Course 4 Mahler Study Aid - Help!

[Kira]

I just started looking at the Course 4 Mahler notes and they're huge! Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to approach this? For instance, should I only attempt to work 1/4 of the problems the first time through? Should I only read the bolded sections the first time through and then come back to the others later? :eek:

[the ladies man]

I too am wondering about this. For C3, I was told only to focus on the bold material. If you try to tackle everything, you can get lost in it and before you know it your a month from the exam without having looked at much of the other material.

I really don't think it is possible to do ALl of the problems. I think I am going to try to work about 1/3 -1/4 of the problems the first time thru....that way I get thru all of the material in time. After that I guess I'll go thru and keep working more until I think I have mastered it.

[Kira]

I also bought the ASM manual and the Actex. I know this is excessive, but Mahler doesn't cover everything, and the purpose of getting Actex was to get additional problems although it's looking like I'm not going to be needing any additional problems!

Right now it's looking like I'll work about 1/4 of the problems and focus on the bolded sections the first time through. Then work on the ASM stuff and then I'll go back to Mahler.

Did you find Mahler helpful for Course 3? I primarily used Batten and Actex.

[Caramel]

I also learn about Mahler's notes through this forum. However, consider it's already mid-January, Actex and ASM plus How to Pass seem to be already quite much if one wants to go through them at least once.

Lib, you mentioned that Mahler's note is huge, I am considering of buying it but thinking that, if the note is way too big, maybe it's better to focus on Actex, and ASM first? What do you think?

[Kira]

Caramel-
The only reason I'm starting with Mahler is that I've heard it's much more detailed than the others. I'm planing to try and do a first run in a month working only the bolded sections and a few problems. Then I'll switch to ASM and work through it. I don't know that I'll have much time to go through the Actex, but it will be good to have to refer to if I find I'm struggling with a particular topic.

That's the plan for now, but it might change! It depends on what kind of feedback I get from others. Starting with ASM may be a good idea since it covers all of the material and it's a lot smaller.

Are you planning on reading any of the textbooks? I don't typically read them.

[the ladies man]

LIB,

I thought Mahlers notes were extremely helpful for C3. I know his study notes are long but I've heard if you stick to them and the ASM then you are on the right track.

I'm not sure yet how much text I'm going to read. I know for C3 I needed some background reading before just diving into equations and problems. So I think I'll skim the text and Mahlers notes kinda simultaneously and the same with ASM.

If you are going to start with Mahlers Notes, how much time are you going to spend before switching topics?

[Cynic]

It depends on your background. If you know the basis (prob. & stat. stuffs), then you can skip certain parts. Also, there are many problems that are very similar. I think the purpose of this is for you to practice.
For me, I went through the whole thing (more than once, actually) because I needed some review.
For those who are not sure whether to buy Mahler or not, I would say that if you have no problem with this part of the syllabus, then you are okay. Otherwise Mahler IS the answer.

[Daisy]

Can someone who has Mahler and ASM help me figure out which sections in ASM Mahler covers? I thought he covered the Loss Models section but my packet does not contain anything in that area...I am missing part of the notes? My Mahler notes contain the following sections:Conjugate Priors, Simulation in Fitting, Semiparametric Estimation, and Empirical Bayesian Credibility.

[FoxtrotFool]

Mahler's should have Loss Model material.

When I first received my Mahler last sitting, I thought it was huge, too. However, it's really not as huge as it appears. Mahler uses good fonts with plenty of white spaces for easy reading. And once you get used to it, the pace would speed up.

I was on my second try for course 4, so it took me only about 1.5 months to go through Mahler's notes.

I would recommend working through all the non-italic sections. And for those chapters that you are working on, go through all the problems. He chooses his questions fairly carefully, and there isn't a lot of dead-weight questions.

Also, at the end of each section, there is a condensed equation list. Take these lists with you whereever you go, especially the credibility (classical, buhlmann, conjugate prior) ones. They are better than any flashcards you can buy.

Don't be fooled by ACTEX or anything else that is 'smaller by volume'. They are a lot harder to read, simply because they uses smaller fonts and tighter spacing. Plus the explainations are just not as complete.

So, start early, get on a comfortable pace. Go through all the problems. You should be able to finish in 2 months.

Someone once told me that he would try to get 90%+ on Mahler questions, and guess on the rest. I wouldn't go quite that far, but if you can get 80% on Mahler and 50% on the rest, you would score an 8!

[Daisy]

I think the Mahler notes that were sent to me are note complete. Can someone you has them list the different packet headings? I only received about 1 1/2 inches in packets. This seems very small.

[aNoNo]

Maybe Mahler should sell a "single user, nontransferable" license for his study guides.

[Daisy]

Ignore above request for breakdown of topics...I just found out I will be receiving the remainder of his notes tomorrow.