When you’re taking a computer-based actuarial exam, do you answer each question sequentially? Do you skip around to the ones you know?
Time management is a critical, so here’s a simple framework to maximize your time on exam day.
3 Tiers of Questions
Our exam-day strategy involves 3 tiers of questions. To create these tiers, you must know the average time constraint per question. Simply divide the total exam time (in minutes) by the number of questions. For a 3-hour exam with 35 questions (Exam FM), the time constraint is about 5 minutes per question (180 minutes / 35 questions).
Our 3 tiers of exam questions are:
Tier 1: Quick wins – questions that you know well and can solve within the time constraint
Tier 2: Challenging – questions that you can probably solve, but it will take longer than the time constraint
Tier 3: Oh Sh*t – questions that you have no idea how to approach
Exam-day strategy
Here’s our recommended approach for taking the exam:
First Pass:
- Go for the quick wins. Immediately solve questions that fall into Tier 1.
- “Mark” questions that fall into Tier 2 and move on without solving.
- Leave Tier 3 questions blank and move on without solving.
Every question counts equally toward passing the exam, regardless of difficulty. Don’t spend 20 minutes on a difficult question and run out of time for easy ones later.
This isn’t just about time management, but about resource management. Difficult questions are mentally exhausting. Don’t drain yourself early and miss easy questions later.
At the time of writing, the Prometric interface looks something like the image below.
There’s a “Mark” feature at the bottom to help you filter through questions. Use this to identify Tier 2 questions during your first pass.
Second Pass:
- Solve the Tier 2 (Marked) questions.
Use the “Review” button at the bottom of the screen to quickly see your Marked questions. Go back and solve these to the best of your ability.
Final Pass:
- If you have time, attempt the Tier 3 questions (again, use the “Review” button to quickly find these).
- Use the final 2-3 minutes of exam time to use the guessing strategy for questions that you still can’t solve. Don’t leave anything blank.
There you have it – a simple approach for how to manage your limited time and energy on exam day.
Regardless of your strategy, remember: easy questions count the same as difficult ones. Don’t get hung up and let one question throw off your entire exam.
Study Smart, Pass Fast, Live Life
Mike & Roy