EDIT 202107: So.. I've passed CP1 and I thought it's a good time to republish this
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I have a lot to say about the study methods, but I think I'll share them here only after I've passed cause I mean.. if I fail you probably wouldn't want to learn/know my methods
but here are some general exam tips
EDIT: I have decided to apply what I've learned in CP1 and structure this post based on ACC :D
1. Preamble
This is IFoA's 3rd (arguably 2nd) attempt at online papers for CP1,
2. Specifying the Problem
The first stage of the actuarial control cycle is to identify and analyse the risks of the various stakeholders in detail, and to set out clearly the problem from the point of view of each stakeholder
IFOA wants to have a fair exam, where everyone who is deserving of a pass passed
Students want to pass, especially me, and will study hard to try to score well for the paper.
Employers want students to pass to be able to move on to the next stage of their careers
Friends and family wants student to rest well and not stress themselves out
I am writing this with hopes to help future students who are taking the online version of CP1 succeed in their quest to pass. Also note that my style may not be for everyone, so do assess if the tips/techniques work for you, if not, monitor the situation and create a better plan :)
This stage of the control cycle considers the strategic courses of action that could be used to handle the particular risks in question. This stage also provides an analysis of the options for the design of solutions to the problem
Based on the preamble, the format and questions may be significantly different
eg, I won't expect any definition questions in this paper, but even if there are it's easy to locate if you have done your preparations well.
(EDIT 202107: it wasn't significantly different- there were still pretty clear bookwork questions with little application. )
Hence, I believe the value of doing Past Year Papers (PYP) is diminished as compared to previous sittings. Don't get me wrong, it's still really important to do timed trials for time management, but memorizing all 20+ years worth of questions in 80+ papers won't do much good IMO.
It gives an assessment of the risks faced and how they can be managed, mitigated or transferred
This will reflect the desire of most students to manage their risk both in their studying and in other activities
Please have a work/study life balance. Plan beforehand- when are your study days and when are your working days and when to go for staycations.
3. Developing the solution
This stage involves:
An examination of the major actuarial models currently in use and how they may be adjusted for the particular problem to be solved
So as I mentioned, I prioritised studying the notes over doing paper, trying to understand as much as I can. (note that I know many students who only focused on PYP and not the notes and passed too, so rlly, to each his own)
it's important to plan out how you study for the exam. eg, I started mid Feb (way too late for such a heavy subject like CP1, but nothing I can do about it now), and I set aside 3h every working day and 12 h every weekend/study day
for each hour, I wrote down (on google calander) what I want to go through eg, Chapter 1+prac question, X1 + Mark, and I tried to follow it through:
Note that I only assigned 1 h for each/few chapter(s) but in reality, each chapter takes well above 3 h. I usually spend more than 1 h on the end of chapter practice questions where I:
1. Do it without the notes
2. Do it with the notes
3. Mark and identify gaps
4. Review my original answer and internalise/study the gaps.
I find this very effective in noting down what you've learned vs what you've ought to have learned (as suggested by the questions) for each chapter..
Selection of the most appropriate model to use for the problem, or construction of a new model, collecting appropriate data and modifying as necessary
I actually fell so way back halfway through that I had to replan everything. I was 2 weeks behind planned and had to skip tutorial questions to complete the syllabus. See the photo above where I had to do chapters 34-37 on a working day - which is not feasible.. I was supposed to do 34-35 the weekend before but failed to complete it on time, so I "dragged" that chapter to a new day.
I have an excel tracker, where I track my study yield (actual h of studying/h attempted studying)
my paper marks and how far away they fall from passing (I assume a conservative 65 marks for X)
my progress, inclusive of how many minutes I take for each page of notes and how long I will take to complete the syllabus. eg,
checking the goodness of fit of the model and amending as necessary before running the model
interpretation of the results of the modelling process
consideration of the implications of the model results on the overall problem
consideration of the implications of the results for all stakeholders determining a proposed solution to the problem
consideration of alternative solutions and their effects on the problem
So I originally decided to do 10 years worth of papers (2010-2020), but decided to stick to just 2020, since the syllabus changed in 2019, and 2020 was the start of the online format (and ofc cause I ran out of time...)
formalising a proposal, communicating the proposed solution, and alternatives, to the stakeholder(s) responsible for decision taking.
I have a group chat created based on a post on Linkedin, where I tried to gather students to share their journey and tips. it does seem like most actuaries are rather introverted and hence I was the chattiest in the group haha.
so I made friends with some of them and shared my strategy to get some opinion, since we are in this journey tgth!
