So I drilled through every qbank question and I’m doing quite well. I feel pretty confident about the test…
Then I was checking out CFAI’s website and found out they have test questions and mock exams too… So I started their study sessions and WOW… these questions are a lot more involved and more difficult. I was getting 85-90% on the econ for qBank and I’m getting like 70% with CFAI… one question has you calcuating Fisher Index from a basket of goods…
The topic tests on the CFAI website are great practice, however they were harder than the actual exam (and Kaplan Qbank) in my opinion. I probably took each topic test 5 times, over a span of a couple months and I still don’t think I got above an 80% on them. Don’t feel bad if you can’t get more than 70% of the answers correct. Even the CFAI practice exam felt harder than the Kaplan exams.
To answer your question, I would say it’s somewhere in between, but I remember leaving the test thinking that CFAI and Kaplan both prepared me well. For reference, I took 8 practice tests. I was getting in the mid-60% range for Kaplan and CFAI for the first 7. It wasn’t until #8 until I got close to 75% on a practice exam.
Don’t overthink the topic test scores, but definitely use them in abundance for practice alongside Qbank.
In generalities, in my experience the calculation aspects of the level 1 exam was less involved than what you would see in practice questions. Also don’t focus too much on calculation type questions as that’s not the focus of the material.
With the scores you’re getting I don’t think you’re in danger of not passing.
The EOC questions in the curriculum are designed to help you understand the material; they’re not designed to mimic the questions on the exam.
Most prep providers’ questions are not representative of the questions you’ll see on the exam. Some are designed to help you understand the material, so they’re not intended to represent exam questions. And CFA Institute has developed a knack of creating concise, difficult exam questions, something most prep providers haven’t mastered.
Hi so i am experiencing the same issue with CFAI practise tests , i am doing relatively well on the kaplan Qbank and topic tests but my first attempt with CFAI practise tests painted a completely different picture…
Based on your experience what would be the best way to tackle the CFAI practise tests for the CFA level 2, and also do these questions reflect the level of difficulty actually encountered on the exam…
I am writing L1 in DEC and reviewing EOCqs again. I am rattled by how in depth the expected knowledge is on some of the readings. Some sections on Ecos and quants are super in depth.
The practice questions (The ones on the website are ridiculous). I go over them slowly though and surely because most of them are not going to be on the test in my opinion. I am sure some questions will be, but the amount of work involved in some of the questions has taken me 10 minutes. The only exception is Fixed Income and Quant which I somehow managed to do well on in terms of these questions but Equity (This and FRA are my weakest) is killing me. Some say the CFA mocks are more true to the exam. I don’t know.
I do like the practice questions as it feels like I get a more in depth look and really have had to use my brain for these questions. They aren’t as straight forward.
In my opinion, the CFAI online questions and the EOCs are a few notches more difficult than the actual exam questions. They’re designed to make you really understand what’s going on. I was scoring 60-65s in mocks for L1 and L2 (1 week before the exam) and ended up passing with flying colors come test day.
@Codtrawler87 when you say In my opinion "I_n my opinion, the CFAI online questions and the EOCs are a few notches more difficult than the actual exam questions. They’re designed to make you really understand what’s going on…_."as you have passed the CFA L2 exam based on your experience would you say the level of difficulty on the topic tests on website is more than the level of difficulty on the actual exam?
Just trying to set my expectations here for preparation