ST6 is too easy

I think that ST6 has been getting way too easy. The last exam did not test students understanding at all as much as it should have.

ST6 should be made a much tougher exam

 

Are you mad?

I can't believe anyone thought the ST6 exam was easy?!

I thought there was one easish question but most of it wasn't even in the course! Maybe it's easy if you've studied this area in more detail, but everyone I've spoken to who sat it is convinced they've failed.

I think the exam needs changing to actually test the material provided in the core reading.
And the asset comments from the april exam were just plain funny, the amount of mistakes and unclear questions they pointed out.

 

Jenny

Studybuddy is a sad, pathetic individual who is trying desperately to wind someone up. Studybuddy and some daft, gullible friends have been at it for some months now in work. I feel nothing but sympathy because Studybuddy must despise the person this is aimed at so much and yet needs to work beside him every day. Life must be so desperate for Studybuddy and chums that they need to come on to a forum which could be very useful yet try to abuse it at its very infancy.

[As a note to Studybuddy I should just point out that we've known about you and your childish and infantile wind-ups for months now. Maybe if you spent as much time studying rather than devising these pieces of puerile dross you would get somewhere in life.]



Anyway Jenny, apologies to you and other members for starting my contribution to this forum in such a negative manner, but I'd thought I'd let you know what this person is up to. As a by-the-by I agree 100% with what you have said about ST6. Good luck for March/April.

Take care.

 

All Actuarial exams are tough compared to ANY profession you can name with the exception of Medical/Veterinary exams, especially the latter ones.

The exams are tough enough without some clown challenging those who set the exams to make them even tougher. Lets hope no one with influence has read that entry.

 

When I read the first post I got the impression that Studybuddy was being sarcastic. I still get that impression.

 

How can we pass ST6?

I found the xam quite hard as well. If you have the nerves, check out a few ADVANCED CiD exams...especially April 98...and compare them with the past exam. I think it's rather unfair to ask questions outside the syllabus. I bought the Rennie&Baxter as well as Hull textbooks as supplements, but it was not of much help.

I think the Institute&Faculty needs to work closer with ActEd to get students to pass who actually knew their stuff. ActEd works much closer with us and has a better understanding of what we know. Maybe the tutors can have a look at the question paper beforehand and give some input. They are professional enough not to leak us the paper.

 

Hi

Philiprudolf
u raise an interesting point about examiners working with the tutors.

Asi undertsand it the exams setting process is independent of the teaching process - i think there have been articles written on this subject and teh recent article in teh actuary mgazine highlights a similar point..in sucha regime how can examiners students and tut share the same expectations during exam prepartaion when all that is common ground is core reading, which is quite clearly misleading and inadequate for some subjects.


Isnt this what Morris was highlighting in the view that the entire education system should be more university based so that there will be greater transparency in the exam process.

 

Hostile actuaries

hey what is with all the hostilities. lets all be friends again
i see 25% past the april exam so you need to work really hard to be in the top quarter. think of the other students sitting as your opponents and that you need to beat most of them to pass.
if you want cath i could be your buddy for study

 

Hostilities

I am not sure that you are going about this in the right way.
It is difficult to show sarcasm etc in a mail posting.

I agree that there were some over-sensitive reactions though. To think that anyone has the time to just wind people up about something trivial is not credible

 

Aaah - good old jealous SB and gullible chums back for more.

You know, it's a big feather in my cap that you hate me so much. You are so desperate to see the back of me that you dream up these daft schemes and scams. As I said to you privately you can certainly divide but you will never conquer. In fact you have now provided me with the motivation I need to pass CA12 and ST6 in March - thanks very much. As you well know I don't need the money.

In any event, since you claim to be a biblical scholar I'm sure you are familiar with the following passages:

"But I tell you who hear me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who ill-treat you."

"Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you."

"If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame".

Have fun and try to come up with some half-decent wind-ups and not just the usual bogus print-out nonsense with your pals from Playskool.

Take Care.

 

Hi all,

I reckon we should all calm down on this forum. i think i speak for the majority when i say can those concerned please make constructiev commenst and not try and irritate or blame any paticular person -

this is after all a place for all of us to talk decently to aine another - ST6 was a hard exam and i know a lot of us feel hard done, by but im sure the examiners just wanted to test our knowledge - they did not want to get us into all these slanging matches -

so lets just enjoy ourselves and be friends and have a sane decent discussion forum

 

Maturity

I have to admit, I thought from Studdybuddy's first e-mail that the remark was sarcastic.

The second comment (s)he posted seems to suggest it was just meant to be irritating. :

Can't we all be grown-ups and play nicely?

Let's be honest - we all have different strengths. Some of us find numerical papers (CT4, ST6 etc) easy. Other people find "wordy" papers easy. Rather than bragging and trying to wind other people up, can't we use this form in the spirit I think ActEd intended - mutual support?

One of StudyBuddy's postings suggest (s)he's having difficulty learning 14 SA2 guidance notes. I have a friend taking SA2 whose memory is nearly photographic, and who pretty much memorised them in a few hours. This doesn't mean he posts jibes on this site to wind up those people who are struggling with this.

Let's be frank - if anyone found ALL the exams easy, they wouldn't be students any more and wouldn't be on this site.

So how about being adult - if you haven't got something nice to say, then don't say it at all!

 

ST6 Way off track

Nice one! I was one of the lucky 21(ish)% who passed this in April - and to quote the staff actuary I spoke to - the exam was "extensive". The ST6 notes are based almost entirely on Hull. And some of the April questions were apparantly straight out of there. Had I failed I would've used Hull instead to study.

Bit of shame that examiners go outside the syllabus.

I think this makes a bit of a lottery for students - whilst the pass mark shifts a little it's not enough to ensure that some of us aren't hit by a bad exam..

Anyway, why am I here - I've got work to do!

 

Recomendation for the Institute - ST6

Following the results of ST6 exam, my advise to the Institute is that they should stop publishing core reading for this subject. They should just say that refer to Hull (Options , Futures and Other Derevatives)...if you want to pass the exam.

The core reading is misleading to say the least.....whats the point of having a set syllabus when you are going to ask questions out of the syllabus. According to me ST6 paper is similar to russian roulette.

Its high time the Institute gives a clear indication as to what it expects students to know in this paper.