Actuarial Exam Study Group: Where to Find One for P and FM

An actuarial exam study group works best for Exams P and FM when everyone takes timed problem sets alone, then meets to rebuild the misses together. Look for one among classmates, in a university actuarial club, at work or online. As of November 2026, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) offers each exam six times a year.

Exams P and FM as of November 2026

Both exams are computer-based, with 30 multiple-choice questions and five answer choices each. An unofficial pass or fail arrives by email within an hour (Exam P syllabus, Exam FM syllabus). The Casualty Actuarial Society treats them as its Exam 1 and Exam 2, so SOA and CAS candidates can share a group. Each window runs over several days, so every candidate gets a form drawn from a question pool, scaled to be as hard as the others. Two members sitting the same window may not see the same questions.

The windows come from the SOA's schedule, which warns that dates can change. A few windows also have one paper-and-pencil day at selected sites.

Fewer than half of candidates pass. Here are the two most recent sittings of each exam with published results, as of November 13 (P, May; FM, June; P, July; FM, August):

Between 1,952 and 2,925 people sat each one, and the pass mark was 71% correct every time. Among candidates who reached at least half the passing score, whom the SOA counts as effective, 53.1% to 55.1% passed. The official lists come weeks after the unofficial result: July's Exam P results are dated October 2.

Where to find an actuarial exam study group

Match on the window first. P and FM alternate months, so two people sitting P in January and in March are on different weeks of the syllabus.

• Your university's actuarial club or math department. Ask which window students in your probability or interest theory course are aiming for. The SOA's Actuarial Club Directory lists 41 clubs, from U.S. cities to Nepal and Saudi Arabia, though it notes they "have no official connection with the Society of Actuaries".
• Classmates and coworkers on the same window. Post in your course's discussion board or your team's chat with three facts: your window, the week you'll finish the syllabus and your time zone. An SOA exam study group usually lives for one sitting, so agree before exam week whether you'll carry on to the next exam.
• Online, at any hour. On StudyDuo, take your timed sets in Focus Room, open 24/7 with mics off, with "Exam P: 10 timed questions" under your name. Reviewing solutions means talking, so post a 1:1 with a time, now or within a week, and go through the misses on video. Both of you need a verified photo.

A 90-minute session plan

Build each session around one timed set that everyone has already taken alone. Never bring questions from the real exam: the SOA's conduct rules count disclosing an exam's contents to anyone as improper conduct, which can void your score.

1. Before you meet, alone: 10 questions from the SOA's sample questions at exam pace, so 60 minutes for P and 50 for FM.
2. Minutes 0 to 15: compare answers and list every question anyone missed or guessed.
3. Minutes 15 to 60: for each listed question, someone who got it right writes out the full solution on a shared screen while the others follow. If nobody did, use the SOA's published solution. Rotate who writes, and at the end of each question, the person who missed it says the key step back in their own words.
4. Minutes 60 to 80: everyone solves one similar question alone, without notes.
5. Minutes 80 to 90: log each miss by cause and choose the next set.

In every timed set, answer all 10 before time runs out. The SOA scores unanswered questions as wrong, and each exam includes a few unscored pilot questions you can't tell apart, so no question is worth leaving blank.

In an actuarial exam study group, the cause of a miss decides what the next session does:

Step 3 rests on the worked-example effect. Christina Barbieri and three colleagues pooled 55 studies with 181 effect sizes, from elementary school to college (Educational Psychology Review). Studying worked solutions improved math performance by a medium amount, g = 0.48. Correct worked examples on their own did better than incorrect ones or a mix of the two. So rebuild the right solution in full, instead of picking apart every wrong turn.

Running an Exam P study group

Univariate random variables are the largest topic on P. Once a week, run a fast round: one person reads a question's setup, and the others name the distribution before anyone calculates. The syllabus lists them, from binomial and Poisson to exponential, gamma and normal. On the computer-based exam the normal table opens from an Exhibit button, so practice with the SOA's own table.

Running an FM group

FM is a calculator exam. The syllabus strongly recommends the BA II Plus or BA II Plus Professional, because they solve for interest rates, and says some problems may require one. Swap keystroke sequences for annuities and bond prices, and read sections 1 to 4 of the duration and convexity note together.

A 10-week plan for the group

Split the weeks by the syllabus weights, and keep the last two for full exams. The split below is our arithmetic from the topic ranges in the P and FM syllabi:

Meet once a week for the 90-minute session, and do the timed sets and reading on the other days. If the window moves, keep the order and squeeze the middle rows.

When to study alone

• A topic you've never seen. Read and work the first examples alone, so the group's time goes to questions, not to a lecture.
• Full sample exams. Take them alone under exam timing. The SOA's online sample exams draw a new random set each time, so you can repeat them, then review the misses together.
• Different windows. If your sittings are more than a month apart, keep the shared review and drop the shared schedule.
• Speed drills. Twenty quick calculations against a timer need nobody else; save the group for questions you can argue about.

An actuarial exam study group is worth its time while every member brings a timed set and leaves with a list of logged misses. For two people, eight methods for studying with a partner cover quizzing and teaching back, and this guide to finding a study partner covers asking someone to join. For a room that's open whenever you are, see our online study group.