Two down, two to go

I just returned from the Investor exam.

Exams are stressful, but one of the nice things is to walk out of an exam and acknowledge, regardless of how well or poorly you did, that you learned a lot in the class. I knew none of the material before the class, and now I know a lot of it, and that makes me especially grateful to be back in school, because when you're not in school (or at least when I'm not in school) I don't learn much of anything.

One thing I liked about this particular exam is that the professor clarified ahead of time that there were two types of questions: starred, and unstarred. The unstarred questions covered the basics of the class, things that basically everyone could have learned by listening and studying. No curveballs, tricks or new applications on those questions. Then the starred questions were more challenging, and they're on the exam so people vying for a Distinction can show off their deeper understanding or advanced preparation.

I went in thinking it was possible I might get some of the starred questions, and I might have, although the time limit was too restraining for me. Often, I would read a starred question and think, "Hmm... That's awfully interesting. Well, if I had an hour, I could come up with something. But I have 10 minutes. Next." But I attempted most of them. I don't think I'm in Distinction territory whatsoever, but then again, why should I be? Investing is neither what I did nor what I intend to do.

Tomorrow's exam: Customer.