Used Asm Mlc Study Manual
I voted TIA, but I don't think it is sufficent on its own. I used ASM+ADAPT my first try, and TIA+ADAPT my second try. Reading through ASM provided me with a good base knowledge, but I just didn't put in as much time as I should have. The second try when I did TIA James just does a wonderful job explaining the concepts in an easy to understand manner. He teaches you how to take a tricky problem and build the answer from first principles so that you don't have to have all these crazy formulas memorized.
In either case, ADAPT helps a lot, though not as much for the WA questions as TIA. Note, I took this exam the last non-WA sitting and the first WA sitting. So all TIA/ADAPT had to go off were the SOA sample WA questions.
James just did a better job guessing at what would be on the actual exam than ADAPT. Hopefully ADAPT has made some improvements since then. I took mlc three times, all in the new format, finally passed on this last sitting. Overall, I used TIA, Adapt, ASM, the textbook (AMLCR), and all available resources from the SOA. In my opinion, the best resources were past exams, and the SOA sample mc and wa questions. I think that any of the study guides listed are sufficient to learn the material, but this is only half of the battle with this exam.
The trick (imo) is to learn how to sit for the exam format, especially written answer. I dont believe that the study guides listed have the same flavor written answer questions as the exam (perhaps this has changed since 4/15?). The closest non-soa resource i have seen for wa would be the textbook. The TIA seminar comes with over 30 hours of video lecture.
The seminar comes with over 600 practice problems. There is close to 60 hours of video solutions to these practice problems (8 hours of which are solutions to written answer questions). Our problem system keeps track of your progress and lets you work random problems, re-work missed problems, flag problems, etc. The seminar comes with 7 practice exams with WA questions. The video solutions to these exams total 21 hours.
The seminar also comes with other misc items such as summary sheets, flash cards, printable handouts, etc. No additional resources are needed to pass MLC. I used TIA almost exclusively for MLC and passed Spring 2015, which was my first attempt. I scored an 8. I also had the ASM manual and ADAPT. I never unwrapped the ASM manual, and I bailed on ADAPT after about 6-8 practice exams.
The multiple choice practice exams on ADAPT are not on par with the difficulty of the actual exam (ADAPT is harder), and I found myself getting frustrated that I couldn't work their level 3-5 problems in the five minutes given per problem. I would watch the TIA lectures, and work the 'check' problems after each video. If after an entire section I didn't feel good about the material, I would work more problems from the problem system. After I finished the TIA lectures, I studied the released SOA problems and previous exams, which are included in the TIA package, along with James's solutions to those problems. I had no prior experience with the MLC material, and started studying 3 1/2 months before sitting for MLC. It is very important on this exam that you learn to budget and track your time.
It is not enough to just be cognizant of how long it takes you to solve each problem, given the 2.5 minutes per exam point, but how are you going to track this in exam conditions? I bought a cheapo digital watch with stopwatch function, and before beginning a written answer problem, would write down the starting time, and the time at which I needed to move on to the next problem. I stuck to this budget to make sure I attempted every problem. On exam day, the written problem I identified during the read-through period as the most difficult and my 'work this one last' question turned out to be fairly simple, and had I not budgeted and tracked my time, I might have left that problem blank and missed out on a handful of points.
Studying for Exam P soon? Having a good study guide is essential. I’ve helped over 200 Exam P candidates on their journey to passing their first exam.
These are the study materials that 99% of them use. In my opinion, the best study guides for Exam P are ASM, ACTEX, TIA and Coaching Actuaries. These will teach you all the math concepts you need for the exam. If you add in the too, you’ll have the total package. The best one for you is depends on a number of different factors including budget, learning style and your mathematics background. ASM, ACTEX and Coaching Actuaries Learn are study manuals. If you prefer to read (rather than watch videos) or you have a tight budget, I recommend you go with one of them as your primary source.
That’s not to say that any other ones available aren’t good, it’s just that I haven’t heard many reviews on any of them. TIA and Coaching Actuaries Bundle are online study seminars. If you prefer to have an instructor teach you the material through a slide-show style presentation, then you’ll probably prefer one of these options. They’re more expensive because they include video lessons, whereas ASM and ACTEX do not. What study manual should you choose? ASM and ACTEX are both great options for Exam P.
I cannot recommend one over the other. Coaching Actuaries has the option of purchasing just the online study manual (called “Learn”) but the big downside is that it doesn’t have enough practice questions, in my opinion. ASM To decide between ACTEX and ASM , what it really comes down to is the author’s writing style for each because both are well written, both offer an extension if you fail, both have tons of practice problems and examples, and both are exactly the same price. Once you’ve looked at the samples that I’ve provided above, you’ll likely find that you prefer the style of one author over the other. If so, get that one. But if you still can’t decide, I recommend going with ACTEX.
