- You are in distinguished company I know a college finance professor who took 7 tries to pass three exams. This guy even wrote a college textbook on corporate finance. (That sounds like an apocryphal story, but I swear it’s true but there is no way I’m posting his name). 2) Nobody will care Everybody seems to have this dread that something terrible will happen when they tell their colleagues, boss, significant other, and parents. What will happen is they will say “Wow, hard test. When are you taking it again?” 3) You will be 6 months older when you get your charter. I was in my late 30’s so most of you will be at least ten years ahead of me when you get it even if you fail a few times. 4) You will get a solid foundation to build on for the next two levels Learning this stuff again means you will learn it better, deeper, and more committed to long-term learning. This will pay dividends over the next couple of exams. 5) You failed a really hard exam Every year the pass rate is less than 50%. In that >50% who fail number are oodles of smart people who studied hard. There is a ton of material on this exam and you have a career and a life outside of this exam. It’s a bear and you don’t even need an excuse for failing. And to those who passed - Congrats and well done.
Correction…#3 - you will be A YEAR older when you get your charter. Level II and Level III are only offered in June. 
I guess the great thing about the CFA is that you can sit the exams unlimited times…though i don’t know if anyone would have the motivation to sit evel 1 for the third time?
Fremantle …you have no idea…I have a friend who’s been on it once every year since 2004 (twice in 2007)…among others…in my part of the world, Lagos, the city and work life is unrealistic, 8(am) - 6 (pm) jobs, average of 3+ hrs of traffic daily…okay, lots of catch-up partying and familying on the weekend if you’re not at work or if you did not decide to run away to the public library because of the social/family crowd…most of us around here got to know of CFA in the early part of this decade…in addition to living in Lagos…cracking the CFA code and knowing what works to pass the exam is a world in itself…using the failed exams as a mock or learning point as Joey said, is, a given…
gangrel Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Correction…#3 - you will be A YEAR older when > you get your charter. Level II and Level III are > only offered in June. Yep - so you’ll be at least 9 1/2 years ahead of me.
Very distinguished company indeed- in the past few months I’ve met several people (a few with MBAs from top-5 programs) who confided in me that they failed the Level I exam and never bothered to take it again. The world is chock full of people who failed this exam. Only a small percent have the guts and determination to get back on and take it again. That’s one of the reasons it’s so well respected- because people in-the-know realize how friggin hard it is to pass all three.
Thanks Joey… Thoses are all good points…
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > gangrel Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Correction…#3 - you will be A YEAR older > when > > you get your charter. Level II and Level III > are > > only offered in June. > > > Yep - so you’ll be at least 9 1/2 years ahead of > me. I wish…IF I passed L1, and I pass L2 and L3 in succession, I will still be well into my late 30’s by the time I get through the program. But thanks for the compliment.
anyone took this level 1 for 2nd time? even more nervous than the 1st time waiting for the result. Ahhhhhhh 30 min left.
yes I have a 2nd attempt…and really more freaking out…
This is my 3rd attempt. If I don’t pass it this time, I’m chucking it. Cant believe how nervous I am at the moment.
Joey - Thanks for the words of wisdom and keeping things in perspective. You are a poor man’s Prozac.
This link was included in Busprof’s ‘Good Luck, and Some Perspective’ thread, but I felt that it deserved a bump.
I was a Band 10 myself in Dec 08. Honestly, I had no idea what/how I would fair for Jun 09 and what da heck I would do if I flunked it a 2nd time…in a lower band. I guess i was lucky this time round… Hard work & knowing your material well is definite to nail this monster. And it’ll definitely help in L2… I have been studying for L1 in parallel with L2 material for this exam jsut to gauge whther I have the slightest hope of doing this program at all. All i know now is I’ll have to keep working till i get there. For those who failed, there is nothing to feel bad/ashamed…this thing is tough. Just keep pushing & you’ll level up in no time!
For those who failed, NEVER GIVE UP. Dec 09 is not too far. In my opinion, this is really a very tough game.
I got a 10. Is there anyway to get a re-score, or is it not even worth it?
Fail! Can Anybody tell me how much will we have to pay to re-register for dec 09 before 21st August ?
690
Thanks ya…
Fremantle & to those who failed this time This was my third time, and I DID have the motivation and I passed, so it is possible to pass on the third try. This is a hard exam and it became a major part of my life. I feel much more prepared for Level II now that I’ve spent over a year studying Level I. Don’t give up! This knowledge is so useful in your career, whatever that may be. These skills are useful even in a career as an entrepreneur!