Hello everyone, so bummed out… I sat for L2 the 3rd time and didnt pass again… here my story and I would like to hear thoughts from others who are in the same position. 2007 Dec L1 Pass (CFAI Texts only) 2008 L2 Fail band 3 (CFAI Texts only, managed to read about half the books) 2009 L2 Fail band 4 (CFAI Texts only, read it all) 2010 L2 Fail band 8 (Schweser Books plus EOC plus very limited QBank) <50 in PM, above 70 in CF, AI, & Econ, rest in 50-70 I know that’s not great, but much better than the two tries before. Now what? 4 years later nothing to show for it but a measly L1 Pass. I am doing CPA right now as well. So I’m debating wether I should focus purely on CPA first and abandon my CFA project completely or put it on hold for a year or go one last time next year! Anyone comments?
jojosf, I can’t see how you can do CPA and CFA at the same time? You are clearly streaching yourself too thin… Figure out what’s important to you… Acct’ing or Financial Analyst and take it from there…
band 3,4 then 8, seems like you either severely under prepared or under estimated the exam
I prepared solely for CFA. I took some time off afterwards and now started preparign for the 1st CPA exam. I would like to finish two by end of the year. And if I had passed L2, I would do L3 til Jun, then do the other two CPA exams until end of next year. I work in Corporate Finance in a Global 50 company so for me to progress in my current job I do need a CPA some time in the future. The Band 3 was due to lack of preparation since it was the L1 in dec. I am not a fast reeader and used CFAI texts only. Made that same mistake again since I thought what better source than the one they give you! BIG MISTAKE! Schweser is so much better in preparing you for the exam. My band 8 shows that I guess. My personal opinion is that I wasted two exams and years on tryign to do it with CFAI text only. But I would like to hear thoughts from other 3rd timers or possible 4th timers.
i know someone who went through her 4th try… i didn’t bother to ask whether or not she passed this time. i hope she did!
Sorry dude.
jojosf, I started this process with you… Level 1 DEC 07 - Pass Level 2 2008 - Fail - Band 7 Level 2 2009 - FAil - Band 8 Level 2 2010 - Pass I have a few thoughts. First, you need to focus on either CFA or CPA. The CFA demands lots of time and if you really want it, then you will pursue it over the CPA. Also, when I look at your study patterns, you haven’t done enough! You need to read the entire CFA Text, review challenging areas in Schweser notes, do questions in the QBank, do every CFA EOC(maybe 2-3 times), take some Schweser practice tests and do the CFA practice test. Sound crazy? That’s what it takes! Look at the statistics of people who start this thing and actually finish. If the CFA was easy, everyone would do it… Finally, it takes a little luck, but even a blind squirrel gets a nut every once in a while… Honestly, I wouldn’t continue unless you are truly willing to dedicate everything. If you want this bad enough, you will pass.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein
Hello cfajjc, I did the CFA Mocks and Schweser Mocks for 2010. For 09 I did only CFA Mocks due to time constraints. I did review most EOC’s twice. I don’t think it was because of lack of effort. My schedule was Mon-Fri waking up at 5 and start studying at 5.30 am-7am. Weekends 3-4 hrs each day. I started in Jan but we have lots of visitors coming (one of them my mother in law) the last three weeks of studying. So not perfect but I think most of the people ahve to deal with stuff like this. So I dont count this as a valid reason of not passing.
I’m with you jojosf… first try: bin 9 second: bin 6 (knew I blew that one) this time: bin10 Trying to decide if I’m giving it a go again or not. I somehow only failed FSA and Ethics this year which have been my two constant > 70’s in tests past. Looking at FRM/MBA route instead. I hate being so dang close though so I know when the ‘early bird’ special is near I’ll probably cave in and sign up…again…
hey quant17, wow… I’m surprised you didnt make it since you got close two times already. At elast i was way off the first two times. Not sure yet what to do, but I hope some more people will comment.
quant17 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m with you jojosf… > > first try: bin 9 > second: bin 6 (knew I blew that one) > this time: bin10 > > Trying to decide if I’m giving it a go again or > not. I somehow only failed FSA and Ethics this > year which have been my two constant > 70’s in > tests past. > your bin6 was 2009, which was really tough for a LOT of people. that year had a low pass rate. I landed that year at bin6 also.
Am with you there. First time I didn’t have time to put a real effort in, but took it anyway. Second time I scored band 8. Tough test as always but it just beat me. Third time I scored band 9. I had a bad day I guess. I had a solid knowledge of everything, just poor time management. Frustrating to come within a few questions and not make the finish line. I guess the incremental effort in sitting for it again is low, given that I have the knowledge base now, but ego is crushed.
If you can bring yourself to try one more time, I think you should try to focus less on the texts and more on practice questions. Do a ton of Q bank and do every single mock exam you can find.
I wrote 3 times and passed this time: Band 9 both times Focussed on : 1) knowing the formulas cold; can’t underestimate this 2) CFAI text and EOC 3) BSAS mock and CFA mock 4) Derivatives and Ethics: I think the key to passing lies here. Derivatives are such easy points once you get a hang of it. Ethics is key too. Goes without saying that if you bomb in equity or FSA you’re in trouble so you need to be strong here. But I think it’s a mistake to take any subject lightly. You need ALL the points. You obvuiously focus on the big ones but yo uneed the outside points to pass too.
you know what they say…4th time is the charm!
darlia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wrote 3 times and passed this time: Band 9 both > times > > Focussed on : > > 1) knowing the formulas cold; can’t underestimate > this > 2) CFAI text and EOC > 3) BSAS mock and CFA mock > 4) Derivatives and Ethics: I think the key to > passing lies here. Derivatives are such easy > points once you get a hang of it. Ethics is key > too. > > Goes without saying that if you bomb in equity or > FSA you’re in trouble so you need to be strong > here. But I think it’s a mistake to take any > subject lightly. You need ALL the points. You > obvuiously focus on the big ones but yo uneed the > outside points to pass too. I think Derivatives is not appreciated enough. The formulas are not short and simple, but if you know the formula, it’s a win. There’s no trick or gray areas like ethics or “it could be this or that”. You know it, or you don’t. no trap. It’s a shame to throw those points away. And CFAI knows people shy away from it since it’s not part of the BIG 2 sections like Equities or FRA. So the derivs section has become bigger in recent years
From the trend, seems like you’ll pass the next time. I don’t know how little of time can you put into to end up below band 8 though, no offense.
jojosf or anyone else in a similar situation: how many hours did you spend on preparation? This will help give newcomers a reality check.
I failed last year band 4. i passed this year. this year I did every single EOC question. I only used CFAI. also did shcweser qbank and mocks plus CFA mocks. really doing every single eoc question is the difference…that means doing out the amortization tables, drawing binomial trees for bonds and options…thats what I needed. Im definitely better off for ir now because when I look at something like OAS, I can see the binomial tree in my head and understand how the cash flows are being discounted and how the option derives its value.