Archive

Archive for May, 2008

Good Luck!

May 14th, 2008

Good luck tomorrow! Two last bits of advice.

1. Stay calm during the exam. There is going to be a couple of problems that trip you up. Don’t let them get you down or ruin your confidence.

2. Relax tonight. The worst thing you can do is stay up all night cramming. Get a good night rest. If you don’t know it by now, then you are unlikely to know it well enough to get a question right.

Exam Tips

Formula Sheet Typo

May 12th, 2008

On page 13 of the formula sheet there is a typo.  For the contingent insurance that pays 1 at the death of (y) if predeceased by (x), the tpx should be tqx since (x) must have died before (y).

Errata

Problem Update

May 9th, 2008

B3: 96, 97, 98

Updates

Problem Update

May 8th, 2008

B3: 91, 92

B7: 55, 56

C2: 6, 9, 15, 23

Updates

MLC Students – What should you be doing?

May 8th, 2008

I recommend focusing on the published exams that I left out of the problem sets. In other words, the exams released since the Spring 2005. I would review the key concepts every night (those are the “formula sheets” I posted).

If a particular topic is giving you a lot trouble, then I would NOT spend too much time on it now. Instead I would focus on the basics of that topic and review the stuff you know well. During this last week you should be reviewing all the concepts instead of focusing on 1-2 topics.

I think the best approach is to work as many problems as possible during this last week. Just make sure you working a good mix of problems from different sections of the material. If you tackle the recently published exams that should provide a good mix. You might want to throw in a couple of contingent probability and insurance problems here and there.

Exam Tips

3L Students – Good Luck Tomorrow!

May 8th, 2008

I always like to rest the day before the exam.  I might flip through the summary sheets a couple of times, but nothing more.  I definitely recommend going to bed early.  It is likely to take you longer than usual to go to sleep so it helps to get into bed 30 minutes to an hour early.  IMO, the worst thing you can do is stay up all night studying.  You will likely be tired so the studying won’t be too effective and it could cause you to be tired on exam day too.

On exam day there will be a handful of people with their notes cramming right before the exam.  I always thought this was silly.  If you don’t know it by the morning of the exam, then you are not going to know it.  Plus there is always a chance that you will confuse yourself of something that you do know.  I strongly recommend against cramming the morning of the exam.

During the exam try to relax and stay positive.  If you have studied hard enough, then it is very likely that you know how to work enough problems to pass.  The key is finding those problems you know how to work and getting them right.

Good luck!

Exam Tips

Test Taking Tips

May 6th, 2008

In my opinion, the difference b/w a pass and a fail can often come down to test taking strategy.  If you don’t have a good strategy, then you are a serious disadvantage.  The first thing to realize is that all questions count the same.  That means answering the easiest question correctly on the exam is worth just as much as answering the hardest question on the exam.  For that reason, it is imperative that you get to attempt every problem on the exam.  You must not run out of time and force yourself to guess on any questions without first having a chance to devote a few minutes to solving them.

What does this mean?  You must be willing to skip a problem.  If you read a problem and don’t have a clear picture in your mind of how to solve it, then skip it.  If you read a problem and you are confused on the wording of even a single sentence, then skip it.  If you read a problem, but can’t think of an elegant solution and the one you have outlined in your head is a long a tedious one, then skip it.  If you start to get frustrated with a problem, then skip it.  Please do not be scared to skip a problem.  You are not required to work them in order.

The key to passing the exam is getting all the questions you know how to do right.  If you spend 10-20 minutes working on a problem that you likely wouldn’t get even if you had 30-45 minutes, then you made a huge strategical error.  That means you have less time to devote to problems that you do know how to work.  You will be rushed on the easy problems and could make a careless mistake b/c of it.  Don’t fall into that trap.

When the proctor tells you there is 15 minutes remaining make, stop whatever you are doing and make sure you have an answer bubbled for every problem.  There is no penalty for guessing and you do not want to find yourself with one minute and stressing over if you have everything bubbled in. (For 3L students I believe there is a guessing penalty, so at this point just make sure you have something bubbled for every problem you want to answer.)

Bring at least one extra calculator.  Make sure it is the same model as your other calculator.  You would hate to have to switch calculators and be unfamiliar with the 2nd calculator.

Exam Tips

Problem Update

May 6th, 2008

B.3 – 125
B.7 – 96
B.8 – 22
C.1 – 43

Updates

Problem Update

May 5th, 2008

B1: 43

C2: 4, 7, 16, 17, 27, 28, 31, 32

CAS3 Fall 2006: 15, 34-37

Updates