The waiting game
As this edition of the student page neatly coincides with the publication of the CA, ST and SA stage exam results, I can’t help but muse over the annual trauma that we actuarial students have to endure in the period between the end of exams and results day.
Right after the exam, we are in one of three states of mind:
1 Absolutely convinced that we have aced the exam
2 Completely resigned to the fact that we’ve failed miserably
3 In a state of actuarial limbo where we just don’t know.
As we trudge out of the exam room with ink stains and furrowed brows signifying our wounds of war, some of us replay questions in our head, wondering if we had interpreted them correctly, answered them in the right way. We ask anyone and everyone around us what they thought and what they did, if only to gauge whether we perfomed better than them and, therefore, improved our chances of passing. The rest of us refuse to discuss the matter with anyone or even listen to any discussions about the exam, preferring instead to put two virtual fi ngers in our ears and sing “la la la” under our breath.
Reality check
Whatever the immediate reaction, we are soon overwhelmed by the realisation that our evenings and weekends are once more free for doing whatever it is that normal people do. Some of us may feel a little lost without all the studying and a little perturbed at the thought of working a five-day week, but most of this passes without much ado and we start planning several holidays at once in a flurry of non-studying indulgence.
As the months pass and some of us start getting reminders about booking tutorials with ActEd, we are forced to consider our options for the next exam session. We know we have to start studying soon to get in a good study session but without the knowledge of whether we have passed our exams in the previous sitting — results are never out early enough for us to make such a decision — we resort to guesswork and strategising. We are brought back down to actuarial reality as we agonise over which exam to take, which subject to start studying, which tutorials to register for, when to order notes… all of which is influenced by our state of mind right after the previous exams.
Some may decide to look at the paper they have just sat online (which by now would be published on the Profession’s website), and we either find the paper extremely straightforward, or wonder how on earth we managed to complete it in the first place.
Judgment day
At last the day of reckoning dawns and we are a bundle of nerves as the working day ticks by slowly. Some of us may have cleverly arranged to be on holiday when the results come out. The rest of us have decided to grit our teeth and face the music. The work day ends. Do we go out? Do we stay in and keep working until the results are out? Get a friend to phone for us? Hide?
At 8pm, the Profession’s website encounters a sudden surge of activity as actuarial students who have sat an Institute or Faculty exam all over the world log on to their computers and start madly pressing the refresh button in a frenzied effort to discover their fate.
At 8.01pm these actuarial students heave a massive sigh. Some in relief at passing, others in disappointment at failing, and still others in frustration at their internet connection speed preventing them from seeing their results. And then realisation dawns. Jubilation for those who never have to sit an exam again, resignation for those who do, and contemplation for all who have to return to work the next day.
The walk of shame
Those who’ve passed can stroll into work with a smug smile as they receive pats on their backs and words of congratulations. Those who’ve failed slink into work, keeping their heads down hoping no one notices… until someone meekly whispers to them: “Commiserations”. And those who’ve qualifi ed are immediately saddled by the obligation to buy drinks for everyone and run up as large a bill as possible at the pub after work.
This is perhaps an opportunity for the students who’ve failed to exert their revenge by ordering as many rounds of the most expensive drink possible and drowning their sorrows in a state of drunken stupor. Killing two birds with one stone, as one might say.
Good luck, fellow students.
Student Notice
The ActEd tutorial fi nalisation date for most block tutorials and revision days is 7 July for the September 2008 exams. Note that you can now apply for tutorials and study material online through the ActEd website at www.acted.co.uk/estore
