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Every SOA and CAS exam room has a hard rule: only calculators from a short approved list are allowed at your seat, and showing up with anything else — even a more powerful one — gets you turned away. Here are the current models on that list, and which to pair for which exam.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas Instruments BA II Plus | $25-$35 | Amazon · eBay |
| 2 | Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional | $35-$45 | Amazon · eBay |
| 3 | Texas Instruments TI-30XS MultiView | $15-$20 | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | Texas Instruments TI-30XB MultiView | $15-$20 | Amazon · eBay |
| 5 | Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS | $12-$18 | Amazon · eBay |
| 6 | Texas Instruments TI-30X IIB | $12-$18 | Amazon · eBay |
| 7 | Texas Instruments TI-30Xa | $10-$15 | Amazon · eBay |
The picks, in detail
Texas Instruments BA II Plus
The financial-math workhorse most FM/2 candidates carry, with dedicated TVM, cash-flow, and amortization keys.
- Time-value-of-money worksheet
- Cash flow/NPV/IRR functions
- Amortization worksheet
- One-line display
- Purpose-built for actuarial financial math
- Widely used, tons of study-guide keystroke walkthroughs available
- No fraction display, weaker for probability-heavy exams like P
Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional
Same approved TVM engine as the standard BA II Plus, with extra NPV/bond/depreciation worksheets some candidates prefer.
- All BA II Plus functions plus bond and depreciation worksheets
- Modified duration/convexity
- Metal casing
- Everything the base BA II Plus does, plus a few extras
- Costs more than the standard model for functions most exam-takers never touch
Texas Instruments TI-30XS MultiView
The pick for probability-heavy exams like P — its two-line display shows fractions, exponents, and expressions the way they’re written.
- MultiView 4-line display
- Fraction and mixed-number entry
- Scrollable entry history
- Easiest display for probability/statistics notation
- Solar + battery power
- No financial (TVM) functions, so it won’t cover FM alone
Texas Instruments TI-30XB MultiView
The battery-powered sibling of the TI-30XS, functionally identical and equally approved.
- Same MultiView display and fraction functions as the TI-30XS
- Battery powered
- Identical exam-day functionality to the TI-30XS
- No real advantage over the solar TI-30XS other than power source preference
Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS
A simpler two-line scientific calculator, still on the approved list, for candidates who don’t need MultiView formatting.
- Two-line display
- Basic statistics functions
- Solar + battery
- Inexpensive, straightforward layout
- No fraction/expression display like the newer MultiView models
Texas Instruments TI-30X IIB
The battery-only version of the TI-30X IIS, same approved scientific functions.
- Two-line display
- Basic statistics functions
- Battery powered
- Same approved functions as the IIS at a similar price
- Same display limitations as the IIS
Texas Instruments TI-30Xa
The most basic approved scientific calculator — one-line display, no memory of prior entries, but still legal for exam day.
- Single-line display
- Basic scientific and trig functions
- Cheapest approved option, fine as a backup calculator
- No entry history or fraction display, awkward for anything beyond simple arithmetic
Buying tips
- Check the current SOA/CAS approved-calculator list before every exam sitting — approval is decided by the societies, not by what a retailer calls “exam safe.”
- Bring two calculators if the rules allow it: a BA II Plus for financial math and a TI-30XS MultiView for probability notation covers both bases.
- You cannot bring the calculator’s instruction manual into the exam room, so practice with your exact model well before test day.
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