I’m finding it very tough to break 70, and my scoring has been quite odd. Although my scores are quite variable, I have noticed that I am tending to guess less as time goes by. This is in the order I took the tests. Three weeks ago - Schweser vol. 1, exam 1. - 67% Two weeks ago - Schweser vol. 1, exam 2. - 69% Last week - CFAI sample 1. 77% Last week - CFAI sample 2. 55% I did notice that the vignettes are far less verbose on the CFAI sample tests then they are on the Schweser tests. Any repeat takers know if this is indicative of the actual exam? Also, I was drilling with Qbank for the last three weeks and I don’t find the questions very helpful at all. It was OK at the start but I seem to see the same types of questions over and over, and I’m not sure of coverage of the curriculum. After doing about a 1000 questions, there still seems to be a lot that hasn’t come up at all. For that reason I’ve gone back to the EOC questions. I am reading the questions and making sure I understand how to answer them. Where I don’t understand a question, I go over it in the text and then try and answer it. Saturday should tell me if I’ve been successful. I’ll give Schweser vol. 1, Exam 3 a go. Best of luck all.
hard to say really, but check out the 55% one carefully! those schweser exams, good for study, but there’s still a great deal left out. seems to be an infinite exam this one 
…your schedule is far beyond mine. I don even start for whole sets of exam yet. I plan to end the review and 1st round learning by the end of Apr. and leave 1 month for exams. if you continue to get over 70%, it is sure for you to pass…if CFAI uses 70% of the top 1%'s average score as a bottomline.
nicob Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hard to say really, but check out the 55% one > carefully! those schweser exams, good for study, > but there’s still a great deal left out. seems to > be an infinite exam this one I agree. I’ve been over the curriculum twice, and I still come across stuff I could swear I have never seen before. Although I acknowledge 55% was pants, it was very evident what I did not know after that exam. There were two very specific sections that I hadn’t got a breeze on. I scored 1/6 on one of the vignettes and 3/6 on the other. I also found the questions more focused on the CFAI sample exams than in Schweser. By that I mean, they take one section of the curriculum and examine it very specifically. Whereas the Qbank questions seem more broad. Just my .02
soddy1979 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > nicob Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > hard to say really, but check out the 55% one > > carefully! those schweser exams, good for > study, > > but there’s still a great deal left out. seems > to > > be an infinite exam this one > > I agree. I’ve been over the curriculum twice, and > I still come across stuff I could swear I have > never seen before. Although I acknowledge 55% was > pants, it was very evident what I did not know > after that exam. There were two very specific > sections that I hadn’t got a breeze on. I scored > 1/6 on one of the vignettes and 3/6 on the other. > > I also found the questions more focused on the > CFAI sample exams than in Schweser. By that I > mean, they take one section of the curriculum and > examine it very specifically. Whereas the Qbank > questions seem more broad. Just my .02 That’s how the actual exam will be setup. No matter how much you read and re-read, there is going to be that one tiny section they will test that will leave a lot of candidates scratching their heads.
Sorry. I meant that the Schweser practice exam questions were more broad. Not Qbank.
bpdulog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > soddy1979 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > nicob Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > hard to say really, but check out the 55% one > > > carefully! those schweser exams, good for > > study, > > > but there’s still a great deal left out. > seems > > to > > > be an infinite exam this one > > > > I agree. I’ve been over the curriculum twice, > and > > I still come across stuff I could swear I have > > never seen before. Although I acknowledge 55% > was > > pants, it was very evident what I did not know > > after that exam. There were two very specific > > sections that I hadn’t got a breeze on. I > scored > > 1/6 on one of the vignettes and 3/6 on the > other. > > > > I also found the questions more focused on the > > CFAI sample exams than in Schweser. By that I > > mean, they take one section of the curriculum > and > > examine it very specifically. Whereas the Qbank > > questions seem more broad. Just my .02 > > That’s how the actual exam will be setup. No > matter how much you read and re-read, there is > going to be that one tiny section they will test > that will leave a lot of candidates scratching > their heads. i get it…but that just scares me. i’ve booked in for a therapist on the 7th. i’m sure i’ll be suffering some 3 lettered disorder by then
Look at it like this, you only really need to know 66 questions, and can blindly guess on the other 54 and you will have an expected value of a 70.0%. When you think of it like that, only having to be certain on 66 out of 120 questions doesn’t seem so tough.
