The cfa website and test instructions both state that the doors will be closed 30 minutes prior to the start of the exam; candidates will not be allowed entrance until the exam start time if they are not within the room prior to doors closing.
For the PM session, I made sure to be at the room prior to the 30 minute mark while many others stayed outside the room to study up until 10 minutes prior to the test start (when instructions began). Candidates were walking in and out of the room the entire time. While this mere 20-30 minutes of extra studying probably did not make much of an impact, it still would have been nice to not have to rush through the break and go over my weaker sections one last time.
Am I misreading the “30 minute” rule? Or did my proctors make a booboo?
Also, I think the 30 minute rule is more strictly enforced for the AM than the PM. So that they can go over the rules in peace in the morning. I’d strongly advise getting to the AM at the advised time.
I don’t think they enforce this rule at all… It’s just to get people to show up early. Would be pretty bad if someone showed up 15 minutes “early” and then got shut out. I know they enforce the final 30 minutes rule though - the one where you cannot leave early during the final 30 minutes.
Do you find yourself languishing around the entrance of the exam hall or do you like to go in a bit early? I prefer the inside of the exam hall…there are so many ppl shuffling about outside making the exam hall ironically peaceful by comparison.
Last time, I tried to chat with the cute Asian girl next to me… but she was freaking out. Also, she kept erasing things vigorously during the exam, causing the table to shake.
yeah…during the break i saw a girl frantically talking to someone on the phone complaining about the exam in hushed tones…i also saw a girl glancing over her notes and cursing under her breath with a coordinated eye roll…i just ate a soggy overpriced tuna sandwich and looked at ppl like a creep… …The only time when i saw a girl smile was around the bathrooms where, on account of either the nature of the business that happens behind closed doors, or a sense of accomplishment derived from the male qeue being 7 times that of the ladies’, everyone was quietly beaming.
haha, thanks everyone. I would think that such strong language wouldn’t be necessary for grown up but oh well. I just feel silly now almost choking on my granola bar and energy drink during the break because I thought I was running late.
I did kind of like sitting in my place and relaxing while everyone rushed about–except there was sticky stuff on the table and I couldn’t get it off; that was super annoying…kind of like dried gum that you tried to remove by erasing if that makes any sense
At my exam as soon as 8:30 struck, a mass of humanity descended down the escalator to the exam hall. There were a couple hundred L1 candidates at my exam. By that point I was going with what I had. It was my first time and I didn’t want to chance it. It was definitely a very interesting people watching exercise (yeah, I had time to people watch, haha). Some people looked absolutely terrified. Others had a calm demeanor. I was ready for whatever may come. People were being let in as late as 10 minutes till 9. I’d rather be in there as soon as possible!
My exam that wasn’t really an issue, everybody was in, signed in and seated by about 20 minutes before, so maybe a handful had shown up after the half hour. I was there an hour before start for both sessions just so I could chill in my seat though. Just wanted to be done.
It is very strictly enforced in the AM. You’re not shut out of the exam completely, you can show up whenever you like. But you are shut out for the duration of the instructions which includes filling out a bunch of name and other information. You will be getting processed then doing that in the AM for about 10 minutes while everyone else works on the exam. That is not optimal. In the PM, as I’ve stated it’s more of a guideline. Even if you are shut out for instructions, they’re basic and you’ll be able to sit right down once they let you in after instructions have been given and get to work.
Ohai, getting shut out in the AM until after the instructions if you’re not early (as clearly stipulated) is not any more “bad” than someone not being allowed to sit because of spelling differences between passport and exam ticket, or having an entire exam annulled for writing 10 seconds to long. It should be a shock to noone that it is worthwhile to respect the CFAi’s policies.
…The only time when i saw a girl smile was around the bathrooms where, on account of either the nature of the business that happens behind closed doors, or a sense of accomplishment derived from the male qeue being 7 times that of the ladies’, everyone was quietly beaming.