I had a similar experience sitting for 7 yesterday. It went way smoother than I was expecting, and I really enjoyed taking the exam in a spreadsheet instead of pen/paper. I’m actually way less stressed out about my 2nd exam this sitting because everything was so smooth.
Great experience writing in Pearson as well. Staff were very professional and ensured COVID guidelines were being followed. The Excel environment was smooth and I experienced no glitches.
IMO people should be allowed to post questions and talk about syllabus material if they haven’t taken the exam yet. It’s not really the forum admins’ role to play big brother over candidates. People should be given the benefit of the doubt. Besides, if they really wanted to cheat they could always DM each other.
Keep in mind that the mods don’t know who has or who hasn’t taken the exam yet. Sure, you could begin each post talking about the syllabus with a comment to that effect…but if you’re willing to violate the new NDA, presumably you wouldn’t have a problem misrepresenting whether you’ve sat yet.
If we don’t want this venue to go away too, it’s perhaps best to not be too demanding on what we expect the mods to do.
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My $0.02
Why don’t we just assume that people are staying within the bounds of the NDA when they post things? It isn’t GoActuary’s job to babysit our posts to make sure we aren’t cheating. If exekias posts about something that they think is an important topic, let them. If that happens to und up being exactly what is on the exam, the CAS can reach out with their concern, and whether exekias had taken the exam before posting that can be determined then.
Shutting down entire forums 20 days before some of us are sitting really hampers our ability to learn. This isn’t some hypothetical - there are literally posts out there where I want to ask for clarification and can’t, so I am stuck with muddling through on my own, or trying to reach out directly.
If we caution that questions asked during the window should be focused (specific exam question or topic) and that responses should be limited to what was specifically asked, I don’t see an issue.
If someone is worried about crossing a line with the NDA because they already sat, they are welcome to choose not to respond to questions.
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I agree completely with you guys. I read through the NDA this morning and I think the mods are being a bit too strict. The main spirit of the NDA is that once we sit, we cannot in any way convey what topics are tested or what questions are on the exam. If you haven’t sat yet, there should be nothing wrong with asking/answering questions.
I sat for my first exam today. Overall a smooth experience, and the Excel interface was actually much better than I anticipated. Check in was lengthy but orderly. Given the COVID situation I really can’t complain much. Screen real estate was great, brightness was just right such that I didn’t need to worry about it.
Only thing I wasn’t impressed about was the keyboard, it was a cheap thin HP with extremely short travel distance. I guess I was too spoiled by my mechanical MX brown keys at home. I suppose it could be they opted for a very quiet keyboard to minimize disturbance to others (but the mouse was loud af).
Overall a very solid 8.5/10 would do again.
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Yep, agree completely. Knowing the process is very smooth makes me less nervous for my 2nd exam this sitting. How do you think the actual exam went? (Obviously don’t talk about specific material/questions)
I’m going to tread carefully here lol because I don’t intend to break rules either. Mod please feel free to delete if you see anything off limit.
I suspect I failed by a very slim margin, but I’m hoping it is just the pessimist in me. I managed to BS through and put down something for every question. I think I got either a 5 or 6 I just can’t see any other scores for myself.
What did you think? (Obviously not commenting on anything specific in exam)
Ah, I hope you end up on the passing side. I thought it was challenging but fair if you were really prepared. I definitely missed some stuff, depending on the passmark I’m expecting a 7 or 8.
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My experience - I really liked using the spreadsheet. It made things much easier. But I have to complain about the keyboard and the mouse. The mouse was over-sensitive and the keyboard was the opposite. I had to do copy/paste several times to make it happen. Also, the insert key was on by default. I panicked for about 3 seconds. The keyboard was also very dirty and load (I used earplugs so I felt sorry for other people in the room). The exam itself was fair, even though I could’ve been more prepared. I don’t know if I passed or not but I’m just glad it’s over. It’s been a tough year for everybody.
Overall, I think CAS did a good job transitioning the exam to CBT.
Man idk how you guys can take multiple exams within a few weeks. My brain is completely fried after one
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This sitting I’ve put in literally over double the study hours that I normally do, and I’ve had a ton of exam success historically. I definitely do not recommend doubling up on exams to most people. I felt fried for a day or two after sitting for 7, but now I’m back on the study train and ready to crush 9.
I sat yesterday and that was the first time I’ve ever completed a CAS survey. I thought the Pearson process was really smooth, as good as I could have hoped really.
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More and more of the old AO gang is showing up
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Did you change your photo from AO though, Dan?
Maybe [old emoji with eyes darting back and forth]
To be honest I haven’t watched nearly as much EPL since COVID started.
Did you take both 7 and 8 then? If so doubling down on some of the lower pass rate exams, haha
I passed 8 last fall. I’m doing 7 and 9 this sitting. Taking 9 on Dec 9th.
You sit for 7 yet? How’d it go?