What did you do differently to prepare this time vs when you failed? This was my first attempt and I failed. I am very disappointed. Don’t want it to happen again. Thanks
Read CFAI first, then supplemented with Schweser (IMO, more important at this level than any other). Didn’t spend all my time on IPS…I focused too much on this the first time at the expense of other topics like FI (same thing happened at LII with Equity/FSA…nailed both, but failed).
CFAI books are critical to L3 passing. Yea there are a few people that will only use schweser and pass but is it really worth it the risk/reward? There are not short cuts @ L3.
I failed Band 5 last year using only Schweser and only end of reading questions. This year I read through the CFAI text once and right after read the Schweser to re-enforce concepts. The last month of studying I just reviewed using the Schweser and did all the examples in the CFAI text (I think this is crucial) and all of the end of reading questions again. I also went over all of the old tests… I believe the old IPS’s are the most helpfull as all the other stuff changes around. Essay Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% 1 Portfolio Management - Individual 35 - - * 2 Portfolio Management - Institutional 25 - - * 3 Portfolio Management - Institutional 24 - * - 4 Economics 14 * - - 5 Portfolio Management - Asset Allocation 15 - - * 6 Fixed Income Investments 18 - * - 7 Portfolio Management - Risk Management 20 - * - 8 Portfolio Management - Monitor&Rebalance 17 - - * 9 Portfolio Management – Performance Eval. 12 - - * Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% - Alternative Investments 18 - - * - Equity Investments 36 - - * - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - * - Fixed Income Investments 36 - - * - Portfolio Management 18 - - * - Portfolio Management - Individual 18 - * - - Portfolio Management - Risk Management 18 - * -
3rd time was a charm this year 1st time- Started in March, only schweser , Band 4 2nd tim- Started in Jan/Feb - Only Schweser , Band 7 3rd Time, Started in Jan/Feb but put in WAY more time studying, I used the CFA texts ( read through and did initial highlights) then re-read and made written notes on highlights and did the EOC twice, I used Schweser ONLY for the end of reading questions, did not read any of the texts - Passed !!!
this was 3rd time taking L3 (having failed in bands 3-5 in the past) and this year I passed. i used the cfa readings and last years schweser since they didn’t change much (although this was a bit risky). i tried to use cfa readings as much as i could but for some sections where the cfa reading was more than double schweser readings i got lazy and went for schweser instead (again risky) i did every exam/question/schweser qbank i could get my hands on…schweser, stalla, old cfa, and esp the ones from the cfa site. at first i was hestitant to take these and ‘pay’ for them…i was being a cheap since i’ve already spent so much on these exams…but when i though about how much money and more importantly, time, it would cost if i had to re-take it again (not to mention the blow to my ego if i had to make it my 4th try) i realised money wasn’t an issue. my last strategy was during the exam. having already written it twice i had realised that the last 1-3 questions in morning were never really that difficult, what made them tough wa that i hardly ever had time for them because i would get too tied up with the first 3 questions as they were the biggies. this year, after doing the big ones, i went to the back and did the last few and found i did really well on these as they were realtively easy if i wasn’t rushing…i also skipped whatever i couldn’t do and went back…no need to go in order, you just need to be organised enough to remember to go back and try to get them. best of luck to you.
i was a band 10 last year. i did nothing different this year. read only cfai. used secret sauce for quick review then spent 6 weeks doing all am tests, mock exams and schwesher exam books 1 and 2. i did all exams twice.
Plan for a schedule that ramps up exponentially leading up to the exam, but don’t kill yourself (i.e. reading 10 hours straight for the sake of ‘finishing’ a section doesn’t translate to success if you aren’t retaining anything). From personal experience, I started late fall with CFAI material, reading ~70 pages a week but going slowly and doing every question. Finished a month before, did the sample and a practice exam, skimmed Schweser material quickly but in its entirety in a few weeks, then had 10-14 days for practice exams and review. Don’t get bent out of shape over practice exam scores or a single area- I got under 50% on five sections (likely closer to 0% than 50%) and still managed to squeak by. It’s a marathon, not a race, and most importantly do NOT throw in the towel come exam day. You paid the money and put in the time, this year is proof positive a poor AM showing will not seal your fate. Finally, sign up before the first deadline. No reason to give the CFAI any more money than you already have when you know you’ll be back to crush it next year.
