Where and when to study?

The best time to study for me is during the day, if I read something pass 8 pm I just fall sleep. That's why I decided to study in the morning 2 hours before work and during the afternoon 2 hours after work.
As important is to choose the right time as to choose the right place to study. My favorite places to study is my office in the early morning where few people is in the building and my living room in the afternoon when my husband is taking his class.

• ~ AGENDA~

• 5:00  am to 6:00  am = Wake up and go to work
• 6:00  am to 8:00  am = Study time (office)
• 8:00  am to 4:00  pm = Work
• 4:00  pm to 5:00  pm = Go home
• 5:00  pm to 7:00  pm = Study time (home)
• 7:00  pm to 8:00  pm = Exercise / clean
• 8:00  pm to 9:00  pm = Cook 
• 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm = Go to sleep

I wake up early on weekends while my husband take advantage to sleep until noon. I'm planning to study from 7 am to noon. 

I'm going to try this and see if it works for me!  

Creating my Exam P Study Schedule

I'm taking 3 months to learn the material and 2 months to work on problems. The last 2 weeks I'm planning to do sample exams under exam conditions.

Subject	Topic	Schedule
Discrete Probability	A.1 Fundamentals of Probability	9/25
	A.2 Conditional Probability	9/28
	A.3 Discrete Moments	10/3
	A.4 Combinatorics	10/8
	A.5 Key Discrete Distributions	10/14
	A.6 Deductibles and Limits	10/20
	A.7 Discrete Review	10/22
Continuous Probability	B.0 1-d calculus review	10/27
	B.1 Densities and CDFs	10/31
	B.2 Continuous Moments	11/4
	B.3 Key Continuous Distributions	11/9
	B.4 Change of Variable	11/13
	B.5 Normal Approximations	11/17
	B.6 Continuous Review	11/22
Joint Distributions	C.0 2-d calculus review	11/27
	C.1 Joint Distributions	11/30
	C.2 Joint Moments	12/6
	C.3 Sums and Transformations	12/12
	C.4 Bivariate Normals	12/17
	C.5 Order Statistics	12/21
	C.6 MultiVariate Review	12/24
Review	Sample Exams 1-7	12/27
	Review/ASM CBT format	1/9-3/14

Study Guides for exam P

After reading many posts about study guides in Actuary and Actuarial Outpost forums I put together the following review:

ASM (e-manual) $99.00 [180 days]
- Goes through the material much quicker
- It would be easier to use this manual if you already had a clear understanding of the basics and a strong calculus background.
- It helps you to master the material via tons of practice questions/exams.
- Coaching Actuaries ASM eManual: You get experience with Computer Based Testing (CBT) by having access to 20 P/1 practice exams in a CBT format.
- Buy it if you need more practice exams

ACTEX (Study Manual) $97.00
- Goes through the material at a medium rate.
- It offers more explanation/examples than ASM
- Practice exams are too easy
- Buy it if you need a hard copy to study

GUO (e-manual) $85.00
- It breaks down and simplifies the concepts for a deeper understanding.
- It provides insights and shortcuts
- Few Practice problems
- Buy it if you need shortcuts and more explanation of concepts

TIA (Online Seminar) $395.00 [$197.50 for full-time students]
- Goes into the material in depth.
- They give very clear and thorough responses to their examples.
- TIA for learning the material via good explanations of the concepts and problem-solving methods.


My Shopping Cart 

After reviewing my weaknesses and strengths I decided to begin studying with TIA because I am a visual learner. Also I'll buy the ACTEX study manual as a supplemental resource.
I'm also planning to buy ASM coaching actuaries two months before my exam because I like the idea of practicing test with CBT format.

Weaknesses and Strengths: Where do I stand?

How will you ever know if you are strong or weak in an area?
The assessment of your strengths and weaknesses will help you to prepare for the exams.

 Weaknesses

- I graduated 6 years ago from college
cons: I need to refresh calculus and probability

 Strengths

- I have been working as an actuarial assistant for 5 years
pros: I'm familiar with insurance issues and terminology

Introduction

I work in a Life Insurance company as actuarial assistant.

On my daily basis I run queries, create databases in MS Access,  develop Visual Basics utilities and generate mathematical and statistical spreadsheets/reports in Excel.

I enjoy my job and my next career goal is to become an associate of the society of actuaries.

Contact me:
email:  actuaryjourney@gmail.com

facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/actuary.journey

twitter:  http://twitter.com/ActuaryJourney