November 2012 Progress Thread

[StudyingIsFun]

Originally Posted by troyandabed

Yeah I'm in the same boat as you. I am so motivated to pass this thing in November. Going through the TIA lecture notes and doing the section exercises from the beginning. Will also be reading AMLCR and doing problems from there.

Are you getting your scan tron manually graded? I thought you got a really low score and thought you had 16 right.

[chawy]

Back for round two. Got a 5, and certainly disappointed from this past sitting seeing that probably one more correct answer very well could have made it a six with the low passing mark. It's a shame a lot of it came down to who got luckier with guessing. Definitely was too long, and I hope that the SOA takes that into account when writing the questions for this sitting. Got the new ASM manual on my way as well as ADAPT and motivated more than ever to get past this exam.

[HereWeGo]

So who has the magic answer for how to study for this sucker? I took the exam last November for the first time and scored a 4. I used Ostaszewski's manual (worked really well for P), and the aid-formerly-known-as-SOA 282. I did not sit for the May exam, but I did purchase the ASM 11th edition manual. I've read a lot of reactions to this new syllabus. In addition to new material, have notations changed too? If the aid-formerly-known-as-SOA 282 is no longer a good indicator of exam-type questions, does that deem all previous exam questions/solutions as nothing more than good, general knowledge? Do I need to get the second printing of ASM 11?

Moving forward, I guess the thing to do is get through ASM 11v1, know the added problems (~20) to SOA 300 and the May sitting like my life depends on it, and maybe review some of the aid-formerly-known-as-SOA 282.

On a more general note, what's the consensus on original, author questions? It's my understanding that one question is meant to cover many, challenging topics with the idea there is no way exam-takers will experience anything equally difficult on exam-day. But c'mon! Some of them are outrageous, no? Not to mention almost doubling the amount of time needed to get through a manual. Maybe I just need to step my game up.

In summary: HOW DO I GET FROM A 4 ON THE OLD SYLLABUS TO AN 8 ON THE NEW SYLLABUS?! (Then the worst I could get is a 6, right?)

[troyandabed]

Originally Posted by StudyingIsFun

Are you getting your scan tron manually graded? I thought you got a really low score and thought you had 16 right.

Yes I already requested a hand score... but I might have screwed up the bubbling. I'd rather assume I'm taking MLC for the next few weeks b/c I don't want to switch to MFE until I pass MLC.

[trainheavy]

Originally Posted by troyandabed

Yeah I'm in the same boat as you. I am so motivated to pass this thing in November. Going through the TIA lecture notes and doing the section exercises from the beginning. Will also be reading AMLCR and doing problems from there.

This is exactly my plan - I used TIA previously (as with all my exams), so I'll stick with it again and see if I can get a pass this time around. I can't accept having to take an exam more than twice!

[amriscool]

Hello guys,

This is my first post in AO and I belive it's really useful (for the most part) to plan ahead. It definately helped me pass P/1 and FM/2. I'm on my way to that beast MLC in Nov. The problem is I have the Actex 2010 study manual (+ TIA which is a relief after what I ve read) and I cannot afford a new study manual...I ll just go over the new syllabus and TRY to add/wipe out the different material in the guide. Really hope this works . Good luck to everyone!

[jone2219]

that sucks peetie im here with you though. i am going to try to double up on MFE though, too, so i can get back on track with my schedule and goals

[Peetie Skunk]

I think 5 is possibly the worst score to get. Oh well. I see it as motivation. I'm close, and I'm not going to get anything less than a 6 next time.

[FractionalActuary]

HereWeGo, to answer your question. I ended up passing with 7 this May. I used ASM and did every problem in it plus the first 4 practice exams. In the last 1.5 days I did the SOA 300 as I thought these would best match the syllabus. This was wrong, as only the last 50 questions were useful.

I think what best prepared me for this was the intuitive explanations I got in two LifeCon classes in grad school. Having a Professor explain things is vastly superior to a manual. No, I am not recommending going back to school. What I am recommending is seeking out live seminars or recorded lectures to supplement your own studies. Nothing has ever made the concepts clearer than listening to someone with a PhD explain it to you.

[HereWeGo]

Originally Posted by FractionalActuary

HereWeGo, to answer your question. I ended up passing with 7 this May. I used ASM and did every problem in it plus the first 4 practice exams. In the last 1.5 days I did the SOA 300 as I thought these would best match the syllabus. This was wrong, as only the last 50 questions were useful.

I think what best prepared me for this was the intuitive explanations I got in two LifeCon classes in grad school. Having a Professor explain things is vastly superior to a manual. No, I am not recommending going back to school. What I am recommending is seeking out live seminars or recorded lectures to supplement your own studies. Nothing has ever made the concepts clearer than listening to someone with a PhD explain it to you.

Thanks for the feedback FA, and congrats on passing! What didn't you like about the first 250 ?s of the SOA 300?