2009 (failed in Band 10) Only used Schweser notes and practice exams Only did the free mock/sample exams from CFA website Did not look at the CFA old AM exams (BIG MISTAKE) Never did a “full 3hr. straight” practice-exam on AM essay (I only did 2/3 questions at once and timed it–HUGE MISTAKE!!) 2010 (barely passed) Read the Schweser notes first Then did most of the EOC Qs of CFA text and read certain topics in CFA text Did the mock and sample exams (add’l costs) offered by CFA website Did the “full 3hr. straight” practices on 06-09 old CFA AM exams and Schweser practice-exams (VERY IMPORTANT)
Band 10 last year. Last year did mainly Schweser material and Live online Schweser class spending about 6 hours per week for 17 weeks. Then, spent two weeks prior to exam studying morning to night about 10 hrs/day for a total of about 242 hours. This year, From mid January to mid April read all CFAI material and Schweser online class. Did Schweser Dallas review at beginning of May (excellent review course) and used last 4 weeks to study morning to night and did all practice exams and sample exams and EOC questions. When I finished Vol 1 of practice exams, I went through and made a list of all the Sections where I got something wrong. I then used the time to go over those sections another time before taking the Vol 2 exams. Total of about 360 hours. May have been overkill given I had already studied the material but I did not want to be sitting for this thing again. So relieved I passed. I am married with two kids so taking all the time away from them was extremely hard, though I’m sure there are many out there with similar situations.
Band 10 last year. Changed nothing - just put in a bit more time and effort to prepare. Used Schweser only both times, didn’t even open CFAI books.
as per my name it was my 3rd time and passed Band 4 Band 7 Pass I STRONGLY suggest you dont take a year off or quit. If you see those LOS comparison posts for 2011, you will notice that the material is pretty much the exact same thing. If they totally revamped L3 and brught in a ton of new study stuff but then i can agree. If I failed I would have no question about it did the 4th time based on this. All those " I wish they tested this stuff" " i cant beleive they ddnt test this … " is likely going to work in your favor next year. let the week go by, relax, let it digest, organize a plan and sit down with both Los’s and re-write you can do it
This time, I use the Schweser classroom CD. Its presentation notes are very helpful. It highlights all the key points which is suffice for the essays. Able to write down the key points are the key for essays.
I failed in 2009 Band 10 and passed this year. Both times I used CFAI material and did a 3-day Schweiser review course. Only difference was in 2010 I finished the material with more time to do the old 06-09 am exams. The first time around I only did one am exam which I think was a mistake. Plus you just retain more material the second time around. I got a few simple calculations wrong in 2009 and there was no way i was going to make the same mistakes in 2010. Off course luck, good or bad, is a factor too.
I failed as a Band10 twice. This year I used the same approach, read Schweser and do all CFAI problems. The key difference I made this year was to time myself on all practice exams. This is key. The prior two years i struggled to finish the am session. This year i got done with a few minutes to spare.
I was band 4 last year, but didn’t really put in much effort to studying (my own fault). I also only did the Schweser practice exams instead of the CFAI ones. This year I began studying early, but took a break from March through mid-April. Last half of April and May I was studying pretty hard (esp compared to year before). I did all the exams the CFAI had on their website and paid for an additional one. That helped me more than anything.
3rdtimesacharm? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > as per my name it was my 3rd time and passed > congrats 3x now you can remove the ‘?’ from your name!
This was my second try on Level 3 and I finally passed. On my first try, I only used Schweser Notes. I was very confident after the exam but I failed with a band 5. I almost fell off from my chair because my average score for the practice exams were all above 70. I think I failed because my answers are too brief and not to the points they were looking for. On my second try, I read the CFAI texts and did a lot of practice exams just as the previous year. This year I took my time and explain my answer in detail, but I ended up not able to finish my exam (there were at least 2 questions at the end I had to write something randomly without making any sense). I also felt confident right after the exam, but as time went by and after comparing answers with others, my confidence started to weaken and turn into fear. At the end, I thought I would fail but it surprised me to the opposite.
Band 7 last year Did CFA end of chapter questions during initial reading of curriculum and did them all again at review. Went through the old essay questions until the answers were memorized. Repeated all CFA website mocks and samples until I passed
I didn’t use anything else but CFA Curriculum.I just did all the EOC questions.I started my review from April and completed by June 4th. I feel excited that I was able to pass.I didn’t do any practice exams or sample exams.I just make sure I understand every knowledge points in the curriculum - not just calculation but knowledge points,i.e. adding security to the portfolio and how to judge whether it should be added or not and actually there was a question on that this time. The key I think is to understand the knowledge points fully without any questio marks. I think the benefit of doing practice exams is to help you control time and pace,but overall I don’t think it helps on your knowledge points. You don’t want to waste your precious time in doing questions that would appear on real exams at a almost slight chance,so why bother? But you gotta do all the EOC questions and make sure you understand them and understand why the question is asked.There is some similar pattern between the real question and EOC question at least the logic.