Spring 2009 CSP Materials

[al1835]

I am looking at what is out there as far as materials go.

Textbooks
EDGE study package
Actex manual
Actex flashcards
EDGE seminar

Which materials have people preferred? Do some of these items include the others? Any experience with EDGE online seminar vs. in person?

[Kenny]

Where do you see an EDGE online seminar?

My understanding is that Actex is severely lacking for this exam. I haven't seen any good reviews of that manual for FSA level retirement exams.

[al1835]

The online seminar is here
http://www.actuarialbookstore.com/product_details.asp?prod_id=453061277

Yeah, I did not find Actex very thorough for EA exams.

[Kenny]

Ahh. It is brand new so no one will be able to give you a review.

[Chris Walken]

So....what's the verdict? Textbooks, EDGE study package, and possibly the EDGE seminar? No Actex?

[Victor The Eagle]

I felt like the EDGE materials prepared me well for the DP exam so I'm going with them again for CSP.

[meliche]

When are you going to start studying for the CSP exam? I just ordered some books but since the edge only comes out 12/15 and the actex 1/15 I am not really sure if it would be too late in January etc.

Any takes?

[fappakman]

The Edge's study manual suggests to start studying in the first week of January.

[Patrickp]

is the edge manual considered sufficient to pass this exam ? In other words , do i have to buy all the books or just that manual ?

[Susan]

My personal experience is that I need to read all the required readings. The manuals are helpful for highlighting what is important but I am a fairly detail oriented person and I do better on the exams when I read the source materials. I have spoken with other people, however, who say they were able to pass with using just the manuals. I suspect they tend to be more big picture people.

Re: EDGE manual, I thought the suggested timeline for studying was useful. The math examples were helpful and the compressed outline is useful.

I would love to hear what people think about the EDGE seminar. I am thinking about attending it but is it worth the time and money?

[fappakman]

I don't know anyone who passed this exam from just reading the manual. CSP has fewer listing questions than DP so the Edge manual is less helpful.

[Patrickp]

what is the SOA study notes ? is it necessary to buy this ?

Anybody have a method to study for this exam ?

[West]

How are people using the Edge Manual?

This is my first time writing the exam. I think I will read the summary notes, then read the readings in the textbooks or study notes if necessary. After I have gone through all the sections. Read the Compressed Summary numerous times.

Any other suggestions that are helpful?

[chipper28]

How are people using the Edge Manual?

This is my first time writing the exam. I think I will read the summary notes, then read the readings in the textbooks or study notes if necessary. After I have gone through all the sections. Read the Compressed Summary numerous times.

Any other suggestions that are helpful?

I have the most patience for the material the first time I read it, so I like to read the readings themselves first. In that form they have the details and the thoughts that make them flow together and perhaps stick with you better as things you know. For DP, I read all the readings through, then mainly used the compressed summary/QBS/practice exam spiral. Only use of the main summary I did was on a plane flight to and from a conference, I read through it from beginning to end to refresh myself on the readings that I'd read months earlier by that date.

Kevin says it's supposed to be impossible to do the exams without memorizing, but I just couldn't stomach rote memorization. My compromise was that I approached the material from every direction possible, developed different summaries/presentations of the material, worked through all the exams etc., but the only thing I did "memorization-wise" was in the two days before the exam, I memorized the number of items that should be on various lists. I didn't try to memorize the items at all, just came up with how many items should be on the list and that worked really well for me on the exam.

That experience is all DP. I'm new to CSP, but it seems that it's more complicated and has more material based on what I've seen so far...

[West]

Thank you for your post Chipper28!

As I wait for the new Edge manual to be released I think I will start with the textbook readings. There are a lot of readings and material.

[chipper28]

One nice thing about this exam over DP is that there are a lot of substantive readings online, so there's good stuff to read while waiting for study manuals to arrive. I've been told that a bunch of the study notes are online as well if you search, but I haven't put in that effort..

[Kenny]

I have the most patience for the material the first time I read it, so I like to read the readings themselves first. In that form they have the details and the thoughts that make them flow together and perhaps stick with you better as things you know. For DP, I read all the readings through, then mainly used the compressed summary/QBS/practice exam spiral. Only use of the main summary I did was on a plane flight to and from a conference, I read through it from beginning to end to refresh myself on the readings that I'd read months earlier by that date.

Kevin says it's supposed to be impossible to do the exams without memorizing, but I just couldn't stomach rote memorization. My compromise was that I approached the material from every direction possible, developed different summaries/presentations of the material, worked through all the exams etc., but the only thing I did "memorization-wise" was in the two days before the exam, I memorized the number of items that should be on various lists. I didn't try to memorize the items at all, just came up with how many items should be on the list and that worked really well for me on the exam.

That experience is all DP. I'm new to CSP, but it seems that it's more complicated and has more material based on what I've seen so far...

You may not have used "rote memorization" but I think you have a better memory for the details (such as the individual items on a list) than most people. Certainly better than me. I understand pretty much all of the material on the exam, but I have difficulty reproducing the necessary specifics w/o memorizing the lists.

[chipper28]

You may not have used "rote memorization" but I think you have a better memory for the details (such as the individual items on a list) than most people. Certainly better than me. I understand pretty much all of the material on the exam, but I have difficulty reproducing the necessary specifics w/o memorizing the lists.

I also think that doing EA-2A at the same time also helped in terms of "memory theory", because since I was switching material and ideas, it seemed to make the information get sorted into my brain better. That plus not wanting to have to wait an extra year has me taking both spring exams as well :spnner:.

My other random tip from DP is track your time. I got an app called HoursTracker that I liked because I did some basic calculations of what I thought the present value of each hour of studying for each exam was and so not only could I see how long I'd studied (or hadn't as the case might be), but it put a value on that time and made me feel spiffy.

Also, in terms of knowing the material, if you can trick yourself into two weeks or a month of panic-mode studying around now, then study normally in the interim and panic-mode again at the end, I think that helps...

[West]

I started tracking my hours for the prelim exams and realized how much that helped me. I would set mini goals on how many hours to study each week before the exam. That is what was able to motivate me months before the exam. I didn't like it when I was "behind" on my hours.

Did anyone use the cue cards that came with the manual? Did you add your own notes to them?

How many hours are you targeting to study? I am taking the Canadian exam which is longer, so I may have to devote more time than would be needed for the US exam.

[ElDucky]

I didn't use the cue cards at all. There were a lot of problems with that manual, but it is still helpful. I am putting in more time to this exam, as I can start about 1.5 months earlier this time around.

For the Canadian exam there is far too much material to just read it and remember everything. There's close to double the material it seems.