I haven’t had enough time to read through everything… just finished reading everything last weekend.
Did my first mock yesterday and boom 53% (Not considering answer that I guessed). I had forgotten a lot of things plus i was under a lot of pressure.
Just revisiting the 4 major weak areas and will try mock everyday and see how it comes along.
I am hoping to turn around. especially i took a lot of time to understand things. but not sure how I will cope under pressure of 4 days only. I wish I had one more week…
There is a thin line between “‘persistence” and “foolishness”.If i know that i have given my 100% effort (solved around 15 mocks from various providers scoring any where between 75% to 85%,even solved CFAI mocks “2011-2013” with CFAI sample exams scoring again 75% to 82%+4000 schweser q bank question twice)and if still I FAIL then perhaps i am not for this course.You retry when you somewhere in your heart know that you didn’t give your 100% in your earlier attempts but if you give more than 100% and still fail then there is no shame in admitting that perhaps you are not for this course!!!
oh i was nervous before my level I exam too. its natural. practice. review. practice. Don’t spend time learning new stuff now. If there is a concept/s which you do not understand despite your best efforts. leave it. say econ. however for the heavily weighted topics, looked at solved examples from cfai, schweser or mocks and try to minimise your guessing on exam day.
surprisingly for level II , i wasnt as nervous.my 1st attempt. didn’t complete 1st read of curriculum. 2nd attempt band 8. Third attempt pass. The reason why my nervousness reduced was i realised that there is more to life, as pointed above. with a family and a full time job, there were other pressing issues which warranted my attention. I still get nervous around exam day but not like before.
Stay focussed. watch your diet and health. review ethics a day or two before exam day.
ca ipcc- i cleared both groups and almost got an air also but the course is just freaking long…with all these companies and income tax laws…and its not that its conceptionally difficult but just too long…final is even longer
CA final is difficult.I have many friends who are CA’s and they do think that CFA levels are quite difficult.IPCC more difficult then CFAL1?I doubt it but then every one has a different opinion.Pass marks in IPCC if i am not mistaken is 40% for each subject and 50% overall whereas in CFA pass marks is above 70%.I think perhaps you are very well prepared for CFAL1 that is why you are finding it easy.
yes the passing marks are like that but ipcc is a writtern exam so scoring 50% isnt easy…even if didnt study a word for cfa i should technically score 33% cos its an mcq… i am not finding cfa easy either…my practice exam scores have been over 80% mostly but am still not confident
Most of the people on AF will pass Level 1. You are up against alot of people who aren’t even sure they want to take it, or do this as a career. Or alot of people who are only taking it because they have to, to impress their boss or whatever.
I would say the pass rate is closer to 70%-80% when you factor out the people who have no chance and didn’t study nearly enough (not most people on here).
Most people here in AF usually study their butts off and take it seriously and take alot of practice tests, ask questions, etc. This is why most people on here pass, at least from my experience.
lol… I have barely crossed 60% mark in any mock exams. I am pleased to be part of 66% -statistics which says only 33% pass. So Guys stop worrying as there are many people like me around.
Stop worrying. This is by far the easiest of the 3 exams. Half the people in the test room are just kids dicking around so they can tell their parents they are doing something so they stop telling them to get a job.
Level 2 is where the rubber hits the road. Serious people do on occasion fail level one, but only once, and generally because they either just gave it a shot because its give every 6 months to see if they could get away with it or didn’t realize how big a task it was until it was too late.
if you blow it, you only wait 6 months to get back for the attack. Not that big a deal. You miss the chance to try your luck on 2 this coming June but few pass that way anyway (I know this will draw out the “I DID” people. Good for you. You’re special, have a cookie).
Find peace in your heart, start focusing on sleep NOW not the night of, and be your best ally not worst enemy. Mind like water, ready for anything, emotionless terminator style.
Now go study for a little bit, but come Friday at noon shut it down.
