Taking the C1 in December

[Guest lhinson]

I am sitting for the C1 exam in December, and am getting a little overwhelmed with the reading, though I thought I had given myself plenty of months of study time. Any words of wisdom from anyone who has been there?

[pmacduff]

In my humble opinion, you want to regurgitate everything from all the Study Materials. If you are a good test taker and have studied months as you mentioned, you should do fine. Do you currently do administration on a regular basis? I had been doing administration for awhile when I first took the exams, and found that I was "overthinking" on many questions. In the real world, there aren't always black & white answers, even in our field. So I would suggest trying to avoid the "yeah - but what if...."! It's not always easy, but you can sure be proud when it's over!! Best of Luck

[Guest Distribution Diva]

I've passed all of the exams up through the DB on my first try. I agree with everything pmacduff said. I will also throw in my test-taking strategy:

Answer every question by process of elimination, even when you are sure of the answer. For example, if I read a question and know the answer is"A", I still go through the other answer choices and tell myself WHY they are wrong. This saved me from quite a few incorrect answers on the test. It is also tremendously helpful when I'm not sure of an answer.

I hope this helps you. Best of luck on the test!

[Guest lhinson]

Thanks for the insights. I have been doing plan administration for 7 years, so I am hopeful that will help. I am reading all of the assignments int he ERISA outline book, and my eyes are about to cross. I realize that all of the material can't possibly be covered in one test, but I don't want to miss any important concepts either.

I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the good wishes!

[Guest lhinson]

I passed!!! What a relief. Next up, the C2 next May. Although I will be almost 9 months pregnant at that point.

[R. Butler]

I passed!!! What a relief. Next up, the C2 next May. Although I will be almost 9 months pregnant at that point.

You'll have a busy May.

I was scheduled to take the DB exam last December. Due to a mistake at the testing facility I got cancelled & could not reschedule for that testing window. ASPA allowed me to postpone until 2004. However, my wife & I had our 1st child in May & I just couldn't get motivated to take the exam. I postponed until this winter period, but again no motivation. Its just so much more fun to play with the boy. Maybe next year.

Anyway good luck & congratulations on your child.