(As seen on UFEBlog.com)

Congratulations! You got over the hurdle of the SOA. Well done! Make sure to take an evening or weekend to celebrate your achievement. If you passed with flying colours or if you were happy with your results in general, then the joy is overflowing. However, at exaMENTOR we know that passing with “a warning” or not performing as well as you had hoped can leave you with a bittersweet feeling. But in any case, passing is definitely a cause for celebration. You absolutely must take time this weekend to enjoy your achievement!

On Monday it’s back to business, and you will likely start preparing for the UFE. If you passed with ‘a warning’ or did not achieve the results you desired, it’s natural to feel a bit nervous about preparing for the UFE. You might think that you are at a disadvantage compared to your peers as your performance was below that of the average candidate.

If your goal is to pass the UFE this year, now is the time to take control of the situation. You need to understand that there is no actual correlation between passing the SOA and passing the UFE. Your SOA results can be merely used as a proxy but there is no direct causation. We have seen numerous candidates who marginally pass the SOA go on to write and pass the UFE in September of the same year! You must realize that you have a fighting chance to pass the UFE, provided you play your cards right, from now until exam time.

It’s therefore crucial to use the next eight weeks effectively in order to properly prepare yourself for the UFE. You will need to work on case writing, improving your weaknesses and building your confidence. Since your performance so far has been below your expectations and goals, you should consider obtaining extra help from a marker and/or coach. We recommend taking the following steps:

1)      Set up a Coaching Session

Set up one-on-one coaching sessions. These one-on-one coaching sessions allow your mentor to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Arrange to write one or two cases prior to your first meeting, so that your mentor can use them to assess your current case-writing skills. Your mentor will guide you as you create an effective study plan that addresses and mitigates your weaknesses.

2)      Re-evaluate your Study Strategy

Reconsider whether your study approach for the SOA worked effectively and suited your personal study habits. For example, consider the dynamic within your study group. Did you get good feedback from your study partners? At exaMENTOR, we believe that you will receive much better feedback from an experienced marker than you are likely to get from a study buddy. Our valuable feedback will help you to make the leap from the bottom of the pack to the front.

3)      Review your Results

Reviewing a detailed breakdown of your SOA results will also be of great benefit by helping you to clearly identify and understand what your weaknesses are. For instance, if you scored poorly on the PMR competency area, perhaps relating to a lack of integration of case facts or technical weaknesses, you should make sure that you address these areas in your UFE study plan. Your coach will assist you by selecting cases and designing a study schedule that focuses on your specific weakness.

4)      Evaluate your Exam Experience

You might want to think back to your experience of the two-day SOA exam and evaluate what you could have done differently. Did you get a good night sleep? Were you too anxious? Did you attack the questions as they came at you? Did you stay within your time allocations? It’s understandable that you might have performed better on your practice exams than you did on the real thing. However, it’s crucial to address the reasons why this happened and to not repeat the same mistakes on the UFE in September.

5)      Establish a Trustworthy Relationship with your Coach

Our experience shows that the mentor-candidate relationship is more effective in securing success than access to sporadic marking of your papers, since repeated meetings allows your coach to understand your deficits and tailor your study plan accordingly.

Most importantly, remember that if you study smart you will pass the 2013 UFE. We don’t just say this, we consistently see it happen!