Just clocked my 500th hour today studying for the level III exam…
Having two exam cancellations in 2020 has been brutal! But on the plus side the exam has lost its intimidation factor.
Never thought I’d have the grit to do a resit but I guess this is evidence to the contrary.
Man I can’t wait for this exam to be behind me, it’s all good stuff but life really feels like it’s on hold with the exam looming.
Anywho, back to it. Keep on going peeps!
I think this is the hardest of all. Having to wait till eternity. Hope you crush it.
In the same boat… started mocks yet? I’m at that point where I’ve gone through the curriculum and CFAI practice questions for the 3rd time but haven’t started full mocks since the two cancellations came before the mock stage. I have however gone through all the old CFAI mock relevant questions once, Kaplan AM Qbank & IFT Qbank so have a pretty good feel for AM timing on an individual set.
I’ve got the Kaplan mocks, IFT mocks & CFAI mocks untouched. Kind of feels too early but don’t want to review material again… Stuck in Limbo… been reviewing flashcards for the last week lol…
Haven’t started doing mocks in an exam fashion although I’ve been using ‘level III key’ so the strategy has been to read the curriculum, do relevant mock Q’s, CFA Qbank and writing notes along the way of my weak areas. This has been rinsed and repeated so I’ve started writing really condensed notes - 2-pagers, in the hope that review will be nice and easy 
Just trying to mix it up, keep it interesting 
I have reached a point of mental fatigue but somehow managing to carry through. Invested far too much into this to let this go. Cannot come back again.
same here, same feeling on life on hold…
Hopefully no more surprises and we all can get done with it.
Changing the exam format was not a nice move though…
Fingers crossed 
It’s a shorter exam but the content is just as dense. I hope this doesn’t make it harder. Pretty happy I no longer need to worry about my handwriting
The behavioral aspect of studying is the hardest.
Totally understand! I remember when the June 2020 exam was postponed (although I was relived because I was unprepared), i felt like my entire year plan was messed up… It is because I had planned so many things around the exam… Definitely a big exam that w tend to put our life on hold studying for it, and so having it postpone messes up other aspects of our life. Good luck!
Just wondering if anyone is also facing same issue as me where even for 3rd time revision and as u progress, it seems to “forget” those stuff that u have gone through or unable to retent the knowledge after moving from one topic to another? Anyone has good advice on retention esp those formulas? Thanks!
Nothing really different from L2. I find L3 has a lot less complicated formulas (remember FRA, equity valuation models & quants? lol… H model? BSM? thank goodness we didn’t have to try and remember those types of formulas through the deferrals). For the ones that are more difficult L3 formulas I make flashcards and review them periodically on the weekends or whenever I have some extra time. For major concepts, referring back to a quick sheet like Kaplan or Wiley (smartsheet) can jog your memory. I think naturally we all get the feeling that we “forget” stuff but it’s just stored in long term memory and when you work a question or see the formula again you remember. This is one of the key lessons I’ve learned so far going through L1 & L2 and how the learning process works. If you have gone through the material 3 times and you understand the concepts, it’s in there you just need a quick refresh every so often using those types of tools.
I went back and re-did Q-bank AM/PM questions that I did last summer and surprised how much I still remember and pretty much improved on all my scores due to a combination of retention and new knowledge and I would consider myself someone with a poor memory.
I would just use those tools to keep fresh and keep doing problems, running through notes over and over again is not a good use of time, I find just makes you feel better while you do it but by the end you will always feel like you forgot the first topic you reviewed, just human nature. There is only so much capacity that your brain can hold in short term memory that you feel is instantly accessible, the rest is in long term and only accessible when called upon or triggered so you just have to trust your preparation. I think it’s there…
The biggest problem I’m having now is pushing myself to the next stage of doing more problems and starting mock exams because of the fear that we’ll get deferred again so something psychologically is holding me back and also I’ve kind of lost that urgency to study.
i find schweser quicksheet very handy
I believe we won’t get deferred, cause now the location will be in Prometric test centers. I went there to take my SIE exam last summer. If they allowed to take FINRA exams during the core of the pandemic, but won’t allow CFA, that’d be total nonsense.
These are solid points and why I’m creating my own summary notes for quick ques before exam day (or a mock). I want no more than two pages for each topic - still 20 pages right enough )
I feel the same, last two weeks of study have been poor, I’m just not as nervous about the exam but that’s got to be a trap. Need to get focused but am a little like meh. I’d be absolutely gutted if I did not pass right enough so wanting the fear to kick in sooner rather than later
As admiral Ackbar says: “it’s a trap!”
Exact same boat my friend. But I guess what you’re facing is a bit of mental fatigue reading the same thing over and over again. I’m literally hunting for some good question banks to test my knowledge which would guide me better as to what I need to read up on. Any sources ?
I’ve just been doing relevant mock Q’s and the CFA portal Q’s again. I figure there is enough there to get through the test. Might purchase a paper from the white stallion as I’ve read the Boston paper isn’t great.
Where can I find this paper?
http://www.financialexamhelp123.com/product/2020-level-iii-morning-session-mock-exam-1/
It’s a little rich but if it aids with passing 
Congrats! When are you scheduled to take L3? I passed L2 in December and am going to try for L3 in May. I will no where near reach 500 hours, I’m shooting for 300!!!