Time CRnCHS

[Phil]

I really dislike how the exams put you in such a time crunch. I feel like I didn't get to show them how much I know. These time crunches are even bad for the SoA. Like, suppose one candidate knows all the answers but he runs out of time with two questions left (or writes only a crappy answer for those two questions) even though he actually knew how to solve them. Another candidate who doesn't know how to do those two questions at all might answer all the other questions, and end up turning in the same type of exam as Candidate #1. How can the SoA distinguish between the two candidates?

Aside from practical advice like "budget your time better" or "don't complete all the calculations, just write the formulas", isn't there anything we can do to rectify this equality? What is the SoA's purpose in keeping the exams so tightly timed? Is it to limit the amount of time people have to cheat, or something?

[BigEEE]

You should just write faster

[Double High C]

Is this (original post) question totally serious?

There are plenty of flaws with the SOA exams and q's in general, and this is one that exists with almost any test.

You are never going to get perfect results on any test; the need to prepare for the actual test (vs. mere mastery of the subject matter), and the fact that there are competitive attributes that place some at an advantage (that are beside the point of the exam) is virtually unavoidable

OTOH, is there unnecessary friction in this case? Could they allow more time or put shorter / fewer questions on?

That's a problem with long exams with a year's worth of material. Having said that, I think that there is room for improvement - and this is an understatement - even taking this into consideration.