There are L1 / L2 comparisons ad nauseam … just understand that:
The format is very different (and more challenging to those who read slowly);
There are no easy sections; and
You need to know all sections in depth - no skipping, or your chance of passing takes a nose-dive
Its your time, money and effort so do as you please
Good luck!
my personal opinion: yes, it more difficult, but manageable.
My own experience: I sat on last year Dec level 1 and got pass result this Jan. So I didn’t start until late Jan.
On the exam day, I finished AM session within 2 hours and PM session within 2 hours and 20 minutes, and got pass.
I don’t have any finance education background, I work on buy side invementments though.
So don’t be afraid, you will get it.
p.s. From Feb to May, I studied about 2-3 quality hours every weekdays, and about 4-5 hours over the weekends, took off from work in the last 2 weeks for fulltime study. (in the mid March, I skipped couple of weeks for vacations).
I have a below-average memory, my uni gpa was below 3, and i still passed:
L1: All>70
L2: Deriv<50, All else> 70
I studied about 450 hours for L2 though. My tip: Get over studying the CFAI books as FAST as you can, to maximize ur reviewing/mock exams’ time.
Not that difficult at all…i took the level 1 exam in dec.2012 and passed it on my first attempt…started studying for level 2 only in feb. Used schweser but did all the CFAI EOC’s atleast twice. In the end when i did not have time to do mocks i just kept revising…you probably wont believe me but i didnt even do a single mock and passed…although its not something i would advice anyone.
I probably just scraped through: got > 70 in FRA, equtiy, CF and quants. Im pretty sure i hit 85+ in FRA and CF
Good Luck 
Yes it’s difficult, yes there is a bias. But what one man can do, another can do. 43% of the candidates did it, and so can you if you put that work in.
This probably is not news to anyone on Analyst Forum, but just in case someone else finds this reassuring, a mentor of mine recently shared the following:
While the Level II exam lives up to its reputation, it does compare favorably to Level I in two respects - 1) the curriculum has a sharper focus and 2) candidates have presumably honed their study skills while preparing for Level I.
I feel one should aim for >70 in all subjects
U will be home
I had the exact same thoughts before I signed up for level 2.
I’m not worried about not passing Level 2, but the exam needs to be shown respect and I know I will have to put a big effort in to pass it.
hold you nerves for the am section, be a champion and ace evening session … and don’t forget to put min 400 hours on yourside … what I did was alotttttttttttttttttssssssss of repitition of concepts. Last two months are the key. Get proper sleep if you can in these two months and try going to gym. Listen to some great music in the morning, get a good night sleep before that and it should be fine 
Level II is THAT difficult and no difficulter.
the test format is harder (vignettes vs short multiple choice), but u can get used to that after some practice
in terms of the material, its much much harder. u are not learning terms or concepts, u are applying. u are not classifying cash flows, but rather u are doing real accounting and calculating cash flows.
lastly, level 1 is covered in a finance bachelors, and level 2 is not at all
I have to disagree. My bachelor’s degree is a Bach. of Sci. Business Economics & Finance from a mid-sized state uni in the midwest. I briefly glanced over the contents of the Lvl 2 curriculum readings and all of the quant was covered in my stats and business forecasting classes, about 1/3 to 1/4 of the equity, PM, and fixed income sections were covered in various undergrad classes, and most of econ was covered as well. I do agree, however, all of Lvl 1 (except for A.I. and most of Derivs) were covered in my undergrad.
Having said that, I’m not going to just glance over the materials, or push them off to the side because I have already taken classes on them. I plan on attacking them as though I have never seen them before.
No. Enough preparation and anyone can pass this exam. Though it is harder than LI it is still not that difficult.
Level 2 is no cake walk neither it is fire walk (too difficult). Although you need to cover a lot of topics but if you put in decent effort with lot of mocks, then it should not be that difficult. Just focus on completing curriculum and then practice a lot of mocks and focus on topics in which you did not perform that well in mocks.
www.cfatutor.net - a tutoring service that offers intensive CFA preparation through coaching
lets look at the main topics
Equity: Free cash flow, residual income, expected return/required return concepts (except for capm) --none are covered in college
Accounting: pensions, multinational operations, lease accounting, – not covered in college
Quant and Econ: each is only 5% of the exam, does not apply, neither section will make or break you
When I say not covered in college, I mean learning a few definitions in a college class does not apply as it will not help at all
I didn’t make mention anything about accounting, however, now that you brought it up, lease accounting was absolutely covered in undergrad. Quant and econ are 5% each… up to 10% each, which potentially puts them on the same weighting as ethics - 10%, AI, FI, Derivs, PM, and CF - 5%-15%… (obviously not all of them will land on 10% in the exam, but you get the point). Saying that neither will make or break you is absurd… Also FCFF/FCFE were covered quite thoroughly in my undergrad…
Generally speaking, I agree with you that much of the L2 curriculum would not be covered in an undergrad setting. However, I took issue with your blanket statement covering the entire curriculum. I’m sure that the more prestigious B-Schools covered this stuff more in depth than mine.
Not _ anyone _.
Looking at their website doesn’t impress me in the least; maybe they’re better than they look, but they don’t look all that good.
Wow, thnx! I’m planning on enrolling for the June L2 exam … I’m not scared, but I do hope to pass again … hopefully, it’s not that hard (ofc you have to study hard and put in a lot of effort!) but it’s not impossible. But, I’ve heard that there are some differences:
http://bit.ly/CFA-L1-L2-Differences
http://www.analystforum.com/article/cfa/5-things-learnt-from-cfa-june-level-ii-2012
And this is the weight area from the Institute compared to the Level 1 - http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/exam_topic_area_weights.aspx
In the poetic words of Ingrid from the UK: “I am quite pissed for the late service I got from my CFA tutor from cfatutor.net. I hope that they can change that in the future.”