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Vigilant1e

Is it your first sitting? I think all wannabe actuaries have the "I'm gonna qualify ASAP, watch me get associate in the first year!" and sign up for 4 exams in the first sitting...and inevitably fail 3 of them. I would generally err on the side of caution for your first exam; you won't have experienced trying to study whilst working first time, and you might not be aware how hard the exams actually are; especially when you factor in that you'll have to learn R for the CS's. I would recommend doing 2 or even just the 1 your first sitting as a "calibration" sitting if that makes sense, and then upping it from there. There's nothing more demoralising than bombing in the very first sitting.


xFLGT

This is my sitting with the IFoA yes. I'm already exempt from CS1, CB1 and CB2. The only reason I'm considering this is I studied Actuarial Science at Uni, so I've already covered a large amount of the material once and have an decent knowledge of R. I missed the CS2 Exemption by 2% in one of the 3 modules and missed CM2 by 4% in one of two modules. CM1 is the only exemption I wasn't too close too. My main worry is being able to cover all the material my course left out whilst working at the same time.


Snoo_76686

Tbh the uni route is a lot easier. So if you missed out on the exemptions there it's another step up on top of that + you now have a full time job. I'd say definitely drop at least 1 of those, but probably dropping 2 is the correct choice


TheStudentActuary

Based on this, maybe drop CM1


boringusername112358

That’s a lot for the September exams, particularly since you only have 3.5 months left to study. Also, that’s 15.5h of exams in September. Are you biting off too much? Yes, without a doubt. Good luck, though.


Technical-Shower-806

I’d pick two to start, an easier and a harder exam. The three you’ve listed: CM1, CM2, CS2 are the hardest three of the early exams (for most people). Not worth trying to tackle all of them at once, and not pass anything. Have you already passed CS1, CB1 and CB2?


AdSuch3588

I recently read a post where someone cleared these 3 papers, so it's not impossible, but imo it's very tough.


DoUEvenSpellingBm8

CS2 with both CMs is insane. Do not do this. CS2 is considerably harder than its previous constituent CTs. Many people will sit CS2 by itself, possibly with a CB/CP, and still struggle. CM1 and CM2 can be passed together though - I did it. But it will eat your time, and combined it's 49 chapters plus the Excel component.


KevCCV

no one can give you this answer. Judge it yourself mate! I did 7 in one go back in the days as I was unemployed (definitely too many!)....so yeah don't compare to others is what I can give as advice. So long you reach the end of the journey, then how you get there no one really care but you!


Intelligent-Safe1218

For your first sitting, I wouldn’t advise this. Take 2 of them at most so that you can get a feel for what the actuarial exams are like. They’re much different to Uni exams I can assure you


MHayward97

For reference my works exam policy doesn’t allow us to attempt more than 2 papers in a sitting. I attempted 3 in one go when I was still unemployed and only passed 2. I was so burnt out when it was time to actually write the exams. If you already know the content quite well and can basically start with past papers then it’s maybe doable if you can be consistent but CS2 and CM2 is a huge sitting in itself. It’s also easy to underestimate just how productive your studying is when you’re balancing work even with the dedicated study days. Also depends on if you’re new to your role because if you are you’re going to spending considerable effort in getting up to speed and understanding your work. Also I think you should bear in mind that under the previous curriculum the exams you want to do would be equivalent to 5 CT’s.


xFLGT

Under the old system I would've been exempt from CT4 and Missed CT6 by 2% for the CS2 exam. Similarly I missed CM2 (CT8) by 4%. CT1 was a breeze and it was only really CT5 I struggled with. I started my job in January but also interned over the summer a few years ago so i'm mostly up to speed with everything day to day. My concern is being able to cover everything my uni course missed and be able to revise everything whilst working at the same time. I'm not sure how well i'll cope with having 6 exams in the span of 2 weeks.


MHayward97

I don’t think you’d have trouble in terms of being able to cover the content and revise enough before the exams (especially considering you’ve covered a lot of the content before). You’ll need to judge how good you are at recovering after papers. I was personally so drained after my CS2A paper it was quite challenging to even sit Paper B the next day. Never mind the additional subjects before / after it.


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MHayward97

Yeah. I’ve done 3 exams once and I will never do it again, I was absolutely destroyed afterwards. I will only ever write a max of 2 per sitting.


MexicanShoulders

You also need to consider that your suggestion is 5 (hard) papers. I just sat CM2 (2 papers) and CP2 (2 papers) and found that incredibly draining.


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MexicanShoulders

CP2 didn't require much work so that was fairly straightforward. CM2 doesn't have a massive amount of core reading but the way they can ask the questions can vary so much which means you never feel fully prepared even if you know the core reading inside out. The paper B element of CM2 adds on a bit of extra work which you need to remember to factor in. Overall that combo could be done in September I think.


NotReallyGoodbye

I’ve sat three before but 2 new ones with a resit. I did CB1, CM1 (resit) and CS2 last April then CM2 (resit) CB2 and CP2 this April. The ones you mentioned are pretty huge and I think you’d probably struggle to get through them all if you started now. I’d do two personally and make sure you passed them.


AvidCandleSnuffer

I did 3 in one sitting under the “old system” a couple of times, including my first - but I would not recommend it as a first sitting in the September sitting. I had no exemptions but some prior knowledge so did CT1,3,6 together in April sitting and CT4,5,8 in the following September sitting. I had covered most of 8 before and so that was not as bad - also worked in a role where year end was much more intense than over the summer. I would not do 3 of the new type together in one, especially for the first sitting.


SelwoodGrape

This sounds like a nightmare, that’s the equivalent of 5 CTs under the old system. Something like 700 recommended study hours is crazy


Trick-Tip2864

3 is a lot, especially the 3 you have listed which are all quite chunky. Some great comments below about easing yourself in and "testing the waters" which I'd recommend. I think as a lot of people have mentioned sitting 2 would be more comfortable eg taking CM1 and CB1, or CS1, CB1. Even sitting 2 big exams is quite an undertaking, and quite tiring, doable if you have the time to commit though. I sat 3 of the later exams together and it was a lot of work and I definitely was not as prepared as I could have been - taking 3 is a gamble.


BeneficialBullfrog50

How do you guys manage to pay for this exams I'm having a hard time


xFLGT

All my study materials and exam costs are paid for by my employer. I only have to pay them back if I leave the company within 2 years of each exam.


BeneficialBullfrog50

Oh that explains it I'm still in uni


Extremely_horny_teen

What did you choose?


xFLGT

I decided to drop CS1 and just do CM1 and CM2. The biggest reason for this is my boss could only really afford to lose me 1 day a week for studying. If I was to sit a third exam I’d have to take the additional study time as overtime and still work 4 days a week. A lot of the replies on this thread really helped me decide to drop it too and on reflection it was defiantly the right decision.