I genuinely thought I would be the only one doing this hah, and I am only doing it so that it can add value to some subset of the group who will take level 2 in 2015.
- 2011: Band 3 : Spent time until mid-may underlining and restating Shweser notes. Took 2 mocks and 1 bsas and failed epicly
- 2012: Band 7, by far the hardest exam I have taken in the lot. Studied a lot and did a lot of questions including blue boxes/ EOCs, still pissed I didn’t pass here.
- 2013: Band 7, really slacked off for this one studied 1.5 months total. Easy exam but gaming quant, econ and alt really hurt me. Did Eocs and blue boxes though, not quite enough.
- 2014, pass : Studied from April 1 (had to pass 4 license exams before this). Used Elan notes, Schweser practice exams and MOST importantly Elan questions.
I have used the following providers in the last 4 years one way or the other so can answer a question or two about those as well.
Stalla , Schweser, Elan, Allen Resources, 7City, Sharpe Seminars, BSAS practice exams, Analyst Notes, Mocks
Notes : Elan notes was easily the best for me. They are relatively cheap and make a real effort to explain the concepts to you. I aced FRA each of the last 3 times.
Questions: Either do all EOC’s (including non-multiple choice) OR multiple choice EOC’s AND all the end of chapter problems provided by Elan. Elan problems are tricky (unlike Schweser), some times excessively so, but it forces you to learn the concepts. Can’t recommend them enough.
Exams: Schweser exams are pretty good, but the explanations are the best takeway from them; I did 4/6. I also used BSAS and every old mock for sections I wanted to test myself in. Both were useful to reinforce concepts
After the second fail, I seriously reconsidered taking part in the exam (qqqbee-type misdirected anger). But a dead end job forced me to take it in 2013, and the band 7 score with minimal effort convinced me that if I put in 120% ths one time i will definitely pass and I did. I have traversed almost every significant CFA blog and forum and met countless people who passed this beast and here are the key takesaways. Trust me I have tried almost every way to pass the test in the easiest/shortest time possible, it is almost impossible 
- Do not skip a section just because you are weak in it. Doesn’t matter if its only one problem set, the two questions you make a correct educated guess on could mean your silly mistake in FRA won’t punish you as much. Could be the difference between pass and fail
- Practice exams: I do not recommend taking every exam in 6 hour blocks. Focus on getting 60-65 that is it. Do not come to AF and get discouraged by the high 70s etc, it doesn’t matter AT ALL . PLEASE spend time on reviewing your answers throughly (both correct but not sure and incorrect ones)I scored 75 average in every exam in my second time but failed because I spent about 30 mins each going through my wrong answers. HUGE mistake.
- Again there is a minimum amount of time and practice exams you should be doing as an average person to pass the exam, but remember that it is just the baseline. But what is really really important is how well you know what you studied. Be as thorough as possible. If using Schweser for notes, make sure you are THE AUTHORITY on schweser notes material. Don’t worry about what they didnt cover, seriously not worth it. My friend basically memorized the Elan 11th hour guide and passed.
- So important that I say it twice. Don’t worry if you didnt get to the EOCs, make sure you ace the practice exams from schweser (70+) because they test u on the schweser notes. Check marks are less important than knowledge expertise.
Tl:dr : failed 3 times, passed on the 4th. Don’t obsess over practice exam scores and focus on how well you know rather than how much you know (depth vs breadth). And congratulations to all who passed, and those who didn’t, a band 10 and a band 3 are the same : you failed. Remember though the harder you fight to succeed, the sweeter the reward of success.
can see the happiness from your words. let’s rock for the level 3 next year. I just passed level 2 this year too.