CFAI did it again July L1 22% passed

Now… ahem. It’s like…. I don’t know like… never knew this …. Maybe like…. MM like….God set the MPS

( Do not mean to be a jerk but this now requires introspection. It’s a tectonic shift that’s happening. A new paradigm)

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Honestly I think the lower number of questions possibly is making the knife’s edge that much sharper. Perhaps in a way that even test designers didn’t anticipate. Just my 2c from taking the L3 CBT. Haven’t personally taken the L1 CBT though.

22%? Good grief!

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You bet you did not take the L1 CBT😜

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Mark Meldum posed an interesting question after the May 2021 pass rates hit historic lows - trend or (one off) event? After today’s July 21 pass rates hit another historic low, I’d say we’re more likely witnessing a trend than a one off event when it comes to passing CFA exams. Whether it is due to increased difficulty (higher MPS), COVID stress/stress from delays due to COVID or the awkwardness due to CBT, I am not sure.

Are there additional exam results coming out for level 2-3 over the next few weeks? Was there a July sitting for those too?

In all fairness we must discard 2021altogether. See here’s the thing. 6 windows for L1 this year . What do you expect ?

They can only let that many candidates pass through the gates of hell

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I believe the next L3 after May 2021 was August, it’s every 3 months based around Feb-May-Nov insofar as I know at least.

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Agree on the 6 window premise… except one thing… we have to see how much candidates in total will apply in 2021. If there is greater than average number, then the pass rate is valid for me. If there is the same number of candidates, then either everyone has become lazier and dumber (which I fairly doubt) or it has become quite a challenge to pass.

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I’ll be honest, and this is only worth as much as the paper you can print this on, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these low passing scores don’t surprise the CFA Institute as well. A passing rate in the 20s means you kind of can get stuck at that level despite your best intentions to pass multiple times. Each exam sitting is expensive.

If there’s a 40-50% pass rate, you look at the exam takers and can say this group is the best.

If there’s a 20% pass rate, then in my opinion you look at the exam makers and can say the exam has some factors to it that can be improved because there is an apparent disconnect.

I obviously don’t have insight into the Institute but I’d be surprised if this is an intentional “meat grinder” it sems possibly an accidental one that they will need to figure out how to solve without making questions easier. Probably by adding more questions back to the test and giving an hour break again. Who knows, let’s see. Just thinking aloud.

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Elder… question standards may not have changed. The bar has surely been raised. You would not believe but the MPS and the 90 percentile has not much difference vertically.

On a very different context, Incould have lived with this had this been an FRM L1 exam. The FRM questions are intentionally tough, very tough so much so that the MPS hovers around mid 50s. Yesterday the FRM Part 1 for July came out and though it is sometime before the actual pass rates are bloated by GARP… I would be surprised if GARP behaves akin to the CFAI.

Maybe the CFAI is sending a strong signal… like an alien :joy: … possibly 10000 light years away that we are yet to decode. Interesting.

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Outlook is bullish for non-Kaplan prep providers in any case!

Wow brutal.

If I were starting today I’m not sure I would take CFA. With a 50% passing rate I reckoned I could beat out half the candidates. But with 22%, that means only the super-smart super-studiers will pass, and since I never studied more than 200 hrs per exam that would mean I’d have to double or more my studying time to stand a chance.

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Where are the Level 1 peeps on the forum? I only see Charterholders posting in this thread :wink:

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Maybe if the redditers spent more time here they would score better on the exams instead of failing in historic proportions.

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Absolutely Elder ! Reddit is all about bashing CFAI and is rife with negativity. I have not come across a single educational thread there. AF helped me in my days and I strive to give it back in whatever minuscule way possible. Have been doing this for the past so many years.

The vibes are very negative unlike the AF.

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Funniest thing I have seen all week! Taking the test in November. I hope it sucks even more!!

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Well said, honoured elder!

Anyone know if there are additional level 2 or 3 test results coming out in the next few weeks for July sittings?

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There will be level 1 and level 2 results in mid October and level 3 results in the beginning of November. Of course, these are just approximations.

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Hey guys, I cleared L1 with 90 percentile and need your help for L2 from the charterholders as here most are charterholders.

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Great job! My main tip for L2 is to take 7 or more mock exams. You can break each mock exam up into half day sessions each day, so you don’t burn out taking 7 full day sessions at a time. I generally tried to take 2 exams per week but I only took half an exam each day, then the next day I would study how I did on it and write notes as needed. The third day I would take the second half of the exam etc. Study all the questions you get wrong, turn your weaknesses into strengths. Definitely take the official CFA mocks on the Institute’s website.

Mock exams are the key to passing levels 2 and 3 in my opinion. For level 3 I took 12 mocks (splitting up into half day sessions again). Do the CFA Learning Ecosystem MCQs during your readings, they are better than Schweser Qbank questions and written by the Institute. But switch over to mocks about 6 weeks out from your exam date and do as many as you can. Then you should score in 90th percentile for level 2 also. I accomplished that using this method myself.

Do you need to take this many mocks to pass levels 2 and 3? Maybe not. Will you smoke levels 2 and 3 if you take many mocks and avoid retakes? Yes in my experience. By splitting mocks into half day sessions, you can avoid burnout. And nothing is harder than retaking an exam, I would think. That requires a lot more energy, time and courage than simply taking a few extra mocks to ensure a first time pass.

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

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Thanks a lot The Elder for the advice, sure I’ll follow it. I am also of the same opinion about the mocks and EOCs of Curriculum. Will self study work for L2 or take help from any TP?

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