Passed on the Fourth Consecutive Attempt!

CFA Level II
#1

Hello all,

Glad I finally passed on my fourth attempt.

Those of us who have been on this Forum long enough would remember the thread which proposed that the Level 2 exams be held twice in a year. I initiated that thread after the June 2015 exams upon having the feeling that I wouldn’t pass the exam. That thread sparked a lot of debate to the extent that it had to be locked for further comment by the Forum administrator. True to my expectation, I failed with a Band 10, but the heartbreak was way more than I could bear; consequently, I decided to be a “reading member” on the Forum, making sure not to post or comment anymore. That I couldn’t even achieve, so I took a total break from the Forum.

Fast forward approximately one year after, here I am with all smiles on my face, and with so much gratitude to God for crowning my effort with success, eventhough I have had to wait for 4 years for this day to come. So what did I do differently and how did I cope with the disappointnents of failure? These questions I intend to address below, for the benefit of those who might be feeling low and having doubts in their abilities.

I passed level 1 on my first attempt in December of 2012, and I rushed into writing Level 2 in June 2013 but was smashed with a Band 4. I relied heavily on reading from the CFAI text, with no personal jottings or attempt on mocks. Next came June 2014 and I had a Band 8, still by reading from the CFAI text without a personal jotting, but this time, with an attempt on the CFAI mock.

My third attempt was in 2015, and that time I decided to change my entire strategy. I signed up for Elan Guide and combined that with reading from the CFAI text, while also taking out time to create a personal summary of each chapter just to be sure I understood all I read, and lastly I attempted more mocks than I had ever tried in my 3 years of writing the CFAI exams. In all honesty, I felt I had done more than enough to pass, but I was so heartbroken when the result was released and I ended up having a Band 10. The pain was so much for me to bear and I decided to take time off Analyst Forum, since being around would bring back the memory.

Going into the June 2016 exams, I still retained my personal jottings from the CFAI text, which were more than helpful since they were in my own words, but I discarded the Elan Guide since I didn’t find them too helpful in the June 2015 exams. I also didn’t solve any mock questions, and neither did I attempt the end of chapter of questions, BUT, I ensured I glanced through all the questions and answers of the CFAI mock exams. I observed that I had consistently performed poorly in FI and PM, so I focused so much on those, and I took a big gamble on Derivatives, by choosing not to study that at all. In doing all these, I relied entirely on the CFAI text, and today, I am so happy to share my success story. I passed with greater than 70 in (Econs, FRA, QM, FI, and Ethics) between 50 to 70 in (PM, AI, Corp Fin, and Equity), and less than 50 in Derivatives (obviously! Afterall, I didn’t study this area of the curriculum at all).

Learning Points:

  1. To the world, I failed, but to myself, I knew I was failing forward. From Band 4 to Band 8 to Band 10, surely showed that I was making steady progress, so I was mild on my criticism of myself, and I knew my day would surely come.

  2. Nothing works more than studying from the CFAI text, but in doing so, please create a personal note in your own words. The CFAI text is voluminous and harder to remember, but your own words will surely be easier to remember

  3. Compare your failed results from year to year and take note of any negative trend that you should focus on. In my own case, it was FI and PM that I had issues wiith, but I didn’t realize on time.

  4. Mocks are important, but they don’t replace a thorough understanding of the curriculum. You can pass the exams even with ONLY a thorough understanding of the curriculum without mocks, but you can’t do same by solely relying on mocks without a thorough understanding of the curriculum.

  5. Lastly, stay positive and persevere, and always remember that one day will surely be your day if you don’t relent, and all you need is just that one day! For me, that day is today! **smiles**

As I sign out, I say congrats to myself once again and to everyone that made the cut, and to all those who didn’t make it, please hang in there! Apparently, I was once in your shoes… Cheers!

#2

I truly admire your tenacity. Congratulations!

#3

Congratulations… It was my 3rd attempt June - 2013 level 1in first go June - 2014 band 5 June - 2015 band 9 And today band 10 With above 70 in equity, Fi, Derives and PM Below 50 in ethics and quants only Still cant believe… Was thinking about re tabulation but not sure what to do?

#4

I admire your determination. To the candidates reading this that didn’t measure up today, just remember the pursuit of knowledge is never a failure.

#5

Congrats bud but one question. Why would you skip a topic, on your fourth attempt no less? I’d be so afraid of failing again.

#6

honestly man congrats. I cant imagine your band 10 your 3rd time around. I don’t think I could have gone forward. good luck on L3

#7

Congrats man. Question, if you only studied from CFAI and failed 3 times…how do you conclude #2? Most effective IMO is use Kaplan Schweser and supplement with CFAI.

