CFA level 2 and level 3 Passing rate

CFA Level II
#1

do you guys think that level 2 and level 3 in November and in the future would be subject to the same lower than historical passing rate trend with the same degree of severity like what happened in level 1 recently?

#2

yes

#3

Don’t care about the passing rate. Put in the time and you’ll pass.

#4

Greetings friend! It does seem like folks are struggling with the exams lately. Only time will tell whether this will change in the future. But it’s doubtful the CFA Institute will lower the bar. I took L3 in May this year. I did not feel it was any more difficult than the mock exams I studied for, yet the pass rate was lower than historically expected. If you study the material well, in my opinion you will pass the same as in any year. If you don’t study the material well, or if your study material has errors in it that the prep provider didn’t correct before sending out their materials that you accidentally memorized in good faith, there are fewer questions on the exam now to compensate for weak sections - due to the reduced question and time format.

My 2017 L1 pass rate was 43%, 2019 L2 was 44% and 2021 L3 was 42%. Of those three, L1 and L2 were harder exams for me to take than L3. L3 was very difficult to study for, but I found the exam much more straightforward compared to the prior 2 exams, even though it was a CBT exam that apparently had a much lower pass rate than the latest 10-year average (53%). So I think the pass rates are a bit misleading - if you know the material you should pass the tests same as always. Just my 2 cents anyways. TAKE A LOT OF MOCK EXAMS to learn the question framing patterns and trigger words. Don’t rely entirely on multiple choice question banks, take actual mock exams from several providers. Because the way CFAI words exam questions is slightly more complicated than the way question banks word their questions. If you rely too much on question banks, you’re not spending your study time in the most effective manner during the final 4-6 weeks. Get all the question bank stuff done during your initial review period, the last 4-6 weeks should be mocks, mocks, mocks.

Cheers - good luck - you got this :+1:

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