It should be a right of passage to have your own thread to bestow your thoughts on your way out. Yes, many of the below has been written before, but it is my right…so sck it. LI is the easiest LII is the hardest material LIII is the hardest to pass (due to subjectivity and increasing competition of candidates) Yes, Schweser alone COULD be used, but IMO it is a mistake to use it as your primary source at LIII. Fine at LI & II. Be careful when you’re halfway through LIII and say to yourself, “this doesn’t seem bad”…it is deceptive and the second half will take you twice as long as the first. When you’re finished you won’t have a clue what you’ve already studied. Yes spend extra time on the big point topics, but not so much that you miss out on multiple small categories. Fixed Income at LIII deserves much more attention than it first appears. Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, do the Q-Bank and reread until you’ve locked it and then do it again. CFAI end of chapter Q’s are not to be missed, the blue box examples are the hidden gem, and yes it is worth the to buy the CFA samples/mocks. Windsor at LIII is not worth the , imo. Say what you will about Gregg Philbreck, but the man knows the IPS section. Don’t go back and do any exams older than 3 years, unless you’ve exhausted everything else first. Yes you can use pencil at LIII and pass. The only reason they want you to use pen is each exam is copied to allow multiple graders to view it independently and ink replicates better than pencil. The graders are being paid to review your exams, so they will try very hard to read your answer. Paying for retab is a waste of money, as they only check to make sure your points have been added up correctly. That being said, playing the lottery is a waste of money given the odds, so if it makes you feel better do it…just don’t announce you’re doing it. AF can be useful as you’ll often find a poster whose explanation allows the light bulb to go off, but make sure you check it with the book and don’t use AF to procrastinate. The morning exam is very hard to finish in time, but everyone is in the same boat. RTFQ (Read the F’ng Question), cannot be stressed enough. When you’re in the last 45 or so minutes take a quick look at what questions are left, as answering a few small q’s might be better than 1 medium q. If you are fortunate to finish in time, make sure you really have answered all the questions…sounds dumb, but lots of people inadvertantly miss a question in the morning. Rally at lunch, because the afternoon can pull you up from a bad morning score. If you are not hopeful you’ll be doomed to fail before even picking up your pencil. If you do receive that final pass, be gracious with your comments. The amount of hubris I’ve observed over the years is astonishing. Good luck all.
Very well said Sponge. I might humbly add to offer. -Allow at least 30-40 days for test and reviews. -I differ a little bit with Sponge and going back as far as 2003 was worth the extra time spent even if the material had changed. I started older and got used to the old AM’s before I really hit the 2008, 2009 am exams which were the best tests. - LFTFT- (look for the frickin template) I knew to look for the template and still messed it up on exam day and wrote answers outside of the template and then wasted time putting it in. Cost me precious points. Nice work on passing Sponge!
+1 to all! Especially the part about Level 2 being the hardest material, but Level 3 being the hardest test.
For me, IMHO (& I am sure most of you will disagree) - In terms of material- L1 was the hardest (too vast a syllabus) L2 was a piece of cake (oddly) L3 was somewhere in the middle. In terms of Exam - L1 & L2 were harder when you had 4 multiple choices than when you had 3 (thats just me) L3 AM is the hardest, afternoon is on par with L1 & L2. Started preparing for L3 in March & managed to clear it (though I thought I would not make it).
