After the Dec L1 exam all I read on this forum was about how easy the exam was and how the MPS was going to be 70+ but in the end there was a 37% pass rate and a low MPS.
Walking out of the AM section I felt great but the PM section was a little tougher. Ethics was definitely my worst subject but I think (hope) I made up for a poor ehtics seciton thorughout the rest of the exam. It was less challenging than I thought (like level 1) but I do not think that the pass rate will be higher than normal.
To be fair this is a lot like 2011, where everyone said how easy it was, and fell for a bunch of traps. MPS was 43%, and there were still some grisly pass scores. The exam wasn’t as easy as you thought. 2012 was a b&*^* though.
I felt it was easy, the Shweser sample exams really prepaIred me. I can’t say much about the exam without getting too specific. I’ll just say that I was very surprised by what was left out of Fixed Income, the easiness of FRA and Equity, and the difficulty of Portfolio Management.
I thought I did well. Happy about my prep and happy about my performance. I think I spent the most time on FI so the exam was a disappointment in that sense, but no complaints overall.
While I agree but the LOS for the “formula that no one bothers to memorize” doesnt say Calculate from what I remember…packed away my curriculum books so I cant look it up right now :). I think they exam question asked us to calculate no?
Firstly, you’re comparing a population to an unkown sample size in absolute terms. You should consider relative analysis.
Secondly, it is unlikely that this forum is a random sample. More than likely the people here are on average “over-achievers” though this is purely speculation on my part.
Thirdly, you’re comparing apples and oranges. Last year’s exam will more than likely have a different MPS as well as a different total number of exam takers, not to mention the balance of first-timers and retakers.
Lastly, people tend to be overconfident about their abilities and are biased towards their assessment of the exam.
Didn’t read the rest of the thread, just glad to know I’m not the only one with a great big “F**k you Schweser” for that one. Also, PM sort of came out of left field - it was always my strongest topic during mocks, can’t say that about the exam.
I think Ethics is the section that clearly tilts your score heavily.
In practice I have gotten 0/6, 11/12, 10/12 so you may feel that you got a 9/12 but maybe it’s actually a 3/12 and that will change your outlook bigtime. Of course, one can feel that he/she scored 4/12 but perhaps got the better half of the battle, possibly coming out with a 10/12.
Stay positive everyone and enjoy life the next 45 days or so! When we get our good news, it’s on the level 3!
Yeah, the dude next to me lasted about 1 hour into the PM session, then just called the proctor and left. Also, noticeable amount of people didn’t show for the PM session.
Anyone know if people who sit for the AM exam but don’t show for the PM count in the pass rate? Or is their test voided and omitted as if they never showed?
I was surprised AND I am uneasy with how “easy” both questions felt. During my 10+ practice tests, I have been challenged far more than on the actual test last Saturday. My mind is spinning: could I have fallen for a large series of highly cunningly-crafted question traps?
By my count, I have total-guessed about 4 questions per exam, and have about 10 more questions that were educated guesses (ie, eliminated a sure wrong answer and best guess between remaining two). During practice tests, I have a weighted average of about 65%. During practice tests, as well, I have about 10-15% of questions that I thought were sure-things that turned out to be wrong due to trapping.
Bottom-line, the overwhelming impression is of a non-monstrous test that could have been full of traps. Also, the overwhelming sensation was that it was tight on time. On the AM, I went within a minute of having to put the pencil down; on the PM, had about 7 minutes to spare, but at that point, was out of energy.
I have no idea if I passed or not: the fear that there may have been traps is KILLING me. Yet, I feel like there was absolutely NO time to devote to reviewing each question; I felt lucky each time I felt confident to put an answer down, marked it accordingly (check again, guess, short explanation etc), and moved THE HECK on to make it on time before proctor called “Put your pencils down.” I have no idea what mess I will be in the morning of the answers.