i actually miss this forum… happy to answer any question anyone has to do with CFAI L3 or L2 (nothing about my job/city/etc. if you don’t mind) FYI, i did L1 a long time ago… L2/L3 the two years. my local SBUX staff had never seen anything like the amount i studied (and that was probably only 70% of my study time, at most)
I’ll go. In your study prep. Would you have changed your study approach at all in hindsight.
basically get to the EOC and practice exams (especially) alot earlier. also, i focussed on lists/acronyms a ton the last two weeks (completely different than L2) and it was of almost no use on the exam (might not be true every year though) one thing i did do right was do the exam backwards. save Indy IPS for last. i could have done the half-a**ed answer i gave in about 5 minutes, so it didn’t matter. whereas if you’re rushed for time on an analytical question, you have huge problem.
Thanks. How many days out were you hitting the samples? I’m hoping to have 35-40 days for mock/samples. Enough or better to push the timeline up?
how many practice exams you took?
4 or 5 practice exams i took. one or two were a little old… i think there’s actually value in just flipping thru extra old exams (maybe really old ones)… zero mocks. the way they do it is pointless to me. i think practice exams are big part of learning, not just figuring out where u stand. so earlier the better. i understand that it’s almost pointless to do them if you don’t know the material. sooner the better on practice exams. now is a bit early though.
When you say practice exam, you are taking about CFAI online exam - right? I wanted to clarify because I have only CFAI material. I am finishing SS-11 today. I still have SS-12 to SS-18 and Ethics to go. Feel like I am really behind. Appreciate your help.
My two questions Would you like to take the exam for me? and will you guarantee a pass?
not totally sure what the exams were that i took, but i definitely did NOT do the CFAI online mocks… i just had a bunch of exams electronically. i presume the year’s before??
how did you answer the question in the exam? Short and Precise as given in schweser exams or perfect answers as given by CFAI (very detailed)?
Very detailed answers with a pen. which i regret (although i passed)… for me i wasn’t really time-constrained, so on the questions with a “real” answer it didn’t really matter. on indy IPS it mattered, and i wished i could change my answer but what can i really do once it’s in pen. BTW, i don/'t remember the proctors saying you had to use a pen. granted, i wrote in pretty sleepy test centre.
Is pencil allowed in morning section?
wot do u mean "pretty sleepy test centre’’ ?
osei Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > wot do u mean "pretty sleepy test centre’’ ? not that many people writing (no effect on downtown traffic or anything. vs. say toronto where it takes a long time for everything)… pretty laid back proctors. someone showed up 3 minutes before exam and they let them in. i understand you’d have to wait at many centres…
N.VanCandidate Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My two questions > > Would you like to take the exam for me? and will > you guarantee a pass? No and yes.
Classic plyon.
In the morning essay exam, Is it necessary to use the proper keywords to answer a question or we can answer the question in our own wording also? How will it affect the grading?
What were your practice test scores? AM and PM? Were you confident in the month of April and May that you are in better shape and have a good chance to clear the exam in first go? This exam is scary and thought of taking it again (if I fail) making me sweat.
Mapago Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In the morning essay exam, Is it necessary to use > the proper keywords to answer a question or we can > answer the question in our own wording also? How > will it affect the grading? I passed all 3 levels in a row and would be happy to answer this. I was a pretty active member here until right after results when I was inadvertantly banned. I’m not really sure what you mean by “keyword”. I would say that when you are putting together the individual IPS that you make sure you clearly label what “risk tolerance” and “ability to take risk” are, and so on, and not try to reword concepts like that. Be as concise and clear as you can. Dont write in long sentences - make bullet points and put your point down without rambling or trying to write everything you know - they dont grade that way and it wont help you. Come up with your best response and write it is clearly and in as well a thought out manner as you have time for. If you are talking about more obtuse concepts I dont think it will matter much. Like if in your answer you write the formula for the Grinold-Kroner model and explain it but dont remember and/or write the name that shouldnt hurt you. From what I gather and from looking at my own scores, what hurts most people is not paying attention to what is being asked and ending up “scatter shooting” during their answers, where the candidate writes a ton of stuff and hits all around what the CFAI wants them to get at but never really gets to the point. The essay questions are pretty clearly worded as you can see if you go back through the old tests. Make sure to take the time to read exactly what they want and give them that and nothing more. If they ask for 3 things - give them three of the best ones you can come up with. If you write 5, they stop grading after they read 3 of them anyway.
practice scores were decent. probably higher 70’s for multiple choice and “one specific answer” written answers… i usually did a little bit longer answers as sometimes not totally sure what they were asking for or more importantly what level of detail they wanted. sometimes did go with a few words though didn’t feel comfortable walking into L3 exam, whereas L2 i did… spent the last couple of weeks on lists/acronyms/strange little sections.