PTS?
job71188 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Look at it like this, you only really need to know > 66 questions, and can blindly guess on the other > 54 and you will have an expected value of a 70.0%. > When you think of it like that, only having to be > certain on 66 out of 120 questions doesn’t seem so > tough. 84/120 = .7. You need to know 84 questions for sure and you can blindly guess on the remaining 36 to KNOW you will pass. I dont know where you got that 66 from…a 66/120 = 55% and is a definate fail.
I thought you were talking about golf
CPAbeatsCFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > job71188 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Look at it like this, you only really need to > know > > 66 questions, and can blindly guess on the > other > > 54 and you will have an expected value of a > 70.0%. > > When you think of it like that, only having to > be > > certain on 66 out of 120 questions doesn’t seem > so > > tough. > > 84/120 = .7. You need to know 84 questions for > sure and you can blindly guess on the remaining 36 > to KNOW you will pass. I dont know where you got > that 66 from…a 66/120 = 55% and is a definate > fail. Expected value of a question is 1/3. Know 66 = 66 marks Guess 54 = 18 marks Total = 84/120 = 70%
Personally, looking forward to get my hands on the CFAI mock exam. Schweser seems to be lacking in the QBank department for Level 2. The questions are either far too basic, or far too detailed. They need to find the nice middle road item set questions and add those. These realistic type of questions are m.i.a on Qbank. I find there item sets completly different than anything CFAI puts out. Guess they are going for the tricky, too much info type of item sets. I’d prefer the realistic ones that are difficult, but also straight forward. Other than that, I can’t knock Schweser. Their study notes are immeasurably helpful in comparison to the actual readings in the CFAI texts. CFAI texts EOC are, however, hands down are the best predictor of actual exam questions. Good luck to everyone in their review!
One thing that I did on all my mock exams for Level 1 is I would but a tiny dot next to a question if I wasn’t almost certain I had the right answer. Then after the test, I would calculate the % I got right of “Was Sure” and “Wasn’t Sure” questions. I basically found that a question I was “Sure” of I got right 90-95% of the time. A Quesiton I was “Unsure” about, I got right 60-70% of the time. So on exam day, after I finished the test and had extra time, I went back through and calculated my expected score. It was in the high 70’s, so I left that thing pretty confident.
That’s an excellent strategy…
Very good idea…
Keep in mind… the Schweser exams are designed to not only test the material, but teach the material as you go through the exam. I would consider completing a volume of the Schweser exams as a 2nd cut through the entire ciriculum. You guys are ahead of the curve. I am about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks away from my first mock/sample.
especially from the back tees at augusta national
Soddy, I think you are doing fine. One thing to keep in mind is that the LII test is so volatile, in that, for any given practice exam, there are going to be large sections very lightly tested and a small section or two where you get grilled. It is going to be difficult to consistently hit over 70 this far out. Just keep working, keep reviewing your weak areas and don’t let up for these last 5 weeks or whatever. FWIW - I took my first LII practice exam about a year ago today. Scored 72, felt great thinking all I had to do was improve or stay the same for this last month and I’d be great. Well, I think I scored from 68-74 on the next 4 or however many practice tests I took in that last month. At first I felt discouraged because it seemed I couldn’t improve my scores, but then I realized, that I actually knew at least 70% of any series of topics that could be thrown at us on test day. I passed reasonably comfortably, and that experience and confidence came in handy on exam day when we all got bombed with just a brutal couple of item sets right out of the gate.
Well I took the Schweser Vol 1, exam 3 today. Got 81% in the first paper and 70% in the second paper. I’m starting to feel a little better about this!