"I decided to try Colin's seminar after struggling through my first attempt at a written answer exam. It was definitely worth it. His materials provide a great base for memorization as well as everything you need for the math problems. I was extremely impressed at how thoroughly he answered questions, the great lengths he took to get the answers, and how available he made himself to students. I would highly recommend his seminar! Thanks Colin!"
"The online seminar through Colin Condie did an excellent job of helping me to prepare for the exam. I have used several different study aids for essay exams, but I must say that the online seminar through Colin was incredibly thorough, especially in preparing students for numerical problems. This paid off big time on exam day, as the SOA (as they will often do) asked a 5 point numerical question about a fairly obscure part of the syllabus. Fortunately for me, in the online seminar, Colin worked through and explained in detail a nearly identical problem, so I am quite sure I scored excellently on this question. And I must say, knowing that I nailed this problem, which most test-takers were likely not prepared for, gave me a great deal of confidence on exam day.
Furthermore, in the last days leading up to the exam, I e-mailed Colin with many different questions and he answered all of them in a prompt and thoughtful manner. Thank you Colin for being a great help to me in my quest towards Fellowship."
"I got from Colin's seminar somewhat more than I expected:
- The seminar itself. I heard a video clip - Colin's voice was very quiet and I was afraid he'd put me to sleep (I attended Mike Carmody's C5 & C6 seminars and appreciated his upbeat manner). This did not happen. At the end of the seminar I felt excited and on top of 95% of numerical problems.
- The seminar materials - plenty of them.
- The main manual had all the lists (I think out of 250+, 2-3 or so were too brief).
- Supplemental problem set with solutions.
- A week after the seminar we received a list of 100+ problems from old exams, with SOA solutions rather than Colin's solutions. Warning: old exams covered only 8-9 of the 15 learning objectives.
- Memorization after the seminar - I think the main manual was as good as others.
This seminar gave me about 40-45%. The rest was memorizing the lists,
and as most people do, I wish I started memorizing waaaay earlier."
"Thank you very much Colin. I highly recommend the seminars. Colin condenses the material to a manageable amount while still covering all the material tested. In fact, he has an amazing ability to guess what the SOA might ask. The lists provided were accurate and helped deal with redundant study material. He also provided many relevant sample problems and practical applications of SOA theory, which were extremely helpful and enlightening. The seminar will minimize time spent integrating the syllabus and start you off with "what to study" and includes many good study tips. After a very long sabbatical from taking these frustrating essay exams, the seminar was a key factor to a successful end."
"I've previously sat for the exam and obtained a 5. I tried really hard but couldn't grasp some of the math questions and more difficult concepts. After attending Colin's seminar I was able to be confident in both the math questions and more difficult topics, allowing me to focus on the larger, memorization portion of the exam. Consequentially I passed with an 8. I also sat for Colin's seminar for exam DP and received a 7 on my first attempt. I honestly believe that Colin helped me to conquer both exams successfully.
I would (and do) recommend Colin's seminar to anyone taking the FSA exams who, like me, is decent at memorizing, but has trouble understanding the harder material and math questions,
which can make the difference between a 4/5 and a passing mark.
Additionally, Colin greatly reflects his desire for all his attendees to pass their exams even after the seminar concludes through his quick response to emails/phone calls and several email packages of study aids
(including problem sets/solutions and practice questions for potential lists)."
"I attended seminars for both exams and passed each one on the first try. I mainly used the seminar for calculation problems, however Colin gives you several different looks at the types of problems on the exam. Also, I watched the videos before attending the live seminar. It was nice to see everything twice, and it really helped me better understand the material. Colin's outlines were helpful too--his organization of the material made more sense to me."
"I just wanted to say thank you so much for the great help you provided throughout the online and live seminar for the exam this spring. I got a great result with a score of 10. I felt confident when I left the exam site but I did not know I would get the perfect score. I just need to attend FAC this summer to get my sweet, and very deserving, fellowship designation.
I've already been recommending your seminars to my colleagues and I will continue to do so!
Thanks so much again."
"I find Colin's seminar and study material invaluable in preparation for the Group Health FSA exams. The seminar focuses on illustrative problems that explain concepts and methods covered in the syllabus. The study material is very comprehensive and provides detailed solutions that are easy to understand. I highly recommend Colin's seminars to anyone who is sitting for the Group Health FSA exams."
"Colin,
I was one of the students at the Chicago exam seminar. After failing 5 and 6 each twice in the spring, I passed my first written exam in six tries. Thanks for all the help. I believe that if I had not taken your seminar, I would have ended up with another tantalizingly close 4 or 5, but instead I got a comfortable 8! I think the problem-practicing that I got from your seminar and the additional materials is what pushed me over the top. I hadn't really ever had success with that aspect before. Thanks again!"
"Happy New Year Colin,
I passed the GH Advanced exam! I definitely would not have been able to accomplish this without your help (both inside and outside of the seminar). Your dedication to answering e-mails, questions, and preparing an amazing collection of notes, practice exams, and problems was extremely valuable and essential to me being able to pass the exams.
I sincerely thank you for all your help"
"I always did well on the SOA math exams, but found the essay exams to be a very different beast and much more difficult. Despite pouring in a massive amount of time and energy into the Group and Health exam, I narrowly failed in my first attempt. While considering what to do differently the next time, I heard about the Online Seminars, and enrolled in the Online Seminar (featuring videos explaining every item on the entire syllabus) as well as the Live Seminar (which focuses on the numerical problems on the exam) for the exam. Going through all the videos really helped me to gain a solid understanding of the material, which made memorizing the key lists a much less daunting task. Also, the live seminar covered just about every type of problem that appeared on the exam in November. Furthermore, I found the instructor, Colin Condie, to be a wonderful teacher who bends over backwards to answer all of his students' questions. I felt better about this exam and this feeling was vindicated when I discovered that this time was indeed different-I passed!
However, it gets better, just this morning I found out my score on the exam: a perfect 10!
Thanks for an absolutely amazing product!"