Course 5 - Actex Manual

[toomuchtime]

Any opinions on the Course 5 Actex Manual?

I am going to order the JAM manual, but is the Actex Manual worth getting?

[FoxtrotFool]

I probably will get a second set of notes, but I haven't decided between ACTEX (brown/sharp) and ASM (bensic). Bensic wrote ACTEX for C6, and that was fairly useless.

I had ASM for course 6 (by Claire), and thought that was pretty good as a second set of notes. Too bad he doesn't have one for course 6.

I do have a positive recommendation to make. Get the HYPE cards. I had his course 6 HYPE cards, and the mnemonics were significantly better than the JAM cards. Plus the HYPE cards and JAM cards are the same size, so I was able to have only one stack of cards that I want to memorize from.

[studyhard]

I think Actex is pretty good for C 5. Actex might be aweful for C 6 but it seems like working fine to help me to prepare for C5.

[toomuchtime]

I think Actex is pretty good for C 5. Actex might be aweful for C 6 but it seems like working fine to help me to prepare for C5.

Did you use it for Course 6?

[mayreeh]

I passed course 5 last fall on first sitting. I haven't exactly had a stellar pass rate (I've been taking exams since 1990. This was the first time since 1994 that I passed something on the first try.) I can tell you what worked for me:

JAM manual. Following the recommended study schedule. Including which problems to work and which to skip.

JAM cards are basically the condensed outline on note cards - but saved me the trouble of making my own cards. Downside, the pneumonics are horrible. Thank goodness he didn't put many in there.

HYPE cards. Great pneumonics. Not as extensive in coverage as the JAM cards though.

I went through all the material at detail level, worked all the problems, and then spent weeks with the cards. Going through each stack to see which card I liked better on each topic - in some cases, making up my own when I didn't like either HYPE or JAM.

I ended up with a pile of sample problems and a stack of note cards that include most of the HYPE's, some of the JAM's, and 10 or 12 of my own.

I opted to go with JAM and only JAM because a couple of my friends had passed 5 on the first try using it. (with a 9 and a 10, I might add).

[E. Blackadder]

pneumonics is what happens when you got a 5 on the exam after misreading a question.

Or it's what happens when you get sick the night before.

Not sure which.

(Hey, I can't spell it, either. Mn?????????)

[The Bomb]

I've usually seen it spelled "mnemonics"

Just looked it up in Webster--he agrees.

[studyhard]

toomuchtime, I didn't use Actex for Course 6, following suggestion from some friends. But I did use it for Course 5 last fall and got an 8. According to the study time I put in, I am satisfied with C5 Actex and grade. I didn't use Jam for C5 so I couldn't tell which is better. I would say both of them work.

[mayreeh]

Some of us are too busy working and studying to worry about how to spell mnemonics. :duh:

What can I say? I have three offices, and two of them have dictionaries in them. Apparently I need one in this office also.