when to start studying for level 2 if you aren't sure about passing

I took the exam last saturday and I think I did okay.

But I am also worried that I may fail.

If I pass, I plan to register for the 2015 lv2 exam. Since the results are coming out late January, I think I might not have enough time to study for lv2 during the 4months period. Is there anyone experiencing same problem?

thanks in advance

I’ve thought about it too man but pass or fail, it won’t hurt you to start studying level 2 now. Chances are you’ll have to revisit level 1 material you weren’t totally 100% on anyways so you could always start there. Plus it’s not like level 2 is a new topic area, just a deeper knowledge of the same stuff so it’ll only help your overall knowledge. You can’t really know the advanced material without knowing the basics you know? That’s my thoughts anyways.

to what extent does level 2 build on level 1 stuff? i barely paid attention to portfolio mgmt for level 1, wondering if i will need to go thru level 1 material of this again or if i can just proceed with level 2 stuff.

thank db90, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to start studying level 2. One way or another, I would be preparing for level 2 eventually so I guess I would benefit from start studying early.

robustening; Portfolio gets more important in level 2 and level 3, so i guess it would be good to know the basics introduced in level 1.

Everything you need to know for Level II is included in the Level II curriculum.

I guess it wont hurt to start studying for level 2 from now itself.

Best case scenario: If you pass, you would have already covered part of the study material.

Worst case scenario: if you fail, you are already in study mode. (Although it would make sense to start with sumthing that you are not very confident about at level 1)

I think I’ll start low key studying in January, going to rest from all the studying (as I’ve been doing other exams too, not just CFA) until the end of 2014.

I think the CFAI mocks are good gauges of whether or not you passed. If you scored above 70 on CFAI mock and plan to take L2 in June, I’d start studying as soon as I could. Obviously you can’t get CFAI L2 books until they confirm that you passed. But some 3rd party study guides are availalble that you could buy to get a head start.

In any event, if you think you passed, I’d start studying as soon as possible after you give yourself a few recovery weeks. If you were scoring low on mocks, you likely didn’t pass and need to be in no hurry to start re-studying for June L1.

i have the same feeling as you. But I think i know more questions than I did when I took level in June2014…i failed with a band 10 then…hopefully I can get a notch higher…all the best to you!

Would 3rd party level 2 material still be good for 2016 ? If people like myself, waiting for lvl 1 results wanted to get an early start on level 2 but then we found out we didn’t pass level 1, after buying level 2 guides.

Not sure if it worth the risk of buying level 2 guides to gain just a couple weeks

I’m starting level 2 next weekend, even if I am not sure I passed. I mean, if I fail, i’ll re-do level 1 in june and 4 months is plenty. If i passed, i’ll be happy that i started in december!

This does not mean anything. The exam is a performance. For example I was very well prepared and guessed only 5 questions tops over all, but it does not matter if I messed up easy questions because of anxiety and sleep deprivation!

I wish I had started studying right after L1.

I was left only 4 months for L2 and it meant I had no lif eoutside of work.

I think just start with quant methods because it is good to know regardless, and will help in understanding the L1 stuff in the event that you don’t pass.

Same goes for equity.

[quote=“Gurifissu”]

Very true, there are many variables in the test performance. My point is just that if you were consistently scoring at or above 70% on mocks, you probably passed the exam and are safe to start putting together an L2 gameplan.

Hello.I have a question i was hoping someone could answer.

Can you order the official (CFA institute) books for level 1 WITHOUT having already registered for the exam?

Thank you very much and I wish all of you who took the exam this month the best!!!

No.

I hope you aren’t looking for a research related role.

why would that mean I am looking for a research related role???

I was asking because I was wondering if you could order them earlier to read more.

Anyway,thanks for your replies.

I believe he was alluding to your lack of research skills demonstrated by your question.

Minerva,

That’s incorrect, you can order any level CFA Institute exam texts that you want without registering for the exam. However, you will have to re-order the CFA texts once you register for that particular. I bought Levels 2 and 3 exam texts without ever registering for the exams. This very issue is discussed on the CFA.org website.

Warrenb1