are considered one of the top professions in the country. North Central actively works to prepare actuarial science majors to become high-achieving alumni in their positions at consulting firms, insurance agencies and other companies.

By Lauren Baltas ’15