October 2014

So clever! I can tell that you're well on your way to attaining the actuarial dream. Bravo!

 

Seriously? Could you be an outlier amongst the other students or is this the norm? If this is normal than it certainly looks like I'm simply not cut out for this gig. Cheers for your input.

 

you can take some solace from the fact that pass rate from India actuaries is ridiculously lower- below 20% and sometimes below 5%..

However, from my experience, I can say that whenever preparation levels are good, and by that I mean:

1 completely know the bookwork
2 solve all the practice question banks and assignments
3 solved 5-6 mock exams and studied rest of the past papers
4 got egged on by the material to search the net and look for additionnal material to enhance/sharpen understanding of topics...

then you are definitely going to pass, and sometimes going to even top!!

 

I sat for CT4 in may 2011, which had the pass rate of 5%, still. Cleared it!

 

Low pass rates indeed

The preparation you mention seems like a lot of work. How does one fit life in? Going out, friends hobbies etc? If that's what your doing then I salute you.

I have considered this approach but the nature of actuarial work and our study materials, i.e the sheer boringness of it all, has meant that I'm unable to follow through with it.

I just wish I knew all this before I spent so much time working & studying in this sector

 

I might even suggest to some people to sacrifice time on studying for a life, and take a chance on passing. Of course if it doesn't work out and you fail that's the chance you took, rather than a fault of the exam system.
The point I was trying to make earlier is that many people sit the exam without being adequately prepared. If you want to strip out repeat attempts you probably should strip out those that aren't adequately prepared. Some others fail because they aren't cut out for this (sad reality, but at the same time there are many other jobs I'm not cut out for). Some fail due to system imperfections and luck. That's life.


It might be a fair comment to say that some of us won't be here if we knew then what we know now, but I don't think there were any misconceptions that the exams are hard.

 

forgot quoting one important thing: you need to enjoy it to pass it!!

 

I probably am an outlier, it is more common for people to struggle for time. I was just pointing out that some people do finish the paper.

But it is possible to get quicker and that is where lots of practice comes in. In CT5 in particular the same style of questions come up again and again, just with different numbers and products. I did all the past papers for CT5 before taking my exam and I certainly thinked it help me speed up due to familiarity.

The other key thing to speed is knowing when to move on from a question. It can be all too easy to get bogged down in a question in search of a perfect answer worth only a handful of marks. In these circumstances it is important to be able to move yourself on to other questions as the first few marks on a question are always the easiest to get.

Hope that helps, keep your head up and goid luck.

 

I don't think there is any getting away from the fact that these exams require a lot of work and effort. But that doesn't mean you can't have a social life. I am a firm believer in studying in small chuncks using time that would otherwise be spent do nothing. I typically did about 10 hours of study a week: 6-7 hours or so on my study day, 3-4 hours at a weekend plus maybe 30mins here or there in evenings.

I always left myself 1 weekend day free as well as a few evenings a week to sodialise. Afterall socialising is important as you would just become less effective at studying without appropriate relaxation.

My exam preparation consisted of:
- go through notes and some questions
- doing assignments and getting them marked (I found the marking feedback particularly useful)
- tutorials
- past paper practice

I certainly didn't read around the subject and think that should be very much at the bottom of the priority list!

 

@ d.j.collins: Thanks for sharing. Your comments are appreciated.

 

This may well be were I've been going wrong.

Fair comment indeed.

Thanks for your input.

 

Hi I was reading this thread. I, as am sure most of the users would have been advised to speak to an Actuary before deciding if this is the career path you decide to choose. It is not a typical career path - studying as a "hobby" in your spare time, competing in exams against very high level students.
If any serious student had spoken to qualifed Actuaries I am sure that they would have been made aware exactly how difficult the exams are. It is very convenient when you hear that they are difficult to just optimistically think i will pass them.
Forgetting pass marks, how hard papers are, time constraints, why i didn't pass, what did come up, what didn't come up.....Statistically around 50% pass a CT/A, 40% an ST and maybe 30% an SA. You can do the math passing an exam ranges from a coin toss to not likely. There are 15 such events. That is the reality of the exams - complaining and disagreeing won't change the statistics.
I was told from the start 30% of those that take on the exams complete them. I don't know how accurate that is but it seems reasonable.
If the CT5 pass rate was only 52% and you failed then at least 52% of the competition got a higher mark than you under similiar conditions (same paper same time).
These 52% would more than likely have studied more than you, got the notes earlier, did longer hours, stayed in more. As you say you didn't know that the system was like this then let me give you some advice. Some other students order notes the week after an exam, they study every day, some up to 10 hours on weekends - this is your competition. CT5 would not be classed as a difficult exam compared to later exams. If failing CT5 is such an issue you should really talk to some Actuaries to get some brutal truths.
P.S. the argument that the exams are too difficult isn't really for you or me to decide. Personally I don't want to sit easy exams and pass them easily. I want to work my ass off and get a qualification that I know I have had to earn and isn't just handed out.

 

Do you know just how silly that reads?

Here's a brutal truth for ya, your post makes sense in lots of places and yet it comes across as pompous & very douchey. I don't wish to make an ad hominum attack, as I agree with what you say, but I just wanted to keep it real and provide you with some unsolicited feedback.

 

I am glad you found some help from my post that was my intent.
It's funny that you think its sounds silly that I don't want to sit easy exams and pass them easily - i am being completely honest and am sorry but I really don't get which part of that is silly. It could be an age thing I am in my 30's maybe I put more weight on different things- the sense of accomplishment in passing exams, the knowledge that in life the best things are usually the things you have to work hardest for.
It's simple economics, easier exams, higher pass rates, more actuaries, lower standards, lower salaries. I'll hold my hand up that the final point would upset me most but I do have sense of pride that our profession is held to such high standards also.
The flip side is that if you do fully understand the work and sacrifices you have to make and do put in the work necessary to pass the exams and pass them you will get rewarded financially but also passing the exams does bring a feel good factor. For me I wouldn't be nearly as intelligent as most of the other students so for me it was more a feeling of pride that I worked harder than the rest because I probably wanted it more - definitely not because I was smarter. Maybe some of that sounds pompous, i really don't claim to be non-pompous, I actually wouldn't even see that as being derogatory - but hey if i am pompous I did work my behind off for that right. Bottom line the exams are work, work, work, work....and lots more work. We all want to pass them - most fail. Work, work, work.......

 

I totally agree with this - if it was easy everyone would be doing it!

I enjoy the money I make from being able to pass exams that others can not. I also enjoy the way people are impressed when I say I am studying towards being an Actuary. But most of all, I enjoy the feeling I get from passing knowing that, in a very tough profession which only accepts the best, I am in the top 50%.

 

Nows THAT'S being pompous
...who wears shades in the middle of October

 

along with hard work, there is a method to passing the exam as well.and yes, I did feel proud when I not only cleared my ST in last sitting, bit also topped it!!!