EDIT 202107: turns out more than 60% in the group chat passed CP1 - which is quite admirable as the pass rate is historically lower than that. Highly encourage you to set up one for whichever exam you're taking!
4. Monitoring the experience
It is critical that the models used are dynamic and reflect current experience where that is relevant. This stage deals with the monitoring of experience and its feedback into the problem specification and solution development stages of the control cycle, such as updating the investigation.
be prepared to stray off plans, but know that it's okay and keep trying your best, taking enough rest.
We can analyse individual elements of experience in order to compare actual experience with what had been assumed. (AvsE) The assumptions made will rarely turn out to be correct and may lead to a wrong solution. With more up-to-date information the assumptions can be revised and a new solution developed.
It is SO IMPORTANT to do timed trials and mark your papers- yourself or ask acted for help (you have to pay them ofc). but this is possibly the most important part of the exam prep, as you will learn so much about the exam, yourself, your preference and certain flaws you can manage and not let affect you during the actual paper.
Some things I've learned from marking:
Read the question properly and make sure for each point you type, the question is answered to a certain extent (actually sometimes I see marks awards for things like definition? so if I have time I may come back to my script and define all the key terms)
oh for CP1, and perhaps all my other papers moving forward, I use a point system where I:
- Do this
- and this
- for each point
- that I think is distinct
- I will number it
- and hope it gets half a mark
- so for every question, I write down the number of marks (eg, 6)
- and make sure I have enough points (eg, 12+)
- tbh in the marking script sometimes 3 of my points will combine to give just 1 mark
- and my point to mark yield is around 70% (eg, for each 10 points I write, 3 is irrelevant- and I know this because I track my marking as well)
- so for a 6 mark question I would give 18 points instead
- This gives me the confidence that I've written at least enough marks to pass
- hopefully
- hehe
- also note that sometimes just because your answers are not in the marking script,
- they may still get marks
- as the marker is given some leeway to give marks for relevant answers
- so don't lose hope!
- like this
- and this
- and something gei kiang do this
- so what happens is that
- at the end of the question
- I'm not sure how many points I've type
- especially the sub points
- and the sub sub points
- which
- btw
- are all usually
- worth half a mark,
- if any
- were given at all
- so here are my answers,
- beautifully structured
- but idk if I've hit the number of points
- the question requires
- and I have to count one by one
- to know this is the th 18th point
- or was it 20?
- oh I need 5 more
- this is a
- waste
- of
- my
- time.
So I realised when doing X assignments that from one question to another, I sometimes have to scroll a lot and waste my time doing so.
Hence, I now use headers (ctrl + alt + 1/2/3) to separate my questions and while checking, instead of scrolling endlessly, I can just collapse and move on to the next question.
The navigation bar is also very handy. But make sure to uncollapse all before submitting to IFOA, since I think they use a pdf version for marking instead of words..
I don't use a spare monitor, hence I need to use half screens to navigate between question paper and script.
windows + left/right is very helpful for this (I only learned this this diet lol)
if you have a second monitor, good, a third monitor best. but please try to be used to the system by trying lots of papers under timed conditions.
eg, you may have multiple sources of notes (eg, print outs) and there could be a lot of confusion on how to navigate them eg, for the ACTED notes on Vitalsource, it's difficult to find keywords, cause if I typed "project risk", they will give me all entries for project and risk separately.
Oh actually I just UATed and realise you could search "project risk" and it works with the quotation marks.
But then again, after trying out many papers, I realised I score better when I actively do not refer to my notes that much. Try! It may be different for you.
Monitoring should be carried out regularly. especially if this is your first paper, where there is lots of uncertainty, monitoring should take place more frequently initially.
So as you do timed trials you'll get increasingly familiar with your system of reference and improve it along the way.
also note that you shouldn't be referring to your notes all the time. yes there may be past year papers answers similar in structure but the context will be different. eg, analyzing commercial mortgage loans vs analysing bank new product mortgage loan. one is commercial taken up by an insurer, one is a product launch to the public. Hence while they have some overlap, you do need different answers in order to score well.
Bonus: Feedback loops
It is vital that the results of the monitoring process are used. Monitoring might indicate that the problem was not fully or correctly specified – in other words the solution developed does not solve the problem that it now appears exists. Alternatively monitoring might indicate that the solution as developed did not take some vital feature into account or that some of the initial assumptions were incorrect.
More usually, the monitoring process indicates that the solution should be refined, perhaps to bring it up to date, or to reflect current experience, rather than that the solution was not appropriate. If these results are not fed back into the cycle it is likely that unsatisfactory consequences for one or more stakeholders will result
It’s important that the models used dynamic and reflect current experience where it’s relevant.
