L3 Post Exam thoughts anyone?

There really seems to be a lack of consistency. When I took level 2 it was really straightforward. I did not see anything that I had not seen in the curriculum. Maybe just 1 question I believe was not fair given the stated LOS.

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We’re there any questions that had all wrong choices in pm?

As per 300 hours the August exam MPS was at 56%. I believe this time they’d hike it to prolly 57%-58%. Whatever it is just hope we all make it through this one.

I thought there were…2 questions that even after I came home, double checked the formulas, I still couldn’t get the multiple choice options. But I assumed I was just missing something.

Yea there was a question that had me so annoyed that I actually left it blank. The curriculum explicitly says xyz is higher for xyz method. Question said why should xyz be lower for this method? It was a blatant error. I’m hoping they scratch that Q.

What makes you say that MPS should be higher for the August one? Did u take the test in Aug and feel that this one was easier/fairer? From the comments of everyone here it doesn’t seem that way.

From Reddit it’s pretty universally acknowledged this was harder than the May test. It’s impossible for anyone to have taken this and August.

Would you mind sharing the Reddit link? Thanks!

The August MPS is at 56%. This is based on what 300 hours predicts. This is my first exam since June 2019. I doubt they’ll lower to MPS below that of August. Either same or might increase it.

This was my 3rd attempt at cfa3 so prolly i m in better position to comment on this. My first attempt was poor due to work load n two days of work leave. unfortunately my 2nd attempt may 2021 exam was a disaster, exam proctors were firefighting over my head and hardware/software issues with all candidates. 3 attempt was very peacefully in terms of excellent exam environment n no technical issues. But for sure i can say that the am was reasonable but PM was very extremely hard than all the attempts. Historically i can confidently say tht the mps ranges from 57-59. It might go down 2-3 points due to exam difficulty otherwise the passing rate with be lower than 38%. CFA looks hell bent on make this exam more difficult so my bet