Efficient preparation for C/4

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by dukelampard

You passed 3 exams in 3 months? You're probably smart enough to get by with the textbook and sample problems.

Well 3 exams in 3 months, but I made the decision about going for these exams at the end of March, and registered for first exam around early April. So 4 months in total, and anyway, P was a freebie for me

But navel gazing aside, these are just the preliminary exams. I presume fellow exams would be more at graduate levels.

[Colonel Smoothie]

Originally Posted by drsingh

For P, and FM, I also used Sam Broverman's weekly questions. I used a program to auto-download all the weekly questions; another program to merge all the individual PDFs, and then printed them in chunks of 40 pages. He gives solution on back pages, so it's convenient to try to solve it in the bottom half of page 1 where question is stated, and then check back with answer on the backside.

I found about 100 of Sam Broverman's questions for Exam C, but these are from 2007. Has the syllabus changed dramatically, or only in a minor way since then?

Originally Posted by drsingh

amazon says that there's a new edition of Loss Models being released on Sep 11, 2012. That's a month away... so, should I just buy the 2009 edition?

Yeah, I think C used to be a 4 hour exam and they moved chunks of it to MFE, so the syllabus changed sometime in the past.

You should use whatever edition is in the syllabus. Anyway, like another poster said, ASM will probably be enough to pass (it's long, though). As long as you pick a reputable source and study it thoroughly, you'll be fine.

[Colonel Smoothie]

Originally Posted by drsingh

I presume fellow exams would be more at graduate levels.

Nope, there's a lot less math and more memorization. The material is longer, as well.

[Ambiguity]

Originally Posted by drsingh

Well 3 exams in 3 months, but I made the decision about going for these exams at the end of March, and registered for first exam around early April. So 4 months in total...

...wow, you are beasting. ...just keep doing what you're doing, actual texts or study manuals, and you'll be fine.

[ItsATrap]

Originally Posted by drsingh

ItsATrap,

Since you have already taken MLC, how would rate the difficulty of that one? And suitable materials?

I think MLC and MFE are about the same. MLC has double the material, but I feel that MFE was more densely packed with material and the concepts were a little more difficult. MLC is very intuitive and everything builds off of itself. I'd say even though there is a lot more material, it takes about the same amount of preparation. I just used the ASM manual for MLC and used the SOA released problems list. It was all that you could need for it. The key to that exam is efficiency and mastering time.

[AdmiralWen]

Originally Posted by drsingh

Well 3 exams in 3 months, but I made the decision about going for these exams at the end of March, and registered for first exam around early April. So 4 months in total, and anyway, P was a freebie for me

If what you say about your exam progress is true, then you seriously don't need advice from anyone. Just do what you believe works for you and it seems like you'd be just fine.

I'm curious, what made you want to switch out of engineering after 20ish years? Wouldn't switching just be more of a hassle and quite a pay cut for some time?

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by AdmiralWen

I'm curious, what made you want to switch out of engineering after 20ish years? Wouldn't switching just be more of a hassle and quite a pay cut for some time?

Another person asked the same thing, and below is what my thought is on this. taking actuarial exams is sort of a put option, or insurance. Basically, I feel like I have reached a glass ceiling in my current career. Option are (a) be political (kiss a** of upper management) to go further, which I dislike very much; (b) be an independent programmer; (c) something new -- I like Math, and taking tests and have worked in fields related to P&C insurance. So try FCAS track, and make a career out of it for the next 10 years. Well, that's the plan anyway.

[sarahl1286]

Originally Posted by ItsATrap

I think MLC and MFE are about the same. MLC has double the material, but I feel that MFE was more densely packed with material and the concepts were a little more difficult. MLC is very intuitive and everything builds off of itself. I'd say even though there is a lot more material, it takes about the same amount of preparation. I just used the ASM manual for MLC and used the SOA released problems list. It was all that you could need for it. The key to that exam is efficiency and mastering time.

This was all very true before the syllabus change.

MFE: an inch wide and a mile deep
MLC: a mile wide and an inch deep

However, with the new MLC syllabus, the exam was crazy last sitting and no on knows what to expect in the near future.

[ItsATrap]

Originally Posted by sarahl1286

This was all very true before the syllabus change.

MFE: an inch wide and a mile deep
MLC: a mile wide and an inch deep

However, with the new MLC syllabus, the exam was crazy last sitting and no on knows what to expect in the near future.

Yes, I completely agree with this. Regarding the syllabus change, I would strongly recommend that someone who needs to take MLC and C should take C first until MLC is sorted out. I have a hunch that this next sitting for MLC will be easier than usual to counter last time's ridiculous exam, but I wouldn't count on that.