Just passed Level II with >70% in everything besides QM (50%-70%). I have had a full time job in institutional asset management for two years but beyond that have zero finance background (history undergrad). I feel confident laying down this marker for anyone looking to take L2 in the future. If you do these two things , you will absolutely pass:
Study a lot (>300 hours)
Don’t spend any time on this dumb forum except to ask S2000 a question.
AMA
Wow!
Thanks!
“2) Don’t spend any time on this dumb forum except to ask S2000 a question.”
Ditto.
To be fair, whilst studying for L2 (started in February, only w/ Schweser, ended up doing 6 practice exams, not a single CFAI question), i came here once in a while, but most posts that i read only make me stress for no apparent reason.
Stongly disagree as people like me visit forum for motivation, tips and strategies. I think calling out AF a dumb forum and only using S2000 sounds very mean. AF is a huge source of inspiration for candidates. For example, monkeymath would have never taken this exam if he wasnt on AF. However, I never ask course related question and most of the time I get where-the-hell-that-comes-from feeling and get nervous and confused when I read others questions unelss its from FRA or CF.
I strongly recommend candidates to visit AF for motivation, tips and strategies.
I agree with HP, putting in the time is probably the best thing you can do. But it’s also about how you use that time–you should aim for at least 300 hours of _ actual _ study time, many people think they study for that long, but in reality alot of distractions get in the way (texting, email, AF).
I also think the emphasis on the mock exams is a bit much. For both L1 and L2, I only took the 3 Schweser Mocks and pretty much used Schweser notes exclusively. It’s more imprtant to use the mocks to find your weak areas and then review the hell out of them. If you can _ understand _ a good portion of the material, and not just memorize it, You should be in good shape. You’re not likely to see too many questions on the test that you’ve seen before, almost all will be slightly different (or really dfiferent) Just my two cents.
Agree and disagree about AF. There are clearly some dumb topics that roll through here and do nothing but distract, but if you can avoid them and stay focused then you’re fine. Obviously agree with S2000 as being a huge asset, but there were other users here too that helped me greatly at times in moments of confusion. The simplifying down of pensions topic comes to mind. My bud tickersu was another huge help, not to mention many other candidates that helped me at points without even knowing it. Thanks guys!
And honestly sometimes you just need a place to blow off steam when you are taking a break from studying. I don’t work with anyone else taking the exams, and people in my personal life certainly don’t know the depths of what we’re going through.
*shrugs*
Lol, I didn’t bother making an account and posting until I received my results for lvl 1 yesterday. Spent a ton of time on s2000’s site though, for the life of my I couldn’t figure out the cash conversion cycle until I saw the graphic on his site. I look forward to asking him some questions while I’m studying for lvl 2.
Agreed ltj, this was a tremendous source of motivation for me and I received a lot of help from both S2000 and others. It’s odd to come on this site and call it a “dumb site” too like the OP did. Most topics that are dumb to you are probably worthwhile to others, much like Wikipedia or Google searches, and the truly asisine convos seemed to happen in the period after the exam to the announced result (hence, there was nothing you could do on the site that wasn’t “dumb”).
I have three friends (besides I) that signed up for L2 this year, and I was the only one who came on AF. Two didn’t even sit (they just blew the testing fee, they would have been better off going to the strip club with $600-$1000 and making it rain) and the other one sat, but didn’t even study the last two months as he lost motivation.
I don’t know about you guys, but having a group of dedicated people saying they are knocking out a section you just bombed is the type of motivation I need (I thrive on that stuff). So, respectfully, I disagree with the OP. AF is a decent site for those wanting to pass L2.
+1, although S2000 is pretty amazing.
Happy to help out where I’m able!
I mostly just read everyone’s conversations during the year to confirm that others are struggling with certain topics also. Makes me feel less alone in the “self-study abyss”. In that regard, I find AF well worth checking once in a while.
Some threads are very entertaining between exam and results also.
Judging by the above comments, I should have clarified this a bit:
If you have a real job and are an aspiring BSD, then you should spend as little time on this website as possible. Every second spent not studying (or getting a specific question answered) is one you can’t afford. Of course, if you neither have the first nor desire the second, then feel free to waste as much time on here as you want.
You have 363 posts on here.
lmfao
Dying. With the exception of S2000 and tickersu (both on here to help others), he has the most posts of everybody on the thread. 
Truth is, this place has value but some posts can be dumb…or, long story short, it’s like most forums. I’ll keep coming back once I start studying seriously.
Amen!
Yup. Check my posting history. Posted a bunch when I first started my job, then got a promotion and had zero time to dick around on the internet. Haven’t been on here in six months.
Well other than now, and earlier, and yesterday.
Zzzzz.