Well done.I would also like to add few comments: 1. Level I: testing the breadth of knowledge - basically testing what you know about them(calculations, reasoning,etc); 2. level II: testing the depth of knowledge - you don’t have to know everything, but focus your energy on certain most important aspects of modern finance; 3. Level III: comprehensive knowledge - being comprehensive means everything is now mixed - you could have some level I and II stuff blended with Level III stuff The strategy for level I is you have to be quick picking anwers,otherwise you will lose points easily;for level II,take your time (I can’t recall time was an issue for level II,at least I never heard about that) but be very careful and thorough thinking; for level III, you gotta be quick again in AM session,but for PM,your target is try to get almost >70% in all sections and that will ensure a pass finally. For level I and II,Schweser Notes are sufficient,and do some practice exams(maybe 2 to 3 just to get yourself familiar with the atmosphere of exam day);for level III,I would simply count on curriculum and do all eoc questions.
iwillpasscfa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For me, IMHO (& I am sure most of you will > disagree) - > In terms of material- > L1 was the hardest (too vast a syllabus) > L2 was a piece of cake (oddly) > L3 was somewhere in the middle. > > In terms of Exam - > L1 & L2 were harder when you had 4 multiple > choices than when you had 3 (thats just me) > L3 AM is the hardest, afternoon is on par with L1 > & L2. > > Started preparing for L3 in March & managed to > clear it (though I thought I would not make it). The I/II order is interesting to me. I didn’t think they were even close, and thought LI was kind of easy to be honest.
LI - Still a challenge, and designed to be difficult enough to keep “designation chasers” away, or those who say to themselves “CFA…sounds cool, let me try it”. It’s made to be tough so the program retains and passes serious people. L2 - Pretty easy once you know how to study the CFA way. L3 - The toughest test, and with precise reason. The one that proves if you can walk the walk. Enough bullsh!t, feel good talk about subjectivity. Everything has an answer, either exact, or within a very small band of possibilities (which you should know, and differentiate, and be able to explain in detail exactly why you chose what possibility within the band). CFAI has a range of acceptable answers for those very small amount of questions that actually have a “possibility band”. You will get points if you can back up your stuff. This exam shows if you can ACTUALLY use the material in real world, portfolio management and analysis settings. This exams shows if you’ve have it, or you don’t have it.
IMO, Its all subjective. Here are my thoughts on difficulty level: Most of the people are biased about how they judge L1.Most of the material is covered for us in undergrad or grad work so it appears to be easy but for someone who has no background I bet it can be daunting.I can see someone having nightmares studying for CFA,Quant,Fixed Income, and oter topics COLLECTIVELY and that too for the FIRST TIME. If you have only undergrad education then most of L2 stuff is new to you and it feels way higher in terms of difficulty level. I am sure for all the candidates most of the L3 stuff is new; that along with AM part and qualitative nature makes it tough. i think if you can get to L3 without having any background (and so rightly feeling overwhelmed by L1 and 2) YOU can actually feel that L3 is less difficult. Since I had MS in Finance I thought L3 was tougher (again because most of the curriculum was new) and thought that I will have to repeat it but all mighty helped me.
L1 - Inch deep, mile wide L2 - Inch wide, mile deep L3 - 9 inches and waiting for you to drop your BAII
Slash Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > L1 - Inch deep, mile wide > L2 - Inch wide, mile deep > L3 - 9 inches and waiting for you to drop your BAII CFA Charterholder (Application is approved) - Orgasm, The Self (Study) Intercourse Cycle is complete
My bad,looking at wrong tabs.pls ignore my just-posted message.
L1 - Really Easy L2 - Sort-of Easy L3 - Really Hard JIMO
L1 = L2 = L3 --> Sufficient hours input —> Pass. Difficulty is relative verses one’s past experience and natural aptitude. Me saying I thought they were all easy is, in and of itself, meaningless.
I thought all 3 were Really Hard.
If you are looking for the best most accurate advice on level III , this is the one.
Say what you will about Gregg Philbreck, but the man knows the IPS section. Who is Gregg Philbreck?
Sorry, Greg Filbeck.
Sponge_Bob_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sorry, Greg Filbeck. I have no doubt that the guy knows his stuff, but his lecture CD’s were lacking. I don’t fault him personally, as I think the L3 material doesn’t lend itself to quick explainations and 20,000 foot perspectives, but I found his lectures really dull and not all that helpful compared to the ones offered for levels 1/2.