So this is my first post here as I am furious as fu** of failling for the second time band 10. The first time I failed band 2 which is bad as fu** but I wasn’t surprised by the result as my studying approach wasn’t good. Anyways, I retook it this year and failed band 10 and seriously thought I,d land this one as my feeling after the exam day was nothing but positive.
I am pretty sure I failed because of my dirty result in ethics which I new I bombed since I had a bad feeling walking out the exam. I am wondering if any of you level 2 retaker that managed to pass has any pointers to give me as I will give it one last shot and try to pass this bitc**.
I used schweaser as my main book but did all CFAI EOC, 4-5 mocks, all the vignettes on the CFA Institute web site and even made personal notes on every subject and I started studying mid jan.
I failed and ended up at band 7 in 2015. I used Elan/Wiley videos plus Schweser notes and Qbank - which together don’t do a good job for level 2 prep.
I passed this time around by using the CFA material - did all the EOC questions and online questions plus used IFT Videos exclusively.
IFT teaches strictly from the CFA curriculum…doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel like other prep providers. Studying from the curriculum and doing lots and lots and lots (did I say lots ) of questions - is the best way to pass Level 2.
I prepared for Level II exam june 2016. I used Willey notes + IFT Videos. due to the fact that I worked full time (9-7pm) I could not get a chance to practice. I was done with the theory reading by june frst week and beofore the exam I reviewed it quickly. Got Band 1
Kindly suggest me how to best prepare for the Level II monster. P.S : Do I need to switch from Willey+IFT combo ? Any suggestions?
I may not be qualified to pass on my judgement. Failed at Band 10, but I have almost as tough job schedule as you have ( ranging btwn 60 to 80 hours a week) Start as early as possible.Relentless practice holds the key.Do the same material over and over again, throw third party material down the dustbin except their mocks. Schweser is not meant for everyone. If you score < 50 in any of the high or mid weight section well you might be going for another retake. Crash the cfai material twice at least , do all sectional tests , and do mock till you drop. Better to bleed now than to wait for one more year like an useless. Come back next year and share your story, it should be worth read. Atb
Band 10 is the worst thing in this world, I can understand your agony. However in my opinion to nail level II you need to be assured of >70% in FRA and Equity bare minimum. Start early this year since you have the time crunch and nail FRA, Equity thrice by December end.
Use Curriculum and IFT Videos for both of them. Rest I guess is in good shape, however do not get complacent with your >70% areas.
I am sure when I will read your next thread you will be a level III candidate.
I agree with the others saying focus on FRA and Equity. They are core to the exam. Add FI and Deriv. and you basically have most of the test. From your scores I say study Ethics harder. I know its hard to nail Ethics but it is possible if you do enough questions and go over it enough. That is the difference maker
failing L2 that close is brutal, I hated my L2 studying experience the most and I’m pretty sure I barely passed. someone had literally the same score bands except I had>70 in this one category where he had 50-70 and he failed. focus equity and fra
I think we should talk about the elephant in the room here. Your problem is not your method, is the quantity of studying. I was done with reading in February…the first time. By exam date I did 3 reviews plus 6 mocks and 2000 qbanks. If you expect to find the perfect method to pass with little hours in, you are in for an unpleasant surprise.
Nobody here seems to be so politically incorrect to tell people they simply have to bend over the books for longer.
Hey guys, just logged back in after being off for months. I’ll repost a 2015 comment that I hope you’ll find useful. But here’s a quick thought: In retrospect, failing Band 9 was a very good thing, both in CFA and in life. It shocked me into the realization that one must take these things very seriously and be the candidate who out-works the others. I started applying this philosophy to the job as well, and the career has taken off quite well. So here’s my post, hope it helps:
I failed band 9, then passed the next try. Here’s what I did–don’t know if you’d agree. It was expensive, but better to sacrifice the money than the time:
You have to do the grunt work again. Don’t look for shortcuts just because you went through one time. Use the prep providers as review, but the CFAI material as the main source.
Massive # of questions from multiple sources. I used Schweser, CFAI, Wiley, and Finquiz. I did questions almost every day as I was going through the material. Q-Bank is perfect for this. Don’t kill yourself though. 20 questions here and there was all I did until I was through the material.
Concentrate on the CFAI questions, esp. the blue boxes.
Lots of DIY flash cards all throughout the study process. Take these with you everywhere.
I relied heavily upon the video classes, whereas in the first round I tried to use the last-minute review seminar as a big study aid. That was a mistake.
John Harris for accounting.
I used Schweser and Wiley. Schweser video classes I stuck to pretty religiously. Wiley videos I used to reinforce weak areas.
Finish with material and review questions 60 days early, then start taking mocks. I would estimate I did about 20 mock exams.
Repeat three or four of the mock exams to boost confidence the last two weeks.
Keep yourself physically fit and eat well. The first time around, I ate junk non-stop. Second time I was on a clean diet and going to the gym. Big difference.
Compile your formula sheet and keep rewriting it. Each time you write it, it should take about an hour or so to complete. The act of writing is what matters, so write the thing 10 to 20 times over until it’s automatic. On exam day, you’ll thank yourself.
Definitely try to nail Equity and FRA. Those 2 weigh a lot compared to the other sections.
I would also take more mocks. I personally did at least 10+ mocks because it was through repetition that allowed me to overcome the stress of having to sit down for such a long period of time while taking such a difficult exam. By the time I started taking the real exam, it just felt like another mock exam I was doing at home, and it really helped calm my nerves and made me think a bit more clearly. Band 10 clearly shows you have the capability to pass the exam.
Also if I were you, I would try to pretend as if I am taking the L2 for the first time again. There may be some thought where you think you can study a bit less because you already studied it before, but that may cause you to skip over some material you thought you knew, but you actually didn’t know that well either because you forgot or you didn’t understand the concept fully. When you get a question wrong, understand why you got it wrong, and it will go a long way so you can truly understand the material.
Mate you must have spent a fortune on prep materials!
Hey Coastie.
Yeah, I did spend quite a bit on prep materials. I never really tallied it up, but I’m guess about five grand per CFA level. I decided early on to trade money for time, and to have faith in the prep companies. When I started L1, my kids were 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 years old. Plus a disabled in-law living with us. So my home life was very busy. I would study in the car with Q-Bank or something like that. So for me,paying the prep folks to boil it down and concentrate me on the money areas was money well-spent. My problem was that I felt like I was missing something based on my scores on quizzes, so I would seek out another viewpoint from another prep provider. For what it’s worth, I did find that they were all generally worth the $.
I guess if you compare the expense of getting the CFA with what some undergrad pays for a degree, it’s not so bad! At least that’s what I tell myself…
) of questions - is the best way to pass Level 2.