100% agree w/HYer.
I think L3 is the most over looked test. It was by far the hardest of the 3 imho.
As mentioned before Level II and Level III are very different. Here is how I would grade difficulty of 2008 Level II and 2009 Level III. Level III AM > Level II PM > Level II AM > Level III PM (comparable to Level I).
maratikus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As mentioned before Level II and Level III are > very different. Here is how I would grade > difficulty of 2008 Level II and 2009 Level III. > Level III AM > Level II PM > Level II AM > Level > III PM (comparable to Level I). I would agree…those are the same tests that I took.
Yeah Level III PM was pretty easy – probably comparable to LI. That being said, you can’t just take the PM!
What everyone is leaving out is the pass rate for LVL III is now around 50%. So after weeding out all the LI novices, then weeding out LII non passers you are left with the best and smartest people in the program and still 50% fail! Without a doubt LIII is the hardest. You have to completely put together many different concepts. None of which are very difficult but without indepth knowledge of any 1 you can end up failing. In LI and LII if you didnt get a concept it maybe cost you 2-3 questions. In LIII they can bang you for 18 or more, just look at the CI question. I say this as a person that passed LI and LII first try and even thought they were kind of easy. I failed LIII last year and feel relatively comfortable that I passed this year. I put more into this year than probably LI and LII combined and still nto 100% sure I passed.
Good point. At L1, drawing a blank on a topic could cost 1.5% At L2, it could cost you 3% At L3, it could cost you 10-30% 1: 6/360 2: 6/180 3: AM section value range
L3 is the hardest. Strongly agree with all the comments above about how it is harder. I believe we’ve reached a consensus of opinion here. There are only few exceptions above.
Representativeness heuristic all over this thread. Everyone forgot what LII was like.
James@Houston Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > L3 is the hardest. Strongly agree with all the > comments above about how it is harder. > > I believe we’ve reached a consensus of opinion > here. There are only few exceptions above. Then the final question is, if by some stroke of luck i pass L2 (I dont know what else could I do to pass L2 if I didnt pass it this year. I didnt leave any stone unturned) Would you say, its possible to be prepared fully for the exam assuming one starts asap. October thru May. For L2 I thought that was enough time, but L3 being harder, is that enough?
riyaz Wrote: > Would you say, its possible to be prepared fully > for the exam assuming one starts asap. October > thru May. For L2 I thought that was enough time, > but L3 being harder, is that enough? That’s plenty of time. You might get burned out though. Pace yourself.
maratikus Wrote: > > That’s plenty of time. You might get burned out > though. Pace yourself. ^^Totally agree. I would focus on “how” to prepare in addition to “when” to start. e.g. the prep for AM essays would need a different approach than the Level I &II MC.
Thing about preparing for L3 is you know, absolutely, what 40% of the questions will be. You know you’ll get an individual IPS question, an institutional IPS, GIPS, and Ethics. If you can nail down those subjects (granted there’s a lot of depth there), you really only need to get about 50% right on the rest of the exam. L2 threw a lot more curve balls at you. Aside from Ethics and pension liabilities you really didn’t have too many SS you knew would be tested.
L2 content is much harder, but L3 the layout of the test itself is harder. L2 I felt like I knew most of what was going to show up on the exam, but for level 3 they can take it many different ways.
“u know you’ll get an individual IPS question, an institutional IPS, GIPS, and Ethics. If you can nail down those subjects (granted there’s a lot of depth there), you really only need to get about 50% right on the rest of the exam” Why didn’t someone tell me this before the exam!!! Sadly I could not nail those questions
Regardless of which one was harder, Level III was by the far, the most enjoyable to study. Personally, I feel the Level III exam was more straightforward than the Level II exam and the material was no where near as difficult. If you took the time to really review each topic and went through all the previous exams CFAI provides, the morning session wasn’t that bad. The afternoon session was much easier than either session of Level II last near (no comparison!).
Ojizzel13 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Regardless of which one was harder, Level III was > by the far, the most enjoyable to study. > > Personally, I feel the Level III exam was more > straightforward than the Level II exam and the > material was no where near as difficult. If you > took the time to really review each topic and went > through all the previous exams CFAI provides, the > morning session wasn’t that bad. The afternoon > session was much easier than either session of > Level II last near (no comparison!). This. No more FSA equations or straight up pricing questions (well, maybe one or two). L3 is about portfolio management. That is, after all, why most of us are here. L3, whether you found it easy or extremely difficult, should exemplify why you’re going through this crap to begin with. If you found L3 to be less interesting than the previous two levels, then you might have made a mistake. Private wealth management IPS notwithstanding.
No, you definitely need to start in September. If you plan on starting October you’re just throwing 7/12th’s of your year out the window.
IMO LIII is more difficult, its difficult to get a LIII pass with plug and chug / mugging formulas. AM and PM are both framed to test qualitative material anywhere from the curriculum.
Level III material is much more interesting and so it seems easier then LII. However, the AM section of LIII is very different then anything you have seen from CFA. A single problem can require knowledge of 3 topics and quant from LI to solve. So all in all LIII is more diffcult.