April 14

Hi now that we are done with the exams I wanted to see how people found the paper..
Sore ones for me were claims variability in travel insurance,pooling of risks in travel insurance,actuarial techniques on the project management qn..
also not sure what was required for the exchange rate question which was broken into two parts...
all in all not happy..

 

I also found paper 1 tough. I felt like I was fumbling around for answers so I'm sure I didn't hit the marking schedule enough... but just as I was exiting, I heard some other guy say something like "At least it was better than September" lol

I don't know. I think I preferred paper 2, but maybe I just waffled a lot as well. Overall I think I must have failed that - definitely won't be unhappy if I don't pass because I'm really not expecting it at all given how I felt about it and my inability to identify what parts of the core reading paper 1 was referring to

If I fail, hopefully I will crush it in September

 

I agree - paper one was pretty awful I thought. I didn't like the question about the bridge, and didn't write nearly enough for the DB/DC 13-mark question.

I found paper 2 a lot more doable, so came out much happier purely because I was able to write a lot more than the day before!

We'll see, I'm not too hopeful.

 

Tragic for me. Paper 1 especially. I know its good if many people find Paper 1 difficult (i.e lower pass mark) but I think I did worse than average.

 

This was the worst question for me too - It just felt so vague I actually didn't have time to write anything for part one and scribbled something "obvious" down for part two.... oh well, 11 July we'll know our fate!

 

How was the investment question in Paper2, the one where we had to analyze the yields? Anyone used reverse yield gaps?

 

yup goku... same here..used the yield gap to explain the differences..any other approaches people?
On the dividend discount model question I wonder how many points are expected for the 3 companies and profitability factors..quite a few factors would be a repeat for 3 companies..not sure how people tackled this

 

can't remember much about that one Vicky, sorry. Got a bad feeling about it though

 

Been preparing myself for all of 77 days now and I will NOT be disappointed in just under two hours from now. I will not! CA1, you are truly a very mean thing but I'll have the last laugh some day!

 

Not disappointed. Not laughing yet either. Third time lucky this September? Sigh..

 

The lucky ones who have passed - congratulations, help out the the not so fortunate ones, I have tried everything with Ca1, just cant seem to crack it.

Goku Vikky sonnyshook Missannuity ccc84 did anyone pass? dont forget to pass on some much needed advise to crack this beast of a paper.

 

hey ryan11 commiserations buddy..Fortunately made the cut this time..my second crack at this...only thing I can tell you is don't bother too much about explaining a sub point too much..I think the key is probably breadth to your answers...get as many relevant points in as possible...another thing that helped are the revision notes..one topic at a time..answer all questions on the same topic together..cant think of anything else ..best of luck for September to both Geraldine and you..
Cheers

 

Thank you Vikky

I would like to see what my fail grade is - hopefully I've improved

Ryan11, is this your first attempt? I think this time round I'm going to get marking early on - learn summaries and notes, sit a mock and then see what the advice is... take it from there. I think I will then have to practice more and then take the other mock and get more marking done to see if I'm on track - I really don't know what else to do at this point.... I felt like I knew that core reading inside out again! And I also felt like I applied to the specifics of the question. But clearly I'm not doing something as good as I think... Sorry to hear about your fail as well...

 

Well, I have given CA1 earlier through the Indian institute (unbelievable FC), but I will not consider this as first time since I knew the course inside out just like you, and both times I felt the paper was alright and I wrote well. I feel now I should consider a tutorial, thats what is not done so far, and also the marking of assignments.
To be honest, I just feel like not doing anymore of it.

 

Hi Ryan,
Through God's grace, I've finally gotten through. Been through this exam a few times now, so I understand exactly how you feel but don't give up just yet. For this attempt, I did a mock-exam and got it marked 2 weeks before the exam. Also, doing past papers and timing myself helped. That's about it (apart from slogging through the reading for a good 2 months!).

 

I went from FC to FB at least! Ryan11, this is exactly how I felt. Both times I felt I knew what the questions were asking and could identify where in the core reading to place the questions. This time round I apparently did a slightly better job of tailoring to the specific question. For most of last night I also just bounced between perseverance and feeling like I should just pack it up!

Second time round I also did 8 exams under proper exam conditions in addition to all the other work and revision I did. And I more passively went through other exams.

Anyway, I've put it behind me now and September had better not be FA.

Goku, would you recommend reading the entire batch of notes all over again? I don't know if I have enough composure to even imagine doing that

 

Also Goku, I was wondering whether you found the advice from the marking really helpful? Do you think that's what pushed you over the line this time?

 

Hi Geraldine.
I think just read through the core reading only (the bold bit) so that you refresh your memory, and then do the QA bank concurrently.
Then onto assignments/past papers.
Set targets on where you want to be and by when (e.g finish Ch1-10 by end of next week). That also helped me.
Also, order an electronic copy of the notes, and install it onto your iPad/Laptop/smartphone/PC - this allowed me to have all my notes (and QA, Assignments) with me all the time.

 

Yeah, the mock exam and commentary helped as it helps identify areas where you're weak in - key is doing it about 2-3 weeks before your exam so that you have time to address the areas that require improvement.

 

I just feel that maybe I dont know what I am doing "wrong" with this exam. I could identify the core reading through questions, could fit in the core reading parts, and add more if I felt I could add, nothing just nothing seems to have worked with this beast.

Just the though of doing it all over again makes me feel sick to my stomach, specially when I really cant identify "where I went wrong", I would be happy in doing it again, provided I know which part/area to focus and strengthen, as in April I knew the course like the back of my hand, and if I still dont pass, its just too sickening. The grade is FC which makes me wonder that I was not even close to passing it, this is when I felt that I had written well.

Wish I knew what I am not doing correctly with this one.

 

I had the great misfortune of failing CA1 this sitting as well (first time failing an exam / CA1), so was mortified!

Fortunately I know where I went wrong in the exam. Extremely poor time management for one of the papers led me to rushing wishy-washy answers.

Having to resit this monster exam makes me also feel sick to the stomach! Just having to revise ALL 50 odd chapters + question practise again. Also planning to sit with an ST in Sept which makes it extremely time pressured!