Asm Study Manual
ACTEX is the more popular of the two, and I really like that ACTEX has a Calculus and Algebra review at the beginning (Section 0). That section will help refresh some topics that you may be a little fuzzy on when you get started. Coaching Actuaries Learn So now let’s look at the Coaching Actuaries Learn study manual. This online manual uses a lot more color than either ASM or ACTEX and personally I find the formatting easier to read too. It’s not as condensed which makes it a bit easier on the eyes. This manual is also cheaper than the other two options if that’s a concern for you. However, even though there are many positive things about the Coaching Actuaries Learn manual, there are a couple of things you should consider before purchasing it.
It’s only available online. Personally, I hate reading study materials from a computer. I like to be able to make my own notes in the manual. Also it’s inconvenient to always need an an internet connection and a computer/tablet when you’re studying. That’s just not always practical.
ASM and ACTEX both have the option to purchase physical printed versions which they’ll ship to you. It doesn’t have as many practice problems as other manuals The Coaching Actuaries Learn manual is designed to be used with their ADAPT question software. That means that the manual itself doesn’t have hundreds of practice questions like ASM or ACTEX have. There is one nice thing about having an electronic version of Coaching Actuaries though, and that’s that you’ll always get the most up-to-date version, even if they’ve made significant changes. Is it OK to use an old version of a study guide? Using an old version of the ACTEX or ASM manual is OK if it’s newer than 2015 since the Exam P syllabus hasn’t changed much since then.
As far as I know, the only thing that has been recently added is Probability Generating Functions. Just remember that the authors of the manuals regularly make updates to fix errata and add additional sections that will help you, the reader, so you may be missing out on some of those updates. Since Coaching Actuaries Learn is only available electronically you won’t be able to access an older version of that to use. Personally, I think it’s smart to get a new version but I know sometimes budget is an issue so you can certainly still make an older version work for you. It just may be missing a few things. Alternatives to study manuals: Online study seminars Purchasing a study manual is definitely the most affordable option but if you learn better by watching videos and having an instructor explain things to you then an online seminar may be better for you. The most popular online seminars for Exam P are TIA (short for The Infinite Actuary) and the Coaching Actuaries Bundle package.
Online seminars are more expensive than the study manuals that I talked about earlier, especially if you’re not a student. Fortunately for students, you can get 50% off both TIA and the Coaching Actuaries Bundle. The Infinite Actuary Online Seminar You can find sample videos from the TIA seminar.
I’ve heard lots of good things this one, including: 1. The videos are very well done. Instructors are able to answer your questions about the videos in the online forums. Videos can be downloaded to your phone or tablet (only a certain # at a time) so that you can watch even when you don’t have internet access. I also like the fact that TIA offers a free 6 month extension of their online seminar if you don’t pass the first time. That’ll save you some money in the unfortunate situation that it happens.
According to the description of their course, they also assume no prior knowledge of the exam syllabus, so if you’re rusty on your calculus and algebra skills, or if you’ve never seen some of the concepts before, TIA should do a good job of teaching you everything you need to know right from the basics. Coaching Actuaries Bundle package You can learn more about this bundle.
The Bundle includes videos, ADAPT and an online study manual (the one I talked about earlier). ADAPT gives you hundreds of practice problems, rated by difficulty level, so that you can gradually work on harder and harder problems as you improve. Just like TIA, I’ve heard great things about the Coaching Actuaries seminar: 1. The videos are very well done. Instructors are able to answer your questions about the videos in the online forums. Many practice questions have video solutions.
Like TIA, Coaching Actuaries also has a pass guarantee (on longer subscription lengths) so that you can get an extension if you fail. So TIA or Coaching Actuaries? In my opinion, that added benefit of getting ADAPT in the Coaching Actuaries Bundle makes Coaching Actuaries the obvious choice for most people since both online seminars are the same price.
If you want to dig a bit deeper into the differences between the two before you purchase, you can watch the video below where I compare both. Where to buy your study materials Be careful when you’re purchasing study materials. Amazon and Ebay are generally not reliable sources. Here are the best places purchase Exam P study materials: For ASM you should order from the Actuarial Bookstore. To ASM + your first month of my Study Strategy Program for Exam P. In the program I guide you step-by-step on how to prepare for your exam. For ACTEX you should order from the Actuarial Bookstore.
Asm Study Manual Fm
To ACTEX + your first month of my Study Strategy Program for Exam P. In the program I guide you step-by-step on how to prepare for your exam. For TIA you should purchase directly from. If you purchase TIA on the same day as my, you can use discount code TIAP on my website to get your first month in the program for $65 (that’s 15% off!) For Coaching Actuaries you should purchase directly from. If you purchase the Coaching Actuaries Bundle on the same day as my, you can use discount code COACHINGP on my website to get your first month in the program for $65 (that’s 15% off!) And, if you do decide to purchase a used study manual from someone, make sure you meet up with them to make the exchange. Don’t trust that they’ll send you the manual once you give them the money.