Exam PA is the project-based predictive analytics exam using R. Candidates receive a dataset and business problem, build a model, and write a report. Upload your ACTEX digital edition, TIA handouts, or your own R practice notes and exclam.ai turns them into a fully guided study plan covering the R techniques, modeling decisions, and reporting framework.
Project-based computer-based test. You receive a dataset and a business problem, build a predictive model in R, and submit a written report. Significantly different format from other SOA exams.
Project-based rather than multiple-choice. You build a model and write a report.
R proficiency is essential. Practice with the SOA-provided starter code and R packages.
Reports are graded on both modeling decisions and communication clarity.
Typically taken after SRM.
Format details change periodically. Always verify the current exam structure on soa.org before your exam.
The 4 topic areas tested on Exam PA, with approximate weight bands from the public SOA syllabus. Click any topic for a dedicated study page.
Translating a business problem into a predictive modeling question, exploratory data analysis, and feature engineering.
Building, evaluating, and interpreting GLMs in R for common actuarial applications.
Fitting and tuning decision trees, random forests, and gradient boosting models in R.
Cross-validation, test set performance, sensitivity analysis, and communicating results to non-technical stakeholders.
Topic names and approximate weight bands sourced from the public SOA Exam PA syllabus on soa.org.
Drop in your ACTEX Exam PA digital edition (full-corpus PDF), scanned ASM pages, TIA handouts, or your own notes. exclam.ai parses them into structured content for a fully guided study plan.
AI generates flashcards for formulas and concepts, plus multiple-choice quizzes targeting each of the 4 topic areas. Edit any card.
Coverage phase, review phase, and mocks — distributed across your ~14-week timeline or whatever you choose.
Pick the timeline that matches your exam date. exclam.ai spreads roughly 150 hours across coverage, review, and mock phases — each reading paired with its own quiz and FSRS flashcards. Switch the plan length to rebalance the schedule instantly.
A visual preview of how exclam.ai turns your plan into daily reading, flashcard, quiz, review, and mock streaks across the timeline you pick.
Sign in to unlock your full 14 weeks plan
Every module dated to your exam, with quizzes and FSRS flashcards generated from your own materials.
Unlock my full plan freeYour Exam PA plan walks the syllabus module-by-module before transitioning into review and mock phases. Module weeks are allocated proportional to SOA topic weights — heavier-weighted modules get more time, lighter ones either get a single week or pair with adjacent topics on intensive paces. Change the plan length above to see the schedule rebalance.
Translating a business problem into a predictive modeling question, exploratory data analysis, and feature engineering. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Building, evaluating, and interpreting GLMs in R for common actuarial applications. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Fitting and tuning decision trees, random forests, and gradient boosting models in R. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Cross-validation, test set performance, sensitivity analysis, and communicating results to non-technical stakeholders. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Weak-topic drilling. exclam.ai surfaces topics where you underperformed during coverage and re-quizzes them. Daily FSRS flashcard reps across all 4 topics to prevent decay. Start doing timed question batches focused on the heaviest-weight sections.
Full-length Exam PA practice exams under timed conditions. Target one mock every 3–5 days. Same-day error review: for every question you miss, re-derive the solution from scratch. Taper in the final 3 days — light flashcards only.
exclam.ai works alongside any of these vendors. Upload paths vary, ACTEX sells full digital editions as downloadable PDFs (cleanest upload), ASM print manuals can be scanned for the full corpus, and The Infinite Actuary provides downloadable PDF handouts alongside their videos. For ASM digital (app-locked) and Coaching Actuaries (online platform), upload your own notes taken while studying. We do not distribute or reproduce any vendor content, your manual stays with the publisher.
Fluent. You need to be comfortable with data manipulation (dplyr or base R), GLM fitting (glm), decision trees (rpart, randomForest, gbm), and plotting (ggplot2). Practice with the SOA sample projects before the exam.
Graders score both your model choices and your written report. Clear communication of assumptions, validation, and recommendations matters as much as model accuracy. A strong model with a weak report can fail.
Historically PA has been a multi-hour sitting where you produce the project from scratch. Check current SOA guidelines on soa.org before your sitting — format has changed over time.
Upload your ACTEX digital edition, scanned ASM pages, TIA handouts, or your own notes, exclam.ai builds a fully guided study plan around your exam date.