If you’ve passed your first few actuarial exams, you’ve likely developed a reliable strategy for conquering them. However, you’ll almost certainly have to change tactics as you continue the journey to ACAS and FCAS. Let’s discuss a few reasons why you may need to switch up your study tactics.  

1. Multiple-choice questions without exact answers 

While Exams P and FM contained only multiple-choice questions, most of the answer choices were exact numbers. If you solved a problem and your answer wasn’t one of the available choices, you clearly did something wrong. However, on the MAS I & II Exams, many of the answer choices are ranges. If the possible choices included “Less than 0.55,” “At least 0.60 but less than 0.65,” and “At least 0.70,” that gives you an idea of where the correct answer lies. But what if you calculated 0.43? Did you make a mistake, or is “Less than 0.55” the right answer? Get plenty of practice with answer choices being presented in ranges. 

2. Advancing from multiple-choice to written-answer questions 

On a multiple-choice exam, it doesn’t matter how you get the correct answer. This changes significantly when you need to show all your work in the Pearson spreadsheet environment. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the available functions, as they might vary slightly from those in Excel. Since the exams are timed, be concise with your responses, but ensure that you answer the given question. Don’t write a whole paragraph for a question worth only 0.5 points! A CAS article: “The Importance of Adverbs on Exams” discusses the expected level of detail for “briefly describe,” “describe,” and “fully describe” questions.  

Recently, the CAS has introduced more varied question types, such as matching, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple-selection. You should prepare for some of these to appear on your exam.  

3. Being “good at math” is no longer enough 

Most actuarial candidates have above-average mathematical ability. Exams 5 to 9 still require computation, but significantly less calculus or algebra is involved. Instead, you’ll need to become proficient with insurance concepts that are the bread and butter of P&C actuaries. Required readings can range from short journal articles to hundreds of pages, with perhaps only a few numerical examples in the body of the text. Expect many more qualitative questions, for instance: “Why must premium be on-leveled and trended when preparing a rate indication? Name the disclosures required in a Statement of Actuarial Opinion.” Creating lists, such as the advantages and disadvantages of a particular reserving technique, are important.  

4. Greater importance of source material 

On early exams, candidates can frequently rely completely on third-party resources, including online courses, study guides, and question banks. These cover primarily mathematical topics, and content outlines may have suggested texts (instead of required), such as for the Statistics portion of MAS I. However, on Exams 5–9, reading the source material becomes essential. Test-prep vendors usually emphasize the major concepts, but this may not be sufficient to pass the exam. Question writers can draw on information from any part of a required reading, whether five pages or 105 pages.  

The Werner & Modlin, Friedland, and Odomirok texts on Exams 5 and 6 are excellent references even after you complete those exams. Also, many source readings can be difficult to digest on the first try, such as the Mack Chain Ladder article on Exam 7. In a situation like this, watching video lessons or reviewing a study guide can provide an excellent foundation before tackling the source reading itself.  

5. Failing the same exam multiple times 

If you’ve been unsuccessful on the same exam several times, this means you need to adjust your approach to preparing. On their score report, candidates who failed will receive performance feedback on each subsection. This may seem obvious, but when resuming your study sessions, begin with the areas that caused you the most trouble, not the topics you’re already comfortable with! Improving from 20% to 80% knowledge on a particular reading is a better use of your time than going from 85% to 95%.  

Finally, since exam questions are no longer released, be cautious when someone labels a topic as “fringe” or “less important,” as that’s merely one person’s opinion. A writer may decide to dedicate a partial or complete question to that concept. Instead, keep a list of areas labeled as “less important” and make sure to allocate time to reviewing them. The CAS volunteers are incredibly creative when writing questions. One sitting could feature a calculation-heavy question on a topic and the next sitting could be conceptual. It’s to your advantage to practice on as wide a variety of problems as possible. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, try writing your own original questions to solve.  

Passing actuarial exams is a marathon, not a sprint. Adapting to new types of questions, mathematical versus qualitative concepts, and learning from previous failures are crucial parts of the journey. Best of luck on your exams!