Tables for the Course 4 Exam

[minus790]

First time caller, long time listener here :P

I am remembering correctly that we get a set of tables and distributions along with our exam, yes?

I just didn't want to be the only one going in there counting on the Weibull distribution being provided, only to get my bubble burst. :wink:

Is anyone else confounded by all the matrix/linear algebra stuff with parameter estimation? I'm pretty shaky on it (suggestions?), and am a little concerned since there seems to be a high variance of its volume on a given exam. Some past exams barely touch it; on others, it seems to constitute about 25% of the exam.

Good luck to everyone testing.

lance

[Pi Man]

welcome, lance-man :D

the tables should be included with the exam book at the exam center, but it really really really helps if you are at least reasonably familiar with the distributions.

i'd like to help.... can you be more specific on what is confounding you? which study guide are you using? or are you only using the texts? what sections are giving you grief?

as for variance on content, that's the SOA for you..... whatever you DIDN'T study?? THAT will be on the exam.... :roll:

[minus790]

Right, the Course 4 Tables are what I've downloaded and been using to do all the practice exams. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't operating under the false assumption that those (or something very similar) would be provided on exam day.

It also seems to me that when I took this exam in May, I was blown away by the lack of what I consider to be the meat and potatoes of this test: credibility theory and parameter estimation techniques like MLEs. It didn't seem to be very similar to the 4 previous tests, and then they didn't release the May exam to boot.

PiMan - let me find some example problems that I've just been blowing off for now since they give me matrix migraines :P

November 2000 : 37; May 2001 : 13,31; May 2000 : 34

Also, anyone have any advice on how to remember the formulas surrounding all these greek letters (my downfall!) surrounding ARMA, MA, ARIMA models? The processes make sense to me conceptually, ie the idea that residuals and y-values would be correlated to previous values - but when it comes to solving for theta1 or p2, i don't know how to think about it.

All in all I'm doing well - most of my notecards and formulas I can derive and think about conceptually, so I've actually "memorized" very little. I can get between 24 and 28 on the practice tests consistently and without 100% care. I'm amazed at how much that seemed foreign when I took the test in May is now clear in my mind.

Still, I'm a little worried that the 4 previous exams that have been released might not too closely resemble next Monday's!

Thanks! lance

[Nelle]

I am under the impression that May 2000 #34 is no longer on the syllabus, along with May 2000#16 and Nov 2000 #29,35,36.

This is all according to ASM...