Failing CA2

Does anyone know of anyone who has failed CA2? And if so why they failed.

I would like to know whether the people who failed did so because they didn't turn up or whether you can validly fail due to performance on the day.

 

Given that the pass lists say 'x' presented themselves and 'y' passed, I'm guessing that you can fail due to performance on the day e.g. take a look at http://www.actuaries.org.uk/Display_Page.cgi?url=/students/ex-res/0602iModellingFeb0203.html

 

I thought when it said that for the normal exams that the x presented themselves included people who entered but didn't turn up?

 

Possibly....not 100% certain about this one. Perhaps its best to either find someone who's failed it or ask the Institute...

 

Thanks, I've sent an email to the Institute about that one.

I would still be interested to know if anyone knows anyone who's failed.

 

We had 13 on our course and only 12 names went up on the pass list so, yes, it is definitely possible to attend and fail.

Hope that helps.

 

Oh well, maybe I was clutching at straws a bit!!

My main worries are that I never really do anything in word at work - secretaries do it all, so the thought of putting slides together is a bit daunting. And we have our own version of excel - with our own functions that aren't in the normal version of excel.

Guess it's just practice tho.

Maybe I'm worrying about nothing but it would be a bit embarrasing to fail!!

 

From what I understand the course is not really about how well you can use Excel, but more about how well you can document your work.
Even if you use specialist functions within your own version of excel, you should still be able to replicate most Actuarial work quite easily. Have a look at the worked examples on the web for an idea of the level of Excel knowledge required.
As for using word, I think most people would struggle to produce slides using it if required.

 

Sorry to say but two people in my office have failed, I would have expected both to have passed and one of them is a bit of an excel 'expert'.

It seems to be more about audit trails than actually using excel.

 

I sat the CA2 exam in June. All 30 candidates turned up. 13 people including myself failed.

The exam required a lot more work than the pre-course assignment. Time pressure is now part of this exam despite the official line that there should be plenty of time available.

The Summary requirements have been changed from a few bullet points on each slide to a more detailed description of the: aim; assumptions and methodology; conclusions; and next steps of the assignment you are set.

I thought this exam would be easy and that my rather minimal preparation would be sufficient. Unfortunately I was wrong and will have to pay for the re-sit out of my own pocket.

 

With regards the comment of someone failing that was an excel wizard, I think that can be a problem. Its seems a bit like CA3 where you have to address laymen. Here you are designing sheets for someone with limited excel knowledge. So rather than 5 layers of brackets and nested statements galore, break the calc into extra columns and head them to say what you are achieving. May take more space, but saving disc space isn't the aim of the game.

Think I'm doing this for someone that has never seen the task.

I think some people with really deep knowledge of a subject can also find the ST subject hard but the SA equivalent easier.

As for the write-up, again stick to the point. Write succinctly but don't jump a key stage.

Maybe for those yet to sit, look at the website egs before you apply. Otherwise it is hard on the pocket as I don't think many 'ers will pay for resits.

 

Bystander, could you please elaborate on this:

I think some people with really deep knowledge of a subject can also find the ST subject hard but the SA equivalent easier.


I thought that having deep knowledge of a subject would make an ST easier whereas the SAs test your higher level skills rather than depth of your knowledge.

 

Thanks for your reply Bored of Study, it's really usefull. What preparation do you wish you had done? I've read the ActEd notes, but I don't see what else I can do and now I've looked at the pass rate I'm starting to panic

 

WHS:
I think you can get carried away by bringing in things like UK specifics or get hooked on one point and you flog it to depth whereas ST looks at a higher general level. Or you start putting just what you do in practise and so can't think broader/off the wall with unusual scenarios.

Personal view and I could easily be wrong.

 

Little Miss

The only advice I have is that you should work through the examples and the pre-assignment course seriously. These are the only real preparation - and the actual exam will be more demanding than any of these, or at least it was when I took the paper. Day1 of the assessment is no real help for Day2, and was just a waste of time imho. Don't let the drop in pass rate upset you - if your own performance is good enough then you'll get a pass. I can only believe that candidates have seen the high initial pass rates and suppose that turning up is all that's required. Not so! If you give the examiners an excuse for failing you, they will. Good luck.

 

Little Miss Actuary.

Sorry for not replying sooner.

The preparation I wish I had put in is:

1) Reading the Acted Notes.

2) Working through more of the examples on the website and fully writing out the audit trails as I did the modelling. I think that the assignment on exam day will be more complex and time consuming these examples, but they are the only examples available.

3) Practice using excel without using embedded IF statements and higher functions in excel. The more complex the function the more difficult it is to explain in the audit trail.

4) Practice making the spreadsheet look good. Allegedly my attempt was hard to follow.

Finally, I will be practicing writing assignment summaries before my next sitting. Note the samples solutions on the institute website can give a false impression of the requirements of a summary. It is no longer a simple set of bullet points on slides. We found this out on Day 1 of the exam/course .

 

I did know someone who failed - she said she has gone off the wrong direction and then realise that she's not answering the question after lunch time and it was too late to fix.

Now I am panicking... would that happen to me too!

 

I just sat ca2 yesterday. I can't actually say anything about the exam as I signed a confidentiality agreemement.

What I will say is, in general, it isn't as easy as everyone makes out it is. I really believe that someone who fails on one day could easily pass on another day. Just one wrong decision/misunderstanding on the day has the potential to ruin everything imo.

I'd better not say any more!

 

Is anyone finding themselves under time pressure? Given this isn't meant to be a prob, I hear of more and more people saying they struggle to check their work.

 

Some key points for the CA2:

* THERE IS time pressure
* your summary is a report, so use L3 and L6 as templates and not that for projects 1, 2
* audit trail and summary are key
*ask questions...you will lose 5 marks but its worth it even if you think you know what you are doing...
*suggestion for assessors: have more people to help out!
aim to have spreadsheet finished before lunch!
*basic knowledge of excel is sufficient

 

I think that there is some dirty politics going on!!!
I don't say this because I failed but because I failed after knowing that my summary and audit trail were good.

There is time pressure, and the exam requires significant knowledge on building excel spreadsheets. So ignore anyone who tells you otherwise.

I think its really pot-luck if you get through...