June 2012: L1 June 2013: L2 June 2014: L3

#8

I too admire your tenacity but seriously your thread is filled with fail and wtf advice. You sat level 2 TWICE and did no mocks? You took it a third time, failed, then rallied to sit a fourth time and still skipped a whole section, did no EOC q’s, and "made sure to glance at some Q & As?

I’m at a loss for why this unquestionably bad approach to extremely challenging curriculum would help a person who has just received a fail notification. I am sincere in wishing you congratulations on the accomplishment and mean no ill will, but frankly, it’s bewildering you expected anything but 3 (maybe even) 4 fails given the appraoch

#9

If you can do that, you can never be beaten. Congratulations!

#10

I feel luck to pass on 1st attempt , thanks for your story

#11

Hey Brainy,

I think I was the one who broached the two-times-a-year test, or at least we I was one of the biggest contributors to the “for” column and I got beat up by a bunch of charterholders accordingly. Tbh, I still haven’t changed my mind and don’t particularly care what they think. Sorry this caused you to not post bro! I have a pretty thick skin, so…

Anyhoo, congrats on your accomplishment. This is a testament to your character and I’m glad you overcame. Level 3 is different - not as computationally difficult but requires top-to-bottom understanding and not simply rote memorization.

Good luck and hopefully I’m done with this in two weeks.

#12

@brainy good on you man!

#13

Congrats Brainy! I admire your tenacity and I don’t think I could continue after 3 failed attempts but seriously, why would you skip derivatives on your fourth attempt? studied too much in previous attempts? Sounds too risky to me

#14

congrats. go celebrate and enjoy and crush level III.

#15

Congratulations…

One small point regarding the derivatives- I wouldn’t take a chance with cfa exam. Moreover, its there in level 3. Start looking into derivatives, you will definitely like it - its not complicated as it may seem. Also derivatives are practical tool you can use for risk management or profit seeking purposes.

#16

Hello Nilithakkar,

Thanks buddy.

Your result looked so similar to mine when I failed with a Band 10 last year. I was also bewildered by my failure, but when I realized I failed Ethics, I gave up on complaining. So IMO, I think you would have made the cut had it been you passed Ethics.

All the best on your 4th attempt bro and I shall be looking forward to reading your success story as well come next year.

Cheers mate…

#17

I understand your point of view, but we have 10 topic areas, remember. Besides, I did that for two main reasons:

  1. I started my preparation very late, so I had to focus on my areas of strength.

  2. I was so sure I couldn’t fail the remaining 9 topic areas, so I felt leaving out one area wouldn’t hurt my chances of passing pretty much if my strategy worked as planned, and gladly, it did.

#18

Hello Professor_of_Hamburg,

I quite understand your view, but the inferences you drew from my post were too simplistic. On my first attempt, I had barely 5 months to run through the entire curriculum since I had sat and passed Level 1 in December of the preceding year. Add this short prep time to a busy work schedule and what you get is someone who had no time for mock examinations.

On my second attempt, I attempted EOCs and CFAI mocks, but not as much as I did on my third attempt, but within me I knew I didn’t thoroughly understand the curriculum in its entirety. My first strong grasp of the curriculum came on my third attempt, and that was when I had a Band 10. For my fourth attempt, I didn’t practise any mock examination at all, save for what I mentioned in my initial post. However, I stuck to reading from the CFAI text, my personal jottings, and working through the CFAI examples in the body of the text. But of course, you can’t throw out the element of residual knowledge which I had gathered from my previous botched attempts.

On leaving out one topic area, well I was just super sure I wouldn’t fail any of the remaining 9 sections. And factually, I didn’t. Wise bet!

You might question my “bad” approach, but life has taught me that there is nothing like a best approach; rather, a best approach is what works best for you as a person given your unique capabilities and circumstances. For some, it is mock till they drop. For me, it is understanding the curriculum through and through, creating my personal note as I study, digesting the CFAI examples in detail, solving through EOCs, and making sure to review the CFAI mock examinations. And Like I said, this is my self styled approach which I now know works best for me.

#19

Hello Ashok,

Thanks for your encouraging words. I already decided to dedicate the next two months to understanding Derivatives in detail. Trust me, I won’t leave any stone unturned in my preparation for level 3. Thanks one more time buddy.

#20

Thanks so much Berave.

Derivatives would have taken too much of my study time since I started prepin early February; in addition, I didn’t see it as my area of strength. But I will hone my knowledge and make sure I bring my abilities to par in that area before proceeding to write Level 3.

Cheers mate…