Hi all, I'm taking my first CT exam this April (CT6). Leading up to the exams what material do you usually have covered to feel confident of passing? I'm especially interested from those that have passed an exam on their first sitting - what things did you cover? I have ordered the revision notes, ASET, series Y assignments and Mock 06/07 exams but combined with the QA Bank, X assignments and institute past papers amounts to a huge workload which I'm finding quite daunting! My current plan is to do, roughly in this order: All Q/A Banks Series X assignments ASET Mock exam 06 + 07 Past Papers and if time permits: Series Y Revision Notes (Past exam questions grouped by chapter) Can anyone comment on this plan? Should I forget the Q/A Bank and focus only on past papers etc? Obviously if time permits I would like to cover all of this material but I'll prolly run out of time so your suggestions would be much appreciated. Many thanks!
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? 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. I have a quick comment on your planned order... You may find it helpful to attempt the Q&A bank and the X-assignments one chapter at a time. This can help to reinforce the methods and information as you go along. 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. Good luck and enjoy it.
Thanks bystander - currently I'm doing about 15hrs a week. 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. 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. 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!! 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. 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! 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?
Getting that first job can sometimes be the hardest bit of your career! You are certainly proving your commitment by going it alone temporarily. 5 weeks sounds OK. Probably the longest is 8 weeks so you don't find yourself repeating material. But as my fellow correspondent says, the key is finding your weaknesses and working to eradicate them. Unlike many exams, you can't cherry pick your questions and have to attempt everything. If the lack of contact worries you, you may like to consider popping along to a local actuarial society meeting. There are ones that crop up occasionally aimed at students. Some societies have minimal subcriptions so it's a cheap way to network if you have one close-by. But on the whole, persevere. It's worth it.
Hi RyuVI, I would agree with the others about the Q&A bank, it just doesn't reflect real questions. Personally I use the revision notes rather than the ASET as then you can work through all the questions relating to one topic rather than jumping between them. It helps really consolidate each bit at a time. I would definitely agree about things not always falling into place until the last minute. I took CT6 in September and was getting horribly low marks on papers up to two days before the exam and was terrified. But suddenly it all started working and I passed so don't give up hope at any point!
