I don’t think I could answer a L2 question about anything intricate, even though I passed. Does anyone else feel this way? Is it normal??
Totally normal. Have you started studying for L3? You will see that when you crack the books open a lot will flow right back. Good news is: you need only concentrate on the L3 curriculum - forget L2. I think I had to look @ L2 for Fixed Income and Swaps - but only to refresh my mind of MBS, ABS, and derivatives - I took several notes in my books so it was good to look things over in these sections a bit. But I didn’t spend a ton of time - maybe 8 hours total on L2 during my L3 studies.
I felt the same way mid-June, so you are doing great! I can just imagine how many things you will recall 
Good luck
I was still having dreams doing FCF calculation until about early July… now I feel I’ve forgotten about maybe 2/3 of the material but a lot would come back (along with the dreams) if I were to even crack open a book, I suspect.
It’s normal to forget the material – but you did learn most of it for the exam… so it would come back with review and reference.
I referenced some material for work and couldn’t believe how much is really crammed into the curriculum. 1) how did I remember all that stuff and 2) how was I supposed to cement that into my brain for long-term use!
Long-term use comes with experience - nothing more!
And…that’s why books exist! So we can refer to them!! Thank goodness for the curriculum…back in the day, you had to refer to all those books that make up the curriculum to do the CFA exams. Can you imagine? Having to go to libraries to take out these random books on statistics, economics, Monte Carlo simulation, and immunization strategies? I’m getting nauseous thinking about it…the curriculum puts it all together for us.
Don’t sweat it, once you get into studying on Level 3 some of the stuff will tie and you will remember just fine and sail through it. The curriculum is written well enough too that if there is something that ties to the level 3 material they include an optional reading section in it to knock off the cob webs.
Perfectly normal thing to feel that way, I know I did.
I know what you mean!
I felt like I knew the cirriculum pretty damn well going into the exam but now it feels like it’s all gone.
Most of my colleagues got rid of their books after the exam but I prefer to keep hold of them.
Yes and yes.
Don’t sweat it. You don’t need hardly any of that Level 2 knowledge for Level 3. And if you do, then they’ll cover it again in the curriculum and in Schweser. (can’t speak for any other prep provider)
normal.
I’m a CPA. Do you know what CPA stands for?
Can’t Pass Again
It’ll forever be a mystery how I memorized pension accounting and the numerious other topics that were on that exam.
Totally a miracle that I remembered once
Same problem bro, i FORGOT EVERYTHING. Generally speaking, i don’t mind.
The exception though, is FRA. IMHO FRA is the most valuable topic in the curriculum (at least for a non-accounting major like me) and i really do i wish i could remember the material better. Shall miss FRA in L3
So you see, the evidence that most people forget a ton of it means that one of the real takeaways of the CFA program is to join a club where people willingly suffered together for the sake of a career. This does say something: that you are dedicated and would go beyond what is normal and just doing the job.
For the actual skills and knowledge, you will remember a decent %, but a lot of exact details are forgotten.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Why would a money manager need to remember how to value a swap? Or remember how to do a t- or z-test?
I don’t think CFAI expects you to remember everything you crammed to study for all the exams… but hopefully many years later when you work on a new project that requires valuing a swap or doing pension accounting, you could easily pick it up again quickly cause you spent hours drilling it for the exam years ago.
exam in june. i already forgot most of the L3 material by the time i got the results. sad
I was just looking at some L2 formulas I would jot down on my desk before the exams and some of them look like latin to me. Picking up the L3 material is going to be brutal.