Actuarial students earn high marks

Three Northwestern College actuary students have passed the third of five actuarial exams, which contributes to the program’s 80 percent pass rate. The national pass rate for actuarial exams is below 50 percent.

Aspiring actuaries must take a series of exams, sponsored by professional organizations such as the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries, before they can practice in the field: 1) probability exam, 2) financial mathematics exam, 3) models for financial economics exam, 4) life contingencies exam, and 5) construction and evaluation of actuarial models exam.

One 2012 graduate, Kristen Humphrey, Lincoln, Neb., and two current seniors, Abby Korthals, Bondurant, Iowa, and Nathan Nieuwendorp, Orange City, have passed the first three exams. Humphrey received notification she passed the third exam in July; Korthals and Nieuwendorp were notified of their success at the end of September.

Northwestern is one of just 84 colleges or universities nationwide with an “advanced undergraduate” actuarial science classification from the Society of Actuaries.

The career placement rate of Northwestern’s actuarial science graduates is consistently near 100 percent. Actuarial alumni are working in firms across the U.S., including at Modern Woodmen of America in Omaha, where Humphrey is employed, and Principal Financial Services in Des Moines, where Korthals and Nieuwendorp both have already been offered jobs.