Must certainly much harder. The exam was different to the practice exams IMO, and CFAI were very devious with their questions, I have since found out. I found with L1, you didn’t need to know absolutely everything, level 2 you do. I flew through level 1 with >70% in all but ethics and alt investments (2qns on). But I dont feel confident with passing L2 even though I studied my butt off. I felt confident going into the exam but not coming out. Someone on here said that they now have a new found respect for L2, so do I. yes its do able. But whoever made that remark about pass rates, what an idiot. Dont forget that a large no of the L2 candidates that make the pass mark (40% of exam takers) have already failed the exam previous year). With L1, people fail and give up. The two pass rates aren’t comparable.
I feel the same.
to compare to animal house, L1: “toga party!” L2: “do you mind if we dance with your dates?”
chedges Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Must certainly much harder. The exam was different > to the practice exams IMO, and CFAI were very > devious with their questions, I have since found > out. > I found with L1, you didn’t need to know > absolutely everything, level 2 you do. > I flew through level 1 with >70% in all but ethics > and alt investments (2qns on). But I dont feel > confident with passing L2 even though I studied my > butt off. > I felt confident going into the exam but not > coming out. > Someone on here said that they now have a new > found respect for L2, so do I. > yes its do able. > > But whoever made that remark about pass rates, > what an idiot. Dont forget that a large no of the > L2 candidates that make the pass mark (40% of exam > takers) have already failed the exam previous > year). With L1, people fail and give up. The two > pass rates aren’t comparable. I was warned by some people that if you get <70% in ethics than you fail the exam, atleast for L1. From what you are saying, they graded you < 70% in ethics yet you are a L2 candidate. So was my info incorrect?
riyaz Wrote: > I was warned by some people that if you get <70% > in ethics than you fail the exam, atleast for L1. > From what you are saying, they graded you < 70% in > ethics yet you are a L2 candidate. So was my info > incorrect? Isn’t the answer actually in the question?
riyaz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I was warned by some people that if you get <70% > in ethics than you fail the exam, atleast for L1. > From what you are saying, they graded you < 70% in > ethics yet you are a L2 candidate. So was my info > incorrect? This is not correct. There are people that have passed, at all 3 levels, with <50% on Ethics.
riyaz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Friends, > > After reading all posts and insults on this board, > I decided to review the whole mock exam for L2 > provided by CFA institute. > > While any comparison with 65 year old aunt or > hurricane level 5 is obviously inappropriate, I > think the best way to describe Level 2 is exactly > that. CFA Institute has aptly named the Level 2 > as Level 2. > > If Level 1 is Level 1, Level 2 is Level 2. They > take everything truly to the next level. If I pass > L1, I will have an unpleasant year of lot of > studying ahead of me. > > Assuming I pass L1 and give L2 next year, one > thing I am sure of. Whether I pass or fail L2, the > year of studying I will have ahead of me for L2 is > going to add whole lot of truly valuable knowledge > in my brain. That in itself makes it worth it. > > If I fail L1, then I am not very inclined to > reappear for it in Dec, cause I don’t want to > waste my time reading the same material again. > > If any potential L2 candidate is reading this, I > hope it gives an idea of what lies ahead. > > My favorite topics are: FSA and Derivatives. I > also am very much interested in Equity and FI > valuations. If you do not like these topics and > are still going to try L2, then you better be > either > a) Genius > or > b) Very hard working > > Although genius is 1% inspiration(intelligence?) > and 99% perspiration(hard work?), so that makes > everyone potentially a genius (as long as you are > willing to do the hard work) Dude. No offense, but there is a reason this is the L2 forum. Know your place and come back here to activily post when you actually pass L1. Until then ask a few basic questions about L2 on this forum and I’m sure you will get the answers your looking for. But, please don’t trash our forum with your opinions on what L2 is like or what type of person you need to be to pass it. Otherwise, be prepared to get majorily ripped on.
