On November 9th, I attended the major and minor fair hosted by the Center for Academic Advisement and Orientations. I thought that the fair would be pointless since I already know my intended major but my first year seminar teacher, Erin Kaplan, managed to convince to go-insisting that I can always learn something new. Anyway (apparently the word is anyway, anyways is a slang), in the end I decided to go. I discovered so many majors that I did not even know were offered at Baruch-since it’s dubbed a business school- and that there was also a create your own major pathway. An important thing I noted was that majors are offered through different schools, each having its own entry requirement; the Zicklin School of Business, particularly, has many pre-business courses. The major I am interested in: actuarial science is offered through the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, which doesn’t have as much requirements, so there’s no need for me to worry (or so I think anyway). I did not hesitate to visit the Department of Mathematics (I am tired of explaining this but the fact that actuarial science has the word science in it, does not mean it’s a life or physical science), I wanted to know the specific prerequisites of my major and the possible tracks I can take to ensure I graduate on time. I discussed taking mathematics courses offered during Winter and Summer sessions and was warned that courses during these breaks may be difficult since there’s much content to cover in a very short time-span but if I really want to, I certainly can. Assuring me that I was at the right place, I was relieved when I found out the actuarial science program here and the courses it includes are designed specially to help pass all five of the preliminary actuarial exams; Baruch has a really great curriculum, recognized by the Society of Actuaries. While I was at the desk, I also explored the financial mathematics major since one does not need an actuarial science degree to be an actuary-something else I learned while there. Afterwards, I decided to take a walk around to get familiar with the minors offered; the Law and Policy minor seemed quite interesting. I could definitely use it as a backup and learn outside of academics. The fair was a great opportunity for exposure to career paths and I am really glad I attended.
