I did not clear my second attempt of CFA level 1 exam this June. Should i give a third attempt? Kindly advise. I did fairly but i think i lack proper way of dealing the questions and also did get confused with so much material.
How many hours did you put it?
Are you concentrating on the LOSs or just reading the material or any 3rd party material? For myself, I was really lost when I started studying for L1 because there was just so much stuff. But then I found Mark Meldrum’s videos (which are broken down into LOSs) and it really helped me A LOT.
Best to clear it this December 2018 exam, else there will be changes to the syllabus and exam area weight in 2019.
Video summarising changes for Lvl 1 2018 vs 2019
[video:https://youtu.be/LSXKG-60x6w align:left]
Are you paying for it or is your employer?
Are you currently working in finance?
What do you want to do with your life?
How poorly did you do both times? Did you at least improve this time around?
What do you hope to gain from getting the CFA?
If the answers go like this:
Employer is paying (automatic yes); I’m paying (meh, maybe)
Yes, currently at a job that will count towards my work experience (yeah, okay). No, I’m unemployed/not doing anything related to finance (no, probably not)
I’m 23 years old and want to be a PM (okay, probably). I’m 33 years old and want to break into finance (no)
I improved my score significantly the second time and feel I have a better grasp on the material (yes). I sucked both time (no).
The CFA will help me land my dream job (no). The CFA will help me network and maybe get my foot into the door (yes).
I’m in the same boat…3 times now…fail. first 2 times I got band 9 and now I feel as I did worse.
<50% quant, Alt Investment, Econ
50-70 everything else
Need to let it sink in but having doubts about taking it again. Felt like part of my issue was time as this was my first time preparing as a credit analyst. I felt short on time towards the end and found myself rushing lower weighted topics. Any personal experience or advice is welcome.
Sweep the leg has given a detailed and fair response one should ponder before retaking the exam.
I wud just add …think over your preparation time…have you skipped days or missed to make your effort (not just opening books but really practicing and learning new concepts)…as they say was it your best effort…the hardest you could work…then you should not write this exam again.
but if you think there was lack of effort and sincerity from your side and you can guarantee that you will give your 200%…you should write it again.
for some people (full time students) this exam should be a cake walk…but if you are working full time you need to make effort…extra effort…
summary: you can make real and whole hearted attempt only if this exam is the most important thing in your life…else next year will be same.
Second what sweep the leg mentioned. Also December is only a few months away. Jump back on the horse.
I honestly believe practice exams are key. I did 5 for l1. For l2 I did 9. How many are you doing?
From what I remember FRA and Ethics are 35% of the exam but 50% of the points for getting halfway to 70%. Those two topics are key followed by quant which you need to improve then Equity and FI.
I remember telling myself to nail fra and ethics and then I only need to know 50% of the rest to pass: (1 x .35) + (.65 x .5) = 67.5%. I did a lot better than this but it gave me confidence going into the exam and relaxed.