Is that what the fellowship paper is? I've heard that term used before but didn't know what it was. Personally I think you should do CT9 much earlier i.e. as soon as you have 1 or 2 CTs. And why waste a whole sitting on CA3?
I suppose this all depends on your degree, but assuming something with a fair degree of maths content, and obviously not an actuarial sciences course, I would reckon 1. CT1&3 2. CT2&6&9 3. CT4&5 4. CT7&8 5. CA1&2&3 6. STx2 7. SA (fellowship I still call this) & P There you go, three and a half years no problems. Most strong candidates I have come across get through the CTs (or their previous equivalent) in 2 years, but the reality is most do have trouble with an ST at some point - and of course the final stumbling block of the fellowship course has been known to severely dent a previously impeccable 100% record. CA3 should NOT be left until last. At least one irate poster on this site has had his/her FIA indefinitely held up by this capricious beast (30% pass rate). I still reckon that 5 years total, with no (or only one) exemption to start with is a good effort. Of course, I took several years longer than that.....
How does that compare with the Australian exams? Under the Australian exams, Part I is the CT exams 1 to 8, Part II is at least a year's course with one of the universities, and Part III is 4 subjects taking at least 2 years to finish + a professionalism course. The pass rate for Part III is quite low.
CA3 is always a little bit of a problem. Candidates who have already attempted CA1 or a ST subject will have an advantage, because they will have developed skills other than technical. The CTs are a pre-requisite, the exam could draw on basic knowledge of any of these. Preparation for this exam is recommended at abot 50 hours - so whatever other subjects you take on, CA3 should not be too onerous to add on top - just another couple of hours a week. Also, given the pass rate, it is likely that the average candidate may take 2 or 3 attempts, so I reckon you should take it as soon as you've got a good chance. I.e. perfect to sit alongside CA1. As for CA2.... Well, If you can book your exam for say October/November, then it will not clash with April exams. Preparation is only 20 hours - and it shouldn't take more. CA1 is such a long course (effectively a double) with so many new concepts, that it is not unreasonable to suppose you might fail at the first go. At least taking CA2&3 in the same sitting will give you a chance of getting a pass so that feel you are making progress. Each to his/her own - all roads lead to Rome. Or is it that the road to hell is paved with good intentions?
I would definitely recommend attempting CA3 before CA2 - although the titles of the courses don't suggest it, you actually need to at least be familiar with the skills of CA3 to do well at CA2. At the recent Student Consultative Committee meeting with Trevor Watkins, the CA2 pass rates were discussed and it was confirmed that there is a very high degree of correlation between those who have attempted CA3 and those who pass CA2.... I also think that because CA1 is such a long, arduous course you almost want to pair it with something "lighter", like CA3, just to relieve some of the boredom you get with studying CA1! Two STs is also a beast - equivalent to doing CA1, and therefore not much of a relief after having just done CA1! i know of a lot of people who do an ST with another CA... Of course you also have to consider resits - for example if you have 2 STs to resit, doing them together is probably not as arduous as if you were doing them both for the first time... Who knows the answer? Some people have also aimed to qualify on CT9...