riyaz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Friends, > > After reading all posts and insults on this board, > I decided to review the whole mock exam for L2 > provided by CFA institute. > > While any comparison with 65 year old aunt or > hurricane level 5 is obviously inappropriate, I > think the best way to describe Level 2 is exactly > that. CFA Institute has aptly named the Level 2 > as Level 2. > > If Level 1 is Level 1, Level 2 is Level 2. They > take everything truly to the next level. If I pass > L1, I will have an unpleasant year of lot of > studying ahead of me. > > Assuming I pass L1 and give L2 next year, one > thing I am sure of. Whether I pass or fail L2, the > year of studying I will have ahead of me for L2 is > going to add whole lot of truly valuable knowledge > in my brain. That in itself makes it worth it. > > If I fail L1, then I am not very inclined to > reappear for it in Dec, cause I don’t want to > waste my time reading the same material again. > > If any potential L2 candidate is reading this, I > hope it gives an idea of what lies ahead. > > My favorite topics are: FSA and Derivatives. I > also am very much interested in Equity and FI > valuations. If you do not like these topics and > are still going to try L2, then you better be > either > a) Genius > or > b) Very hard working > > Although genius is 1% inspiration(intelligence?) > and 99% perspiration(hard work?), so that makes > everyone potentially a genius (as long as you are > willing to do the hard work) My thoughts were identical to yours…up until about 9:03 on June 6th. I began studying in October for Level II and as a result felt I had a very good understanding of all the material, there really wasn’t anything that was difficult to grasp. When it came time to take the mocks, I scored in the high 80’s in both the AM and PM. My confidence couldn’t have been higher. Sitting here today, I give myself about a 60% chance of passing Level II. Not from lack of preparation or because of difficulty of the material, but moreso because of the difficulty of the exam. WAY different than any schweser or mock that I took leading up to test day. We still have multiple questions on this board that no one can definitively answer even with their books out in front of them. All in all, I would say that the Level II material is a little more difficult than Level I, but the Level II test is a beast in comparison. Best, TheChad
same here. I felt great going in, then after those first two vignettes, I actually smiled and muttered, so this is what they were all talking about.
boston21 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > man i would love to see this brilliant mind > attempt the ethics on the real exam this year… > congrats on getting all 6 of them correct on the > practice exam…that’s like feeling good about > counting to 10 heheheheh lol
TheChad Wrote: > > All in all, I would say that the Level II material > is a little more difficult than Level I, but the > Level II test is a beast in comparison. > 100% agreed. Level 1 was a beast because I had zero finance background. I’ll never forget trying to learn quant for the first time, I felt like I was reading a foreign language. But when I eventually got a feel for it after a ton of work, the L1 exam was fairly straightforward. L2, I feel like I had a better understanding of the material than L1. But the actual test (exam day test not mock tests) is way, waaaay, harder than L1.
Wait until L3 comes around. Then you’ll feel the pain. If you need constant assurance of your abilities (esp before it has happened), then you’ll be fooling yourself for most of the way. But heck, who knows, you might just do it, but I wouldn’t count your chicks before it has hatched. This is from my experience: L1 is more of a endurance test. You really have to be able to pull it out on a superficial level when called for to get the chance to pass. The sheer volume and spread addst that challenge. If you understand it indepthly, then you definitely have more of a chance. L2 is definitely more in depth, and in the exam, if you do not remember one section really well, you could the lose points for most of the section of 6 questions/18 marks (or if you guess, can get some). Either way, just because you felt the confidence in L1, and may have had good marks (ie for me, I got everything above 70%), you will have to work obviously as hard, but really work harder to get to the underlying message/logic of the LOS. And even then, very few get many sections over 70 (including myself). With L1, where you could come back and write it next year, this will up your chance again, due to the more mechanical nature of it. In L2, that is not the case. Because they focus on less things, but more of it, the very next year, you could find yourself in the same boat of that sinking feeling but in different sections. The panic mindset sets in alot more easily and abruptly of ‘This is unfair, I did L2 last year, and what the heck is this, I prepared more this year but they’re pulling the same thing as last year, but in a different way. This is not fair’ In L3, it is even more of the case in regards to the exam, but the readings are unexpectedly more of a breeze (highly deceptive).
riyaz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Friends, > > After reading all posts and insults on this board, > I decided to review the whole mock exam for L2 > provided by CFA institute. > > While any comparison with 65 year old aunt or > hurricane level 5 is obviously inappropriate, I > think the best way to describe Level 2 is exactly > that. CFA Institute has aptly named the Level 2 > as Level 2. Wow someone just can’t take a joke. Some people are seriously just too uptight. There were a lot of good comments as well; why can’t you just bypass those that are joking around? In all seriousness, I think most people summed it up correctly: Level 2 is indeed harder (both the depth of the material and the vignette style exam). I just recommend doing lots of practice problem so you can feel comfortable w/ this format.
