Month: January 2016

I hope everyone on the east coast has an uneventful run-in with winter storm “Jonas” this weekend. If the storm is headed in your direction, now might be a good time to try our free iPhone app, which lets you download up to 5 hours of video lessons for offline viewing. Studying for an actuarial exam is about perseverance and dealing with adversity after all!

Stay safe, stay warm.

As advertised earlier, we will be offering a brand new study schedule feature in the online seminar this sitting. You will be able to select your start date, and the seminar will put target dates on each lesson in the online seminar to give you a feel for whether you are ahead or behind schedule based on your personal start date.

This feature will go live before the end of the month, and you will be able to set your start date retroactively if needed. Until then, feel free to use the spreadsheet study schedule provided, which offers similar tracking features.

Registration for spring 2016 exams is now open at the SOA’s site. Please do not forget to register for the actual exam with the SOA. The deadline for exam registration is Friday, March 25, 2016.

It’s a great question and one I’m often asked. 

The old rule of thumb is of course 100 hours of study per exam hour. I personally feel like targeting something closer to 400–450 hours is more realistic and doable for a 5-hour FSA exam.

But it’s not so much the quantity of study time. It’s really the quality of study time that matters.

Key success factors:

• Stick to a schedule and monitor your actual vs. planned progress (the one we provide in the online seminar is designed to help you do exactly this)
• Prioritize studying over other activities
• If possible, study very early in the day before other interruptions occur
• Mute your phone, Facebook, Twitter, and all notifications during study time
• Work with your supervisor to make sure studying has priority during designated times
• Try to lessen rigid work duties (e.g. financial reporting duties) as much as possible as you near the exam date

If you have concerns about your ability to do any of the above, feel free to contact Zak or me for other ideas. We’ve both worked with folks in a variety of situations.

I’ve even worked with expecting moms who delivered within a week before and after the exam—and passed! If they can do it, anyone can!

Good luck to everyone awaiting exam results today. I sincerely hope that you get good news, but if you don’t, I hope you’ll be motivated to keep trying. Keep in mind that it is very common to fail exams on the way to fellowship. Many very successful actuaries have.

Remember that we offer free extensions for anyone who doesn’t pass on the their first try. Learn more by reading our extension policy. To activate your free extension, simply email our customer service.

In case you happen to be attending the annual ANÉA-ASNA convention Redefining Risk 2016 at Niagara Falls this weekend, please stop by our booth. I will also be speaking at a session on Saturday. We’ll be talking about exam tips from prelims to fellowship, and we also have a ton of cool stuff to give away!