We need to have feedback into the problem specification by updating the investigation.
We can analyse individual elements of experience (questions from PYP, Xs, tutorial) in order to perform AvsE analysis.
- ACC
- Contract design
- risk analysis
- risk management
- Modelling/Data
The assumption is unlikely to be 100% correct, and that can lead to a wrong solution (e.g spot wrongly and underwriting selection comes out instead)
If these result were not fed back, it could lead to unsatisfactory consequences for one or more stakeholders.
If you don't mark, you won't know how to improve your script and you're likely to get similar marks for exams. I mean unless you're already scoring 100 la. then come I clap for you.
5. Regulations
Firstly, please read the IFOA handbook. It takes 15-30 min, but good to know all the rules laid out for you. eg, access arrangement if applicable, how to upload paper onto online platforms.
Next, knowing this is a 3h 15min online paper,
I have an alarm set for
- 15 min before paper is released (in case I nap)
- 30 min before exam ends (to preare me for checking)
-1 min before exam ends to ensure I save in time. (although it's a good habit to be saving it every 5 minutes, CTRL S)
I also prepare my Word document with my ARN in the footer and the file name as required.
6. External environment
Timed trials hope you understand how you prefer your environment.
eg, for me, I have a huge 3l water bottle, my calculator, pen and paper, a mouse, my phone and a mirror to check myself out.
these were feedback from my exam/study session where I got thirsty, or when I wanted to write smth down etc
the mirror was always there :P
If you have a pet that makes a lot of noise from 5-6 cause he's hungry, you may want to deal with that as well.
oh my time trials for the past few days were all done at the same time as my actual exam (430- 745 SG time), so I understand my bodily functions, moods, propensity to get spam calls etc, and can manage them accordingly.
ah yes so instead of underwriting cycle, ladies we have another cycle to monitor too. mine is unfortunately due and I will have to deal with the discomfort during the exam.
actually contemplated taking hormonal pills to delay it but health is quite important laaaa. (some cost-benefit analysis in risk mitigation there)
Subpoint 6. Competition
I value collaboration much more than competition.
Through the study group, a lot of information and tips were shared. I even have someone who is not sitting for CP1 there to just give guidance (she herself is sitting for another paper this round, so technically we are eating into her time). If you're reading this Ekta, thank you ♥
worry not about others failing, care about your learning, understand which will eventually lead to your passing.
the pass rate is 20-40% so it makes more sense to collaborate with the potential 70% and increase your collective chances of passing than to try your best to withhold information from the 30%., hoping they might fail?? I really dgi.
7. Professionalism
Professionalism needs to be demonstrated throughout the actuarial control cycle process and in the communication of the results.
relevant Technical Actuarial Standards should be followed and the views of all stakeholders taken into account.
so firstly, it is a very difficult paper and some may be wanting to get ahead of others by doing certain things
But can we do a cost-benefit analysis of this?
if you fail CP1, you retake it in 6 months, it costs 1k SGD and if you fail, it's a year, costing 2k SGD.
if you do certain unethical things and get caught, you're risking a perpetuity of xk salary PER MONTH.
it's really not worth it.
also, you may not get caught now, but imagine if you get qualified and become a fellow or even the Signing Actuary in your company and evidence floats around that you've cheated.
you may then be barred from being an actuary for x years and your xxk salary PER MONTH will be gone.
idk la, go do your math. sum to infinity = x/(1-r)
I will also be shutting down the study group I mentioned 1 day before the exam so that no collusion will happen through the group (if they wanna contact each other individually during the exam I can't help it la but it's their risk to mitigate)
8. Bonus point, Lifestyle
I think it's really important to take care of yourself through this study period.
I've suffered from burn out before and I know how costly it is (in terms of health, time, money, relationship, career)
personally I
- Swim 2-3 times a week
- fast 12h daily (used to be 18, but I cut it down during my study period. now it ranges from 12-20)
- have at least 1 good meal a week
- am active on social media (LI/IG)
- profitability of partnerships
- covid vaccinations
- challenges of data analytics
- benefit of aggregators
- impact of Suez canal
Thanks for reading this all the way, and you may have noticed that you're a lot more interested in reading my points than the ACC book work, which is standard and what you've seen so many times.
While marks will be given for bookwork, I do think their worth is a lot lower and what examiners may care about is the contextualisation of the framework into solving the problem/answering the question.
I'm sure you're a smart person so please remember to use your brain and not be a zombie.
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