Smarshy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Level I is a tiny, gentle hiccup at a swanky > cocktail party followed by a smile and a polite > “excuse me”. > > Level II is kneeling on all fours in front of a > dirty toilet in a highway truck stop voilently > throwing up blood and bile while you scream for > God to simply take your life and end the > suffering. Meanwhile there is a fat trucker > standing behing you with an evil grin as he begins > to unbuckle his belt with one hand while he locks > the door with the other. <3
$5 says this guy doesn’t make it past L1. And for what it’s worth, the difficulty of L2, in my opinion, was not as hard as the consensus makes it out to be. That being said, I can respect that if one tries to fit it all in in a month or two leading up to the exam, it could seem impossible. I prepared myself adequately and feel somewhat confident that I passed. 431.25 hours of preparation logged to the .25 hour since October seemed to be sufficient, but I will tell you on August 18th whether or not this is true. Any action takers in NYC?
I say he’s not smart and puts accrual tranche…oh wait
kyle1984 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 431.25 hours of > preparation logged to the .25 hour since October > seemed to be sufficient, but I will tell you on > August 18th whether or not this is true. > holy crap to the quarter hour! i logged my hours each night (counted half hours but not quarter), totaled 396. in my opinion 250 is a joke unless you’re a genius.
legacy01 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Clearly there was no maturity portion of the level > 2 exam because almost everyone here would have > failed it. > > I have the ingredients to pass Level 2, the > evidence is right here. > > 1. Think very highly of yourself, on top of > thinking you rule the internets. > 2. Be unhelpful to others who were once in your > position. > > I can pass too, if only I could come up with a > clever metaphor for comparing level 1 to level > 2… Agree with your post. But I would say… L1 – Airplane L2 – Snakes on a Plane
jsjrcomcast Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I say he’s not smart and puts accrual > tranche…oh wait LOL “…oh wait” too funny! AlwaysBeClosing Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > holy crap to the quarter hour! i logged my hours > each night (counted half hours but not quarter), > totaled 396. in my opinion 250 is a joke unless > you’re a genius. Couldn’t agree more that 250 is a joke. No matter how well you retain information I think more is necessary. For those that have passed L2 with 250 or less, congratulations, but I feel it’s difficult to really understand the entire body of knowledge in this time frame and I question if you would pass had you been tested on say 1000 questions covering everything. Again, regardless of your level of intelligence, reading retention, etc. (I was hesitant to post this because I know this is going to turn into the “hours debate” as it has in other threads…hopefully not, though.) Yeah, regarding the .25 hours, I kept a tally on every page of my notebook in the top corner every time from open to close. Everyone’s got their own methods of staying honest; that was mine. Congrats on your 396, a very respectable sum. Hope we both passed!
As a retaker of Lv2, I won’t say it is same with Lv1 with a little bit effort. Not fair… I can’t remember how I passed my lv1… but what I can see is that in a single sentence, it is extremely hard to create a trap, a trick, CFA would give you, so everything is pretty straightforward, there are only most likely, least likely, those stuffs. However, in lv2, with a case, CFAI could actually put a lot of information there to distract you. You need to know your knowledge fair and square. Not just remember the formula and basic concepts but able to understand it. For those two exams, I believe CFAI starts more to apply the knowledge rather than sticking with what was traditionally tested with big volume, a lot of calculations. Now it is more like how do you apply the knowledge. For anything you are not sure, CFA would punish you with that. Like PVGO question I missed in exam, because I can’t remember using E0 or E1. After exam, you never know whether you pass or not, because even you find an answer to fill, you never know whether that’s a trap everyone just falled into. No matter how we confirm each other with a right answer, it would always be CFAI standard answers counts. So hard to say that someone would be guaranteed to pass the exam Lv1 is just an introduction Lv2 is where you really learn those valuation method in more depth(will say that would give you an expert skill)