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Why so many people fail actuarial exams

by | Jul 23, 2017 | Actuarial Exams

Have you ever wondered how it’s possible for so many smart people to fail a single exam.  Can it really be that hard?

My answer is no.  It’s not so hard that anywhere from 55% – 60% of everyone writing should be failing. It’s crazy.

So hear me out.. it’ll all make sense in a few short minutes.

People fail exams not because they’re not smart enough, not because they don’t know what to study.  But simply because they’re not taking they right approach to studying.  They’re not taking the time to create a study strategy that purposely eliminates or mitigates all the common reasons for exam failure.

That is why most people fail exams.

There are two parts to studying for success… the what to study and the how to study.

I’m sure you’re already aware of all the great resources available to you teach you the test material that you need to study. There’s ACTEX, ASM, TIA, Coaching Actuaries, etc.

They’re all awesome resources for learning everything you need to know. They’ll teach you the what to study.

So then that leaves the how to study for success. This is where things go wrong.

Everyone already knows what to study. They fail because they don’t know how to study properly.

A study strategy = the how to study.

I believe that if you have a proper study strategy in place that works along-side the study manual or online seminar that you’ve purchased that you’re basically guaranteed to pass your exam IF you stick to the study strategy.

That’s actually why I guarantee that members of The Study Strategy Consulting Program pass their exam, otherwise I pay the registration fee for their exam redo attempt.  Awesome eh?

But seriously, that’s how confident I am that a great study strategy is the key to success.  It should completely eliminate (or significantly mitigate) all the common reasons for exam failure.

Study manual providers themselves aren’t able to make this kind of commitment to their students.  It’s understandable.  They don’t know what your study habits are like.  They don’t know if you’ll study the right way.  All they can do is give you the knowledge that you need for the exam.

But when we combine a great study manual or online seminar with a customized study strategy, passing is inevitable.

A well-planned study strategy should include:

  • Someone to answer any questions that you have so that you don’t need to spend hours trying to figure it out yourself
  • A study schedule that is customized to your busy lifestyle (you’ve got other things to do, you need to know when you’re actually going to fit studying in)
  • A reliable process for getting from your current understanding of the syllabus to being able to accurately answer exam-style questions in less than 6 minutes each
  • ** Most Important ** Someone to hold you accountable to your studying timelines.  Otherwise, for most people, it’s far too easy to procrastinate and keep getting further and further behind

If you’re missing any of these pieces, studying is going to take you more time than necessary and/or it’s going to result in being unprepared when exam day arrives.

Have you thought about your own study strategy yet?  I recommend starting with a good study schedule.

To start you off, get the simple 12-week study schedule that I use in my study strategy coaching program completely free right below. 🙂

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}<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> /* line 26, (__TEMPLATE__) */<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> #optin-form-outer label {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> font-weight: bold;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> text-shadow: 1px 1px white; }<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> </style><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><div id="optin-form-outer"><div id="optin-form-inner"><form action="https://www.getdrip.com/forms/978045368/submissions" method="post" data-drip-embedded-form="978045368"><p class="preamble1">Get our <u>FREE</u> Exam P & FM Study Schedule<br> + Lots of Study Tips!</p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><p class="preamble2"><b>Learn things like....</b><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><br> - The BEST study materials.<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><br> - The # 1 thing you need to pass.<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><br> - How to pass your exam the FIRST time.<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><br> - What to do if you've failed.</p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --></p><label for="drip-email">Email Address</label><input class="text" id="drip-email" type="text" name="fields[email]"><input class="submit" type="submit" value="Send me the Schedule"></form></div></div>