I’m consistently finishing the AM exam with 30 minutes to 60 minutes left. CFA paranoia says this could indicate a problem with how I’m answering the questions. I’m a little concerned that I might not be writing enough or may not be showing my work as thoroughly as needed to get full credit.
Are you finishing early, about right, or behind?
And for all you past exam-takers, did you find the real exam took longer than you were hitting on practices? I’m assuming nerves probably slow you down to some extent. Just looking for a general idea… maybe real exam takes +10-20 minutes?
I have not done any full exams so far, just question by question and timing them based on marks and so far on average 10% slower than I should be. I.e. 20 min one taking me 22 min…which basically means one big question on the exam not taking into consideration the fatigue of full 3hr session… plan is to do a full AM under exam conditions mid week and see how I do… could be I start thinking about next year’s exam… LOL
I haven’t figured out the exam, by any stretch (others scoring much higher than me) – but my timing has been good, at least. Here’s a few things that I’ve found really helpful.
Before you write anything in the official answer sections, jot down some notes (i.e.: sentence at max… usually 5-6 words) on each question within the margins before writing anything. This does three things:
It will allow you to gather your thoughts before writing and (for me at least) it’s helped me reduce the amount I end up writing since I don’t ramble on and on.
It will allow you to read the question basically one time instead of multiple. You can knock out the outlines of all your answers without re-reading as much.
It reduces the amount of time you’re flipping back and forth to read/answer questions.
Add it up, and I think this will save you at least a few minutes on each question and help you have a more quality/focused answer.
Also – write cursive (if it’s legible) and get a smooth-writing pen!
I can’t answer the second part as this is my first time taking it, but I’m finishing in about 2 hours, 2 hours 15 minutes tops for the past CFAI mornings on my first attempt. So I think we are in the same boat. I don’t think it means we aren’t writing enough.
This close to exam day I would do everything timed.
Also - it may be helpful to write out when you need to be finished with each question on the first page. For example, exam starts at 1:00 and first question is 25 minutes so be done by 1:25.
Gives you real time feedback on where you stand and helps ease the mind when you’re on question 4 and know you’re on schedule rather than wasting energy worrying about the clock.
IPS Individual questions, particularly the return calculations are the longest IMO. They take like 110% of allotted time. Questions that ask choosing an option and justify that option are the fastest. 2nd fastest are the calculations, except IPS. However, calculations are the easiest to score maximum points…
If you know the answer, I noticed that multiple choice (circle) + justification Qs may be time savers. Usually is given about 10-12 points there and it may be finished in 4-5 minutes. Also if you’re able to make Derivatives (eg. options, contracts no, etc.) and Econ (Fed, Yardeni, Eq Q Rt, etc) calculations quickly, you may be able to save 10-15 minutes in total on those two sessions.
I’m finishing through first round of AMs in about 2hrs…I am a fast test taker. I don’t go over them again and theres 1 or 2 silly mistakes. In the exam hopefully I have time for a quick review.
However, often stress out on the first IPS question as its a lot of reading, maybe get the Q wrong because of this. Need to formulate a good strategy for the actual.
Make up a lot of time on the circling ones and the 4 minute ones where you have to give 2 reasons etc.
Great. I really doubt how it might be fail. I checked 2015 results thread in this forum meanwhile and there are some who even passed with almost everything of <=50 in AM and 2-3 topics below 70 on PM.