And no, it’s not in my tag, but I am a CFA level 4 candidate (getting charter is just the beginning) and a holder of the CFA designation.
I know what you mean…initially I wondered why I even started the CFA process…I was in banking previously (doing M&A) and now I am in corporate strategy / development doing internal M&A for a public company…the hours are much better now than before and I was, quite frankly, getting a little itchy about not putting in a lot of hours at work, thus wanted achieve something under my belt before going for MBA (or even EMBA…)
but I don’t regret it now, i’ve learned (refreshed) a ton - it’s too funny, I was an econ major in undergrad and econ is my second weakest (ethics is killing me…)… probably racked up $200k in tuition over 4 years in undergrad…but I am only spending $2K on Level 1 and I am already learning a lot more
lol! good luck folks, going to go take my final Schweser practice exam and then a CFAI mock tomorrow…taking this week off from work to study
Too tired to be scared… . Sigh…I am really exhausted. In the past 5 days, I’ve spent around 10-12 hours per day studying…and still cannot improve my performance in FRA. That makes me panic because I am not too bad in the topic, at least I don’t hate it …even enjoy learning it sometimes.
Only 3 days to go (my time zone), I will treat myself some chocolates to get more confident. I read somewhere that chocolates make people optimistic. Hope they work.
I specifically registers to this forum for participating in this thread, haven’t got the nerves before, feeling i am too stupid of a candidate comparing to other fellas here
I feels so underpreparred, panic and anxious. Was enrolling in a local cfa test prep for the last 5 months, 3 days a week after work… but to be honest i was puting my best effort just only for the past 1,5 months (yes, no more procrastinating, no more beer after work, no more socializing on weekends), by burying myself into schweser and elan guides every single day.
My biggest regrets was i havent got the time (and guts) to open the CFAI curiculum. It just scares me
Just done a bpp mock, scored a 66%. really crush my morale.
Take from someone who panicked his way to failure in June '13 (band 10). Trust your prep (if you really put in the effort). I can guarantee you one thing, self-confidence is a very very important ingredient in the exams and might be the difference between passing and failing. So my advice is relax, clear your brain and please get 8+ hours of sleep before the exams, because that’s one of the things I planned on doing differently this time around. I thought burning the midnight candle would make a difference. Far from it. So: Trust your prep, Get enough sleep and do some physical exercise if possible, it will help calm your nerves. Good luck to us all.
Wake up at a decent time before the exam and get plenty of rest the night before (good luck with that)
Do not drink coffee! You will have to get up and go to the bathroom during the test. I took 1 5-hour energy in the AM and 1 in the PM session and did not get that urgency “i have to pee” feeling.
Arrange your rides! Last year in the morning of my level-I Exam I had a HORRID time finding a taxi in downtoan Chicago. I literally ended up running half way there before I randomly stumbled on a taxi. Literally everyone in the area was grabbing taxis for a ride the CFA exam. I had the same issue getting home…
Pack a lunch! Last year a bunch of CFA level-I peers were complaining to me after lunch that there was not enough food choices in the area and barely had time to scarf down some crappy fast food. Bring something healthy, light but filling that won’t bog down your mind. I recommend an apple to finish off the meal to help boost your energy level
Wear a long sleeve shirt or a light jacket. It was freezing in my test facility in June.
Lastly, enjoy your night night after taking the test. You’ll be exhausted but very proud, the doubt will trickle in later
Relax, as everyone said. if you fail, take it again in six months. and when in doubt the answer is B. Also if you are reviewing, forget reading the material, just take the practice tests and do the ones that are definition questions. And memorize the formulas, so you can reason your way into the answer.
So Guys stop worrying as there are many people like me around.
. Sigh…I am really exhausted. In the past 5 days, I’ve spent around 10-12 hours per day studying…and still cannot improve my performance in FRA. That makes me panic because I am not too bad in the topic, at least I don’t hate it …even enjoy learning it sometimes.
