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Actuarial Internship - When to apply if I'm doing maths MSci?

Okay the rhyme was half intentional... But anyway I'm starting my second year doing a Maths MSci course at the University of Bristol but I might transfer to a BSc this year. (The only reason I originally chose an MSci is because when I was applying they said if you don't know whether to do a BSc or an MSci then you should do the MSci because of funding arrangements). I'm also looking at actuarial internships for summer 2015. However loads of them say they only accept penultimate year students, so that they will have potential employees 12 months after the internship.
Is it worth me applying to these companies? Because I don't know if I'll have graduated 12 months after the internship as I haven't decided if I'm doing a BSc or MSci yet. I'm thinking of asking some firms by email so I don't have to go through the whole application process in vain if it turns out they would certainly say no. Or would they buy it if I just lied by telling them I'm changing to a BSc for certain?
Thanks in advance. :cool:
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 1
Man get off the maths as quickly as you can. It only gets harder.

Do the Maths Bsc and then move into an Msc Actuarial Science or Msc Finance or Msc Accounting and Finance

This will make your 4th year a lot easier, your CV will look better as you are more well rounded.
Reply 2
Don't lie OP, doesn't look good from any angle.
The company I did my actuarial internship at was happy to offer jobs starting either 12 months later or 24 months later. It might be worth applying as though you're doing a BSc, and then if they want you to start working for them, just ask them to defer the offer by a year if you want to complete the MSci. But inform them that you yet don't know whether you want to do a BSc or MSci, so this may or may not be your penultimate year.

I was in the same position as you, where I applied for the Maths MSci at UCL just because I didn't know whether or not I wanted to do the fourth year, and it's easier to switch from MSci to BSc than vice versa. Except I ultimately ended up switching to the BSc, because I thought that if I had the internship and the job offer already, there wasn't much point in doing the fourth year. To me the fourth year was just a safety net in case I didn't get the offers I wanted, and then I'd have another go at applying in my new "penultimate year".

What you don't want to do is assume that you're doing the MSci and that this is not your penultimate year, then end up switching to BSc and finding that your penultimate year has disappeared, then being unable to apply to any internships.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by godd
Man get off the maths as quickly as you can. It only gets harder.

Do the Maths Bsc and then move into an Msc Actuarial Science or Msc Finance or Msc Accounting and Finance

This will make your 4th year a lot easier, your CV will look better as you are more well rounded.


But wouldn't I still not be able to apply to internships next summer if I'm just doing an MSc in something else in 2016-17? And I wouldn't know what I would be doing for a masters when I'm applying for internships which I'll be mainly doing before Christmas this year.
Reply 5
Original post by The Toch
But wouldn't I still not be able to apply to internships next summer if I'm just doing an MSc in something else in 2016-17? And I wouldn't know what I would be doing for a masters when I'm applying for internships which I'll be mainly doing before Christmas this year.


Apply for summer internships in your 3rd year before your masters.
Reply 6
Original post by tazarooni89
The company I did my actuarial internship at was happy to offer jobs starting either 12 months later or 24 months later. It might be worth applying as though you're doing a BSc, and then if they want you to start working for them, just ask them to defer the offer by a year if you want to complete the MSci. But inform them that you yet don't know whether you want to do a BSc or MSci, so this may or may not be your penultimate year.

I was in the same position as you, where I applied for the Maths MSci at UCL just because I didn't know whether or not I wanted to do the fourth year, and it's easier to switch from MSci to BSc than vice versa. Except I ultimately ended up switching to the BSc, because I thought that if I had the internship and the job offer already, there wasn't much point in doing the fourth year. To me the fourth year was just a safety net in case I didn't get the offers I wanted, and then I'd have another go at applying in my new "penultimate year".

What you don't want to do is assume that you're doing the MSci and that this is not your penultimate year, then end up switching to BSc and finding that your penultimate year has disappeared, then being unable to apply to any internships.


That sounds like a pretty good idea! :colondollar:
So the only problem is what to say on my CV/covering letter/application form when applying. I can't really say I'm doing a BSc when I'm still officially on an MSci but I guess I could tell them that I'm definitely moving to a BSc as soon as I have the chance. How do you think I should get the point across?
Original post by The Toch
That sounds like a pretty good idea! :colondollar:
So the only problem is what to say on my CV/covering letter/application form when applying. I can't really say I'm doing a BSc when I'm still officially on an MSci but I guess I could tell them that I'm definitely moving to a BSc as soon as I have the chance. How do you think I should get the point across?


What I would do is ring up the company before you apply, explain your situation and see what they say. It's likely that they will have had lots of situations like yours before, so they may have a standard policy on how to deal with it. But it won't necessarily be the same for each company.

Some companies might only be willing to accept those who are officially on a BSc, and make the transfer before you put the application in. Some might want you to state your intent to switch as soon as you can before they consider this to be your penultimate year. Some might be happy to give you the internship if you're not sure whether you want to switch or not. Some, but not all, will be happy to defer your full time job offer by a year. Some application systems may automatically reject applicants who put their expected degree completion date at the wrong time etc.

They should be able to advise you on how best to go about it.
Reply 8
Good ideas :redface: Thanks guys!
Reply 9
If anyone has interest in financial internship in China, plz contact me.

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