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Exam P/1 is, for most candidates, their first experience with professional actuarial examinations. Many candidates find this experience to be a great challenge, nearly overwhelming. This study manual is written for serious candidates, who want to be so prepared as to feel "underwhelmed" by the exam. A student who is really prepared by the day of the exam should be able to say: "Been There Done That" when looking at the problems. (The author of this manual calls this "The BTDT Rule".) This manual is written for a student who wants to be prepared like that, a student who does not want to count on luck on exam day. It covers every topic that can possibly show up on the exam, taking even the most difficult topics head-on and providing thoughtful explanations and examples for them. It also contains twenty practice examinations, with complete solutions. The first five examinations are somewhat easier, most likely on a par with the real exams. The last fifteen are intentionally harder, designed to make the real exam look relatively easy. Of course, these difficult examinations also have complete, fully-explained solutions. Understanding those solutions is an important part of the educational process.
This manual has four core sections:
General Probability
Random Variables and Probability Distributions
Multivariate Distributions
Risk and Insurance
These sections are divided into smaller subsections, each covering a specific topic, with detailed explanations, followed by exercises illustrating that topic, with complete solutions. This core is followed by twenty thirty-problem practice tests, with complete solutions. There are problems from past actuarial exams, but there are also many original problems. Candidates can treat this manual as their first probability textbook, since explanations of all topics are provided, and only solid knowledge of three semesters of calculus is assumed. Candidates are urged to read every page, every exercise and every practice exam, and make certain that they follow all of them in detail. Approximately 650 problems and 700 pages in all.
Updates for Spring 2013:
Corrections to all known errata
Author: Krzysztof M. Ostaszewski, Ph.D., FSA, CFA, CERA, MAAA Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski, Ph.D., F.S.A., FSAS, CFA, CERA, M.A.A.A. is the Actuarial Program Director at Illinois State University, a Center of Actuarial Excellence. Dr. Ostaszewski is also the Director for Life and Pensions Research at the Geneva Association, International Association for the Study of Risk and Insurance Economics. He has taught actuarial science at Illinois State University, New England Actuarial Seminars, University of Louisville, University of Ulm, Washington University in St. Louis, EM Lyon, and Technical University of Lodz in Poland. He has also taught Summer Actuarial School in Poland, and Actex Professional Development Seminars. Dr. Ostaszewski has published four research monographs in actuarial mathematics, two in mathematics, was a Fulbright Research Fellow and a Fulbright Senior Specialist, and has published widely, including journals such as Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, American Economic Review, North American Actuarial Journal, and many others. For his research work, he was the recipient of the prestigious Mehr Award of the American Risk and Insurance Association in 2005, and the Hardigree Award of the Western Risk and Insurance Association in 2003.