I’m new here but a regular on wallsteetoasis.com (differentusername). I’m just wondering which level of the CFA you guys had the most pressure from the clock on?
I’m thinking about taking level 1 and after looking at practice tests feel I can ace it. However, I am slow as f*ck at writing essays and level 3 is essay based. I’d hate to put the time into studying for levels 1 and 2, then hit a brick wall on level 3.
Edit: I know level 3 has the highest pass rate but there’s an obvious survivorship bias there.
If it makes you think any higher of me, I went to a non-target and my parents did not pay for my college education. But any advice on my original question?
Don’t think about level 3 right now. Put in your 100% and luck/higher force will take care of everything else.
Regarding L3, I don’t think you will have much trouble since English seems to be your native language. Also CFAI itself prefers direct and succint answers so I don’t think you will find it impossible to do if you know the material well. You can write in bullet points if you want to.
Moreover, think about how hard it is for candidates whose first language is not English (like me) to write effective and efficient answers but yet we somehow do it. So it can definitely be easier for you to write essays than us on any given day. However, time management is one thing which every candidate has a problem with, whether they are native English speakers or not and it can only be developed with practice.
I’m certainly not to level 3 yet. ( far from it), but what I think I would find troublesome is the subjective and somewhat arbitrary nature of level 3’s grading. I would be paranoid the entire test that I am writing either too much or too little. I would never feel satisfied and thus i think id feel the most pressure from the clock.
Nothing arbitrary and subjective. Far from it. They are looking for a very specific answer to each “guided” question. Not essay by any stretch. Hit up Creighton before your level 3 if you are worried about it.
I wonder why people say that L2 is the hardest, when half of all those who pass L2 will end up failing L3.
Nontheless, I wouldn’t worry too much about the speed of writing. First, you can get better with practice. Second, you’re not really writing an “essay” per se. It’s more like writing bullet points and short answers.
If you really want to take the exams, I wouldn’t let “I’m not good at penmanship” be your excuse. There are many other better excuses out there.
Had no problem managing my time at all for L1 and L2. For fun, my goal then was to answer all the questions before they give the 1.5hr remaining signal, and I succeeded. Of course, I still had to check my answers after my first pass, but finishing so fast gave me a 10-min refresher nap before reviewing my answers on the second half of the exam.
Having said this, I am scared as shit for L3. I have heard horror stories over at the L3 forum about not being able to finish the AM session within the time limit. Probably my goal now is to just finish the AM session.
^ You don’t need to finish the AM session to pass the exam. I didn’t (missed the last 1.5 questions) and still passed easily. The PM session is usually a cakewalk.
^ You don’t need to finish the AM session to pass the exam. I didn’t (missed the last 1.5 questions) and still passed easily. The PM session is usually a cakewalk.
L3 AM was the most difficult. I was done with both parts of lvl 1 & 2 with 30-45 minutes to spare. Same with lvl 3 PM. lvl 3 AM was a little closer - had about 10 monutes to spare.
Just tackle each section as it comes. If you pass lvl 1 then start worrying about the next section. As long as you study you can do it - I really believe that.
