I just signed up to take it for a third time. I failed in Dec 2010 Band 10 and June 2011 Band 9. I literally hovered over the ‘confirm order’ button for 10 minutes thinking about whether I really want to do this - I decided I had to. I initially signed up for the CFA because I needed it for my job. I signed up for a second time because I needed it for my job. I have recently changed jobs and don’t need it for my new position, (it would certainly be helpful and would give me a competitive advantage) but now I feel like I need to do it for me - to restore some personal pride. I’ve pretty much not failed anything before so in the last 12 months I’ve had to take down two rather large slices of humble pie - not a pleasant experience. I’m going to be doing a lot of practice questions. I used Schweser for both of my previous attempts but am going to switch to either Stalla or Elan - which one though? I have done some Stalla practice questions before and I have to say they seem much more like the real exam ones (vs. the overly complex and convoluted (in my opinion) Schweser ones). Has anyone out there who has failed before tried Stalla and Elan? Which do you like better and why? I would be interested to hear from you. Finally, I’ll leave you with a quote: “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Good Luck!! I started the program 6 years ago, just recently finished. Level 1 Failed then Passed Level 2 Failed then Passed Level 3 Failed, Failed, then Passed It’s all worth it in the end! There’s no better feeling than to see a PASS especially when you have fallen. I was always near band 10 when I failed too; there are some luck to the exam as well, depending on how you guessed on the questions you don’t know and what topic areas they choose (applied more for level 2 and level 3). Hope this gives some encouragement.
Also, I’d say for band 8-10. It’s probably around 10-15 MC for Level 1, from a fail to a pass. 10 MC is like 3%.
hey mate sorry to hear but congrats for being able to pick yourself up and tackle this beast again…my personal take is you should stick to the CFAI material as closely as possible
I must appreciate your quest for passing out the exam and wish you good luck. The thing is make it a bit scientific this time. Point out the areas which you find you are weak in. It’s better if you compare your both time results and check your improvements and weak areas. At least grasp the CFAI text book chapter end summaries. I’d recommend if you do ethics from CFAI text books. For Derivatives don’t spend that much time on understanding them it’s better if you retain them. In economics straight away relations are often tested better use the Shweser summaries in doing Economics. I did those economics summaries in June 2011 and got above 70 in it. Spend time well on FSA especially on Study Session 7. This time when you’d be giving the first reading make sure you make flowcharts, bullet points and notes so that it may become easier for you to retain them and revise quickly. Last but not the least when ever you finish yourself up with reading. Do complete the chapter end questions of CFAI text books. They are sort of real questions and the actual questions which are tested in the exam are pretty much like those. All the best and remember we fall in order to learn how to stand up!
up up and awaaay
Can I ask what field your work was in? Why would you need a CFA for a job?
Lvl 1: Failed band 6, Failed band 5, Pass Follow in my steps! However, one of my colleagues, failed lvl 1 THREE times before passing fourth time around. My dept is split between Stalla and Schweser. The two Italians in my team for some reason prefer Stalla - one says Stalla has step-by-step instructions in using the calculator to solve answers. However, another colleague has tried both Stalla and Schweser, and prefers the latter.
what dept are you talking about mpreskett?
mpreskett Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Lvl 1: Failed band 6, Failed band 5, Pass > > Follow in my steps! > > However, one of my colleagues, failed lvl 1 THREE > times before passing fourth time around. > > My dept is split between Stalla and Schweser. The > two Italians in my team for some reason prefer > Stalla - one says Stalla has step-by-step > instructions in using the calculator to solve > answers. > > However, another colleague has tried both Stalla > and Schweser, and prefers the latter. Schweser all the way!! passed level 1, 2, 3 using their notes. Level 3 Schweser notes isn’t as good, but for heavy material intense 1 and 2, definitely use study notes.
if your having a tough time in Lv1 … your in for a rude awaking come Lv2 I wish you the best. Put ur head down and get to work . NO EXCUSES
I’m really liking Elan. They’re giving their 2011 Econ stuff including their practice questions for free. Check them out and take the plunge.