Just got my books today and they look so thin compared to those for level 1 and 2. Are level 3 CFAI books traditionally thinner? Or is the CFA exam getting easier? My primary concern is that more people are getting the CFA designation and with rumors such as “CFAI might open a December window for the Level 2 exam” it worries me that the designation will become so widespread that it looses its prestige and value. I’m sure the CPA designation used to be pretty exclusive and hard to get at one point, but then they made the exams easier and easier and now everyone has it and it’s not a very highly regarded designation (no offense to CPAs but I know people who couldn’t pass the econ 1 class back in college who now has a CPA). I don’t mean to sound stuck up or anything. I just don’t want my hard work to go to waste.
i have a cpa and one of the reasons im going for cfa is because the cpa has become so damn diluted - lots of morons have it now. i’ve started looking at l3 materials, and dont worry, i dont think you’re gonna say its “too easy”
Same here. I have a CPA too and I think it’s the biggest joke ever. Truly hope the CFA stays the way it is now in terms of difficulty and prestige.
imma be livid if they ever offer level 2 or 3 more than once per year
The curriculum has hardly changed from this year to last and last year’s books were about equal to Level 2. Did they perhaps drop some of the repetitive appendix pages for this year’s volumes? I wouldn’t worry about the exam becoming too easy.
Lol, Don’t worry! Last year I had the same reaction in front of a curriculum 500 pages thiner… Still I can tell you, It is far harder than level I et II. Here is a comment from efinancialcareer about how hard it is becoming 
http://news.efinancialcareers.co.uk/News_ITEM/newsItemId-27718 I am happy this all story is behind me now! Good luck everyone!
I think this was discussed already and someone posted that it might have to do with cheaper paper quality.
There’s no way L3 is easier, just look at the candidate pool you’re competing with now.
Yes the L3 books are thinner than L1 and L2, but the exam is much harder. What you gain in one you lose in the other. and of course now that I have passed all 3 I’m hoping the pass rates drop to say 5% or 6%
newsuper = meanie
yeah yeah, I was just kidding
they do look thin, but add the pages per volume , 2500 pages
They are thin, compared to L2- 700 pages less. But I believe the paper is thiner aswell.
lol. don’t worry about how thick or thin they are…all you have to do is look at the pass rates…getting lower and lower every year. i.e. the exam is getting harder. go at it full force…balls to the wall, my friend. you will succeed. good luck!
There is some other stuff you need to read in addition to the curriculum in order to be prepared, amounting to at least several hundred pages, but I’m not at liberty to tell you what it is.
The books are thiner but the content is really boring…much less graphs and examples than for lvl I & II books (almost done with one of them, I hope the rest will be beter). A lot of description and never-ending paragraphs that do not bring any information at the end. Gosh this year will be loooooong…
@ O.G.-- ok the pass rate is decreasing but this does not necessarily mean the exams are getting harder… just that more people are taking the exams and CFAI is trying to keep the number of people passing the exam constant (or as constant as possible)
One reason they migth be thinner and maybe less pages, is because a lot of item set format EOC questions from past year which had 4 choices have been trimmed down to 3 choices now. It is so in Ehtics, Vol -1,
>Yes the L3 books are thinner than L1 and L2, but the exam is much harder. >What you gain in one you lose in the other. >and of course now that I have passed all 3 I’m hoping the pass rates drop to say 5% or 6% Not a chance, since i completed L3 in 2010, I absolutely guarantee the pass rate will trend to 85%…you guys can thank me for that one! 
While this may be a valid point for Level I (lots of people who take the exam don’t give a hoot about it), it does not really apply to Level III. Not to mention that given the way the MPS is calculated, the exam actually needs to be harder for the passing rate to decrease. balletsh0es Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @ O.G.-- > ok the pass rate is decreasing but this does not > necessarily mean the exams are getting harder… > just that more people are taking the exams and > CFAI is trying to keep the number of people > passing the exam constant (or as constant as > possible)