Hardest CT subject?

Hardest CT subject? (to understand, not pass)

 

I don't think any part of the CT series is that difficult in terms of the core reading. 4, 5, 6 and 8 are all on par in terms of concepts. The others are all around about 1st to 2nd year university level and quite simple. If I had to pick particular topics, I would say the chapter on Emperical Bayes credibility from CT6 contains pages and pages of assumptions and general nonsense and is next to impossible to understand fully from the notes. Also the chapter on the wilkie model in CT8 takes a few reads to understand but is very manageable. All of the CT4 and 8 notes are easy to understand if you have studied stochastic modelling at university. CT5 is very clear and shouldn't cause any problems for someone who has an understanding of CT1 and 4. My vote is therefore with "CT6".

 

Define hardest
do you mean most demanding to read,Hard to understand,difficult to pass?
-In terms of Content,il go for CT4(havent done the infamous CT8 yet)
id put CT6 slightly above CT3 in terms of understanding the concepts,BUT the exam has some brutal questions i.e April 2010 so i guess it finally comes down to the paper your given.

 

I think Muppet means hardest to understand ie. How hard are the concepts in the core reading. CT4 isn't that difficult to understand IMO, the problem is the core reading is extremly abstract, and the exam is extremly applicaition(s) based. There is basically unlimited scope for questions. I still believe that EBCT chapter is the hardest chapter in the whole of the series. Not the hardest to actually "do", but the hardest to understand, most of the exam questions are just putting numbers in formulae.

 

Well,the EBCT chapter tells the reader not to get too bogged down with the mathematics and simply understand the difference between EBCT models 1 and 2.

CT6 core reading is quite easy but the exams can be really bad,but the exam has some areas like Credibility theory,GLMs and run off triangles that one can accumulate huge marks on and restore confidence.

 

I voted CT4 based on the following definition of hardest:

"Given x hours to study, which subject as a whole will you find the hardest to pass"

 

hardest CTs

hardest to understand - probably CT4 for me, but the exams are ok

hardest to pass - CT8 - the material isn't too bad, but its quite wide ranging and the exams are usually horrible

easiest to pass and understand - CT2 and CT7 were my favourites. I think if you've prepared ok these are difficult to fail.

 

I think in terms of understanding the hardest subject in CT series is CT-8, followed by CT -4. Both have concepts based on stochastic processes and their properties , difficult for a newcome to understand.

However, in terms of type pf questions asked, CT-4 has great variety. The type of situation based questions and possible applications are enormous. At times, it takes a lot of effort to understand the problem fully , before one can solve it. My vote goes to CT-4.

CT 8 wont say difficult , since I cleared that in one go, even when pass % was like 13%.

 

I'm so glad you said that - I'm currently working through the EBCT chapter now and I was daunted by the fact it was so tough so early, and the fact that CT4 was voted even tougher, which is the other exam I'm planning to take this sitting (I haven't even looked at those notes yet!)

 

Just finished all the CT's! passed all in my first sitting and this is my ranking from hardest to Easiest:

CT4
CT8
CT6
CT5
CT3
CT2
CT7
CT1

How I sat the exams them
CT1 as non member
CT2 + CT3 Sept
CT7 + CT6 Apr
CT4 + CT5 Sept
CT8 + CT9 Apr

Tend to think I found CT1 easy because I took it alone. lol- But I come from a computer science background- Started exams after graduating and 6 years of working in the IT field. (Still working in IT)

 

CT8 is hardest to understand for me.

I think CT4/6 are probably hardest to pass. Will fins out in July!!

 

Wow, great going - May I ask why you're not working in actuarial capacity?

 

Agree with those making a distinction between difficulty of the exam vs. The notes. I used the online classroom for CTs, hardly referring to notes for this reason!

 

Replying 6 years later lol

I was initially working for a consultancy then an insurance company building/running/maintaining modelling systems for life insurance. The insurance company I worked for offered to pay for the exams so I took the opportunity. Stopped after passing all the CTs (and CA2) and swapped to CAA when it came out.

Now 6 years later and 3 children later... iv'e decided to continue the exams and become a fully fledged actuary. Wish me luck.
I'm taking SP2/SP9 in Apr 21, SA2 and CP3 in Sept 21. not expecting to pass first time round (as I've herd ones prowess at exams decline after the CT stages, lol) but hoping i'll join some of you fellows with a few repeats in 2022 (but will try to avoid it!)