I’m looking at my exam ticket and on it it says that the morning session lasts till 12, then break is 12-1 but the afternoon session doesn’t start until 2. So essentially there is a 2h break (even though I need to report back to the exam hall by 1, or so the ticket says). Does it really take 1h to set up the afternoon session? Seems a bit long.
The reason I ask is because I live relatively close to the exam hall and would like to go home for a meal between the two but not sure if that’s the best idea and I want to get a better understanding of the timings and how strict they are about times of admission.
Also for those who have taken and passed L1, what is your recommended strategy of what to do between the morning and afternoon sessions? Have a quick look at notes/formula sheets or just relax and rest?
thats the absolutely positively very latest. At 1:30, they will lock the door and read the instructions.
Sure, they’ll let you back in after the test starts, but youll lose precious time and have to fill out your exam booklet with no instructions. (And no, they won’t give you any extra time.).
My advice has always been: bring your own lunch. You want to control every aspect of the exam day as you can. Eliminate the risk of having to search for food, waiting in a huge line, eating something unfamiliar that you may disagree with, timing concerns. Etc all oout the window
Last year my place was only 10 mins away from the test center but I didn’t go home for meal. I brought my own lunch and couldn’t start eating it before 12:30 pm. The AM session ended at 12pm but it took about 10 mins for proctors to collect and check our exam papers (it might be a bit longer, depending on the number of candidates) and give brief instructions (when we should show up for the PM session, where we could get free parking tickets, ect …). Then it took us about 5 -7 mins to wait in line to get back our belongings that we had left in another room. Then 5 mins more for elevators and a walk to the parking lot. So I think that you should stay. The 2 two hour break sounds pretty much but for me it turned out that it was just enough.
I made the mistake of not bringing a lunch, and the lineup at the ONE place that was close enough to eat was super long. I had to scarf down my food and rush back in to make it in before they locked the doors at 1:30. Not a good way to start the afternoon session.
I didn’t bring my lunch but it wasn’t a big deal. Just went to a dim sum place nearby, I actually found the walk relaxing. Don’t use all of the break to review notes or study. Relax, take a breather, listen to some music. Then look at some study notes / index cards for 5-10 minutes if you feel you need to brush up on topics from major areas (FRA, Ethics, etc)
Yeah the London testing location is a bit in the middle of nowhere. Close to where I live, that’s true, but there really isn’t much around in terms of shops or places to eat.
Yep haha…thats a fair point. In hinsight I would have brought my lunch but my testing location had various choices nearby. Regardless, relax during the break OP, good luck!
Unless you can easily walk home (like 5 minutes), then probably best to pack your lunch.
And you can use some break time to go over some sections you know will be on the afternoon session. In my Level 2 exam (2007), the morning session didn’t have any economics on it, so I knew it would be coming up in the afternoon session. Spent 15 minutes going through my economics notes and had it all fresh in my mind for a six-question set less than an hour later.
So hold on a sec- I’ve only been doing Schweser mocks so far and those always have the topics in order and in the same weights as the syllabus. Is that not how the real exam is strucutred? (as much as you can reveal, I know that revealing details about the CFA exam is against code of ethics)