Welcome to the world of exams actuarial style!
What you do is really down to you and what gives you the most benefit. Everyone is different. Plus how much time can you invest?
Thanks bystander - currently I'm doing about 15hrs a week.
For me, I'm not a fan of the Q&A bank. I prefer the 'real' qns from past papers. Incidentally, ASET and past papers overlap in that the basis of ASET is the actual exam papers but throws in tips along the way that you don't see on model solutions from the profession. So there is a bit of a flaw in your ordering as it involves duplication.
Interesting, I've been hearing this a lot regarding the Q/A bank. I'm currently using them at the end of each section more as a learning tool than practise for the exam.
The assignments will tell you how you are getting along on a topic by topic basis. The recommendation tends to be X for first attempt; Y for re-take. Don't know many who do both.
I thought as much but I wanted to create this thread to see what other people do (I'm scared of underpreparing!) As it's my first exam I thought I'd order all the material to find out which would be most useful - I guess i'll have a better knowledge of what works for me come the Sept sitting.
The mock helps home your timing, but you can get the same impact by doing past papers under exam conditions. If you get it marked, ensure you get it in with sufficient time to get it marked & absorb the feedback.
Thanks, the timing is something i really need work on. It must take a lot of dedication to do so many past papers under exam conditions - I'm hoping I can maintain my focus here. Also marking is out of the question for me unfortuantely, as it's far too expensive!!
I certainly wouldn't pre-order everything at the start of a session. See how you progress. Eg don't shell out for Y series if you don't have time. It could be money down the drain if you then pass first go.
Good luck.
Like I said, I thought I'd try everything out first time (except flashcards - are they useful?) and see how I get on. I don't mind spending the odd extra hundred if it increases my chances of passing.
Hi RyuVI
CT6 is an interesting choice for a first exams. I'm hoping that you've got good stats experience that you can pull on as there is some assumed knowledge. If so, it shouldn't be a problem for you.
Actually my stats knowledge is quite shocking! I have an exemption from CT3 but that was from many many years ago and I've since forgotten all the stats (even though i always sucked at stats at best). I actually ordered the CT3 notes and have been referring to them as and when I need them. So far it's been OK but i hope that the assumed knowledge doesn't come back to bite me in the ass!
Don't be too worried if you're struggling a bit. On many of the CT papers you will find you suddenly learn a lot near the end through doing exam questions (ASET & mocks); particularly if you do the questions without looking at the solutions, mark them yourself, and pick up on any problems immediately.
Thank you - It's comments like this that give me hope! I do feel like I'm struggling sometimes in that I feel like I understand the notes but then I can't seem to grasp some of the questions. I find that doing the questions help you understand the nuances and intricacies of the notes but sometimes I lose motivation when I keep getting the methodology wrong.
Thank you both for your responses. For those interested I am doing these exams to increase my chances of getting an actuarial job so this forum is my only contact to the actuarial world and hence all of the bloody questions!
I just have a couple more: How much time before the exam do you usually leave for revision? That is, how many weeks before the exam do you finish all the notes? Is 5 weeks before the exam (* a rate of approx 20hrs/week) long enough to start doing the ASET/past papers?
