The progression of questions in one’s mind as he/she starts a new Actuarialexam
Transclude of Starting-a-new-Exam-2024-10-29-17.55.20.excalidraw
Questions I get before I start a new exam
- Is it too difficult?
- Will I be able to write it in the diet I wish to, or am I being over-ambitious and impractical?
Questions I get after I started and finished the syllabus once
- I have gone through all the concepts, but I am very slow at solving questions. Will I be able to pass?
- There is so much content to cover, I don’t think I will be able to write the exam in this diet at least.
- I am not able to finish practice exams in time, will I be able to write the real exams? Maybe if I continue preparation, I will get a bit fast but nowhere near the required speed to clear the exam.
- I don’t know these concepts and not able to understand quite many. How can I do questions on them if I don’t understand them?
Questions I get after I finish writing a dozen exams
- I am very weak, I have only been able to get 30% answers right and still a lot to do. Maybe I am not fit for this exam?
- I think I might run out of practice exams so let me practice from the question bank. But what exactly to practice now?
- I keep repeating the same mistakes
Questions I get after I finish reviewing my faults and writing even more exams
- I see, so I didn’t understand this concept well. Let me take a quick refresher for this. Ok, I understand it better since its the second time for me reading it. Let me try to solve the question again. Did I get it right or am I missing something?
- My grades are increasing from previous exams, but I am still making those silly mistakes. What exactly are those silly errors? Let me write them down and review them before the next practice exam to deliberately avoid them.
- I am so much into the syllabus that I have started to like it. But I will have to try to finish all question papers with a goal to minimize errors and maximize speed. What are some of the shortcuts that can be used and are others already using them?
Questions I get just 3 weeks before the exams when I have finished a lot of questions
- Okay now, what should I do? Should I try solving the sample question papers that SOA/CAS provides? Let’s try them
- Most of my errors have diminished, now all I need to do is to ensure I can remember all formulae from the top of my head. Can I put all of the formulae on a piece of paper without referring to the formula sheet?
- I am still making some mistakes in some areas. Let me check what exactly caused them. I am comfortable with most of the syllabus but there are certain parts that still didn’t click. Can I explain that concept to someone or make notes in my notebook with my own understanding?
Takeaway
Writing an exam is a process of evolving from asking questions of self-doubt to questions of constructive self-criticism that will enable you to master not only the subject but develop confidence for writing the exam even thrice in a row if asked to do so.