34% Do you think it was a lack of studying for the exam or the exam in itself being harder than it was in the past? I would’ve expected more people to study for the exam (since many ppl have been laid-off and especially if you are going to bother sitting through all 6hrs) What do you think was the reason?
Lack of studying. Sure, many people are unemployed, but they are not nearly as desperate as they were in June 2009.
It’s low compared to June, but about the same as last December. Seems about in line with recent history.
Chi Paul Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It’s low compared to June, but about the same as > last December. Seems about in line with recent > history. You sure? I thought someone said this was like the lowest pass rate of any level in the last 5 years
34% does seem a little low. Maybe lack of motivation? Which ties into lack of studying. I don’t understand how that can be though. You have to know what you’re getting yourself into. Or… Maybe people are just trying to take a long shot by putting minimal work into studying. Then crossing their fingers, hoping they will pass to possibly break into a new career field.
Seems like the case for most exams. The winter pass rates have always been lower than summer. Brain goes into hibernation perhaps.
cfagoal2 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Seems like the case for most exams. > The winter pass rates have always been lower than > summer. > Brain goes into hibernation perhaps. That would be nice since i got >70s. Will need my brain for L2
actually, it is tie with the lowest passing rate for level 1 since inception. http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/pdf/candidate_results.pdf congrats to those 34% people who pass! thought I would pass too, but, F…,
ZeroBonus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You sure? I thought someone said this was like the > lowest pass rate of any level in the last 5 years Am equal weighted average of 12 observations since 2004 gives an average of 37.33%.
The Dec 2009 L1 exam for me was in all honesty bloody tough - tougher than any of the mocks and practice papers that I took (CFA/Schweser). I did pass comfortably with 7 subjects over 70 but when I left the exam hall I really felt like roadkill ! ran out of time in the afternoon session and had to make some educated guesses for about a dozen questions in the last five minutes.
VR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Dec 2009 L1 exam for me was in all honesty > bloody tough - tougher than any of the mocks and > practice papers that I took (CFA/Schweser). > > I did pass comfortably with 7 subjects over 70 but > when I left the exam hall I really felt like > roadkill ! ran out of time in the afternoon > session and had to make some educated guesses for > about a dozen questions in the last five minutes. I thought the PM was much harder/trickier than the AM. Anyone think the 3 choices per question have anything to do with the passing rate? No longer do you get 2 obvious wrong choices anymore, instead you have 3 very plausible answers
I think because of the current job market, many more finance professionals took the exam hoping to get an edge in their job search. They didn’t realize how difficult the exam actually was and failed. I doubt they will re-register. We’ll see a nice increase in pass rates in June 2010, and a decrease in absolute candidates.
well my guess would be to level out with June 2009 exam. I mean it was just relatively high. I think they want to keep it around 38-40% max. Hopefully in June it will better :). I hope they didn’t raise MPS (>70).
The pass rate may have declined because the test-takers were less serious than previous groups, said Tom Robinson, the institute’s managing director of education, citing 28 percent of applicants who didn’t show up to take the test, an increase from 25 percent in June. “It’s an indicator to me of the seriousness of the candidate group,” he said. “There wasn’t a change in the curriculum.” Taken from: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-27/cfa-level-1-pass-rate-falls-to-34-percent-institute-says.html
I heard from people who took june and dec and they said dec was definitely harder. I thoght the test was a raging bitch myself, but ended up passi f and doing pretty well.
The AM test was literally easy. The PM test was a b-e-a-r. Thank God I passed. Wouldn’t want to have to go through all that studying for Level 1 again.
I felt the Schweser tests were many times harder. The CFAI mock was a nightmare. Compared to that I thought the actual test was a lot better. Let us see if this pattern holds up for level 2.
Level I was a fucking bear. I took level I in June and it was hella easy. I thought I passed for sure coming out, low and behold Band 8. This time I was sure I failed and passed. C’est la vie. I literally had 14 questions on the PM that I just put A for because I had no clue what they were talking about. This test was just brutal. Tougher than any Schweser or CFA mock. I comfortably passed those and knew what was going on. Level I in December raped me hard. How I passed I’ll never know.
i believe i need to read harder and be more care full of the options, but i will never give up!!
possibility that test takers wouldn’t or shouldn’t have taken the exams all else being equal…but due to being laid off, and having extra time, people think why not- potentially"?