Yesterday I failed my level 2 , by 2/3 questions .my score almost touches the MPS and the confidence interval is well above the mps and it’s still hurt a lot. …a lot
I worked very hard and followed all the advice I saw in many forums :
-started in November 2018, did all EOCs , did at least 50pct of qbank (but unfortunately couldn’t finish all of them because I prioritized mocks and EOC), did 8 full mocks ,used MM videos , schweser and CFAi books for though topics like derivatives, quants,FRA.i was consistent in my studies ,I didn’t count my hours but I definitely worked 4× harder than level 1.i was well organized and had I study plan I followed strictly.
My question is :What did I do wrong ?the thing is…I am devasted and I don’t know what I need to improve on my study plan . For those who failed after studying hard ,how did you recover from that failure and what have you done differently please ?
I am afraid to fail it again next time … :(…feel so weak now…
In 2017, I failed in band 10. Genuinely felt prepared for the exam too. I was actually sunk on the exam by equity/FRA/Ethics. I too was devastated and overly convinced that CFA Institute marked my exam wrong. But the reality of it all was that, the studies meant nothing in the end, and I was the only person to blame for this. Tough lesson to learn - but sometimes in life we don’t get what we work for.
Took it on the chin and restarted again entirely from scratch. I threw out the old books, notes, and flash cards. I recommend you do the exact same thing, because let’s face it, if you’re serious about passing these exams you will find a way to afford it.
The last bit of advice I can give you is stop cutting corners. I don’t even know you, but I bet you there were one or more concepts tested on the exam that you just weren’t quite “there” with - did that make sense? You need to go learn the material better, simple as that. At the end of every study sessions, you are the only true gauge of whether you truly grasped the material and if you could have done “more”.
That was my approach for 2018, started asking myself if I could have done more (okay, most days it was, "have I done enough") So, I recommend for next year you just be honest with yourself about how serious you’re actually taking your studying, and give it another go from scratch. That’s what I did, and when I took the exam I finished with around an hour and a half left for both sessions.
Here’s my last bit of ‘criticism’ too - do you say you’re passionate about finance? If so, I’m curious to know what set of books you used? Did you use Kaplan? Doesn’t make much sense to me. . If “you’re” so passionate about finance, then why aren’t you reading the actual CFAI books? -that’s a criticism pointed at much of the CFA candidate population and not necessarily you, but, something to think about.
Maybe you overprepared? What works for one does not work for another. Everyone has their own unique way of studying. It’s not viable to copy what others are doing. I think best you can do is figure out which topics you had difficulty answering and where you scored the lowest, what subjects you found difficult and work on them. Also, work smarter, not harder. Time should not be a problem for L2. See the weightings and understand the topics you need to prioritize. I can very well understand what you are feeling right now as I’ll probably be like you on the 20th.
Btw in case you want to know, I studied from IFT Videos, Schweser notes and did the practice problems from the Schweser, CFA Official mocks and questions, EOC and Blue box. That’s all.
After I failed L2 I changed my strategy. My old strategy was going through the Wiley books & after finishing the book I would practice the EOC and any extra questions I had (Kaplan, CFAI EOC). When my results came out last year I was almost on the MPS so that really hurt.
This year I actually used a new prep provider Quartic-> straight to the point even more summarized than Kaplan I would say. The material was fresh in my head still so i felt like i needed just a quick review. What changed this year is that after every reading I would practice the questions (before I would finish the whole topic and then practice ie finished all Equity readings, do all equity EOC). I found this method more helpful because practicing after each reading can tell you if you comprehend the reading or if i would need to go over it again, make notes, what are my weak spots. Then after finishing all books I went back again and did the questions again and compared my score then vs the score now. 2 months before the exam i signed up for the intensive course with quartic, expensive but also i felt like it paid off.
I took a week off before my exam and just did all the Kaplan mocks & the CFA online mocks, at first i started scoring ~50% then gradually started scoring 60%, 67% and rare occasions 70%>…
The difference between my both methods other than the when to start practicing was that the first time i was so focused on just reading and making notes not going back to the weak topics I was scoring in vs actually seeing if there was improvement. My improvement came from practicing, didnt even make notes this time.
You have a year now to study and the material is fresh in your mind. Relax then whenever you feel ready start studying.
You did nothing wrong bro, you were just plain unlucky! Don’t worry, so are many!
I too did not pass L2 in my first attempt (2017, band 10). On analysis, I found that I was not that very well prepared in topics such as FI, Derivatives, some parts of Alternative Investments, Portfolio Management and Economics.
For 2018 attempt, I studied all the subject topics more elaborately (using Wiley text / videos), consulted CFAI books (especially in topics mentioned above), did almost all EoC questions and CFAI question banks and just 2 mocks. This time I passed with just <90% percentile score. The takeaway was getting to understand topics in a more detailed way (esp. FI and Derivatives, exam weights keep increasing every year) and focusing on hardest (by this I mean non-intuitive for me) topics in such a way that you do not miss on easy points.
I know how it feels to start from scratch and build your way up to next June. I suggest, take a break, do something unrelated to CFA for a month or so. Once you get fresh, start and build your momentum up. Yes, get new sets of books / videos, so you remain abreast of changes in the syllabus (and not reminisce the pain of seeing old markings!).
Also, thank you for your best wishes for 20 August.
I passed level 2 last year only reading Schweiser books (no CFAI notes). I revised them like 4-5 times. Took couple of mocks. IMO schwiser are enough. I scored 90%+. Revision is the key. Revise Revise Revise.
You are suggesting that the candidate should read CFAI books which takes much more time and are not necessary. IMO Schweiser is smart work and CFAI books are hard work
I’m suggesting candidates who praise how “passionate” about finance they are should begin reading from CFAI texts - especially the ones who failed the exams.
Same here CEO 10K. Failed 2017 cuz I skipped derivatives and econ entirely and got Band 10(3.5 months of study). So for next time around I actually read that material and passed in 2018.
I am a firm believer that there is an element of luck that pushes people over the MPS.
I failed level 2 on my first attempt having done about 300 hours of studying. I then passed level 2 on my second attempt after about 200 more hours. I didn’t really feel any more ready the second time around but I did much better.
There is so much content, you really just have to hope the right things come up.
