I know what you’re thinking. An actuary? Bad at math? How is that possible? Crazy, but it’s true. If you were to see my college transcript (featuring a D+ in continuous probability and a C in calculus), you would be wondering how I made it past Exam P, let alone got my ACAS. Spoiler alert: it’s not about how naturally smart you are, it’s about how much effort you’re willing to put in.

I had a manager from my first actuarial internship tell me that if you can pass one exam, you can pass them all, and I honestly believe that is true. Yes, the content for each exam is different, but at their core, actuarial exams are all the same. Once you figure out study strategies that work for you, you’ll be able to conquer any content outline with ease. Hopefully these tactics I’ve picked up along my exam journey can help make yours a little easier.

One of my favorite ways to review material is by outlining topics on whiteboards, typically using fun, colored markers. This way, I can synthesize material from different sources, put it in my own words, and make connections between topics. Color coding notes has helped me a lot in retaining the material (for example, writing out advantages in green and disadvantages in red), and I find this tactic makes recall easier on exam day because I can visualize the board and which color each statement was written in. Don’t have access to big whiteboards? You can do the same with colored pens in a notebook or in a Word document on your computer. Using an electronic document is great because you can  search your notes for keywords to quickly find what you’re looking for.

Don’t hesitate to take it back to the basics when you’re solving problems. Write out every step as you’re solving so you can track your work and logically think through the process more easily. You may be tempted to skip writing out assumptions or defining inputs if it seems obvious, but the act of writing can help you understand why you have to go through certain steps and what the formulas actually mean. This makes memorizing them easier if you can intuitively understand what needs to happen to correctly solve a problem.

This one took a long time for me to learn (and I wish I had realized this earlier because maybe I would’ve gotten better grades in college), but asking for help is perfectly OK and should be encouraged. You’ll be better off asking for guidance and clearing up confusion right away rather than staying hung up on a topic for days or weeks. I like forming study groups with my coworkers who are taking the same exam, so we can check in regularly and review together. Don’t forget to take advantage of online forums that study seminars have on their platforms, especially if you can’t tap into an in-person network. There really is no such thing as a stupid question. The instructors are there to help you, no matter how simple or complex the topic might be! Often, asking a question helps other people learn or think about something in a new way.

Passing an exam is not about how naturally smart you are, it’s about how much effort you’re willing to put in. The rule of thumb that gets thrown around is 100 hours of studying per hour of exam. I often find myself studying 500+ hours for a four-hour exam and still just squeaking by with a score of 6. It is OK to have to put in more time preparing than your peers so you can feel confident on exam day. Try to avoid comparing your progress to that of others. All that matters is that you know the answers when exam day rolls around, so don’t stress out if it seems like everyone else is far ahead of you and scoring better on practice exams.

Preparing for an exam can be extremely time consuming, especially if the material doesn’t come easy to you. I like to keep my study material as mobile as possible so I can squeeze in some extra study time while waiting in line at a coffee shop or sitting on the train heading to work. Flashcard apps are great because you can easily flip through them anywhere without worrying about a stack of papers. I also take pictures of my colorful whiteboard notes and save them in an album on my phone so that I have them handy to review even after I erase the whiteboard.

Finally, make sure you take care of yourself while you’re studying. In the moment, it may seem like the right decision to stay up late at night, order takeout for dinner, and skip your workout class to get in a little extra study time. I promise you will be better off if you prioritize your mental and physical health during exam season. The extra 30–45 minutes you may have gained on your study session won’t be well spent if you aren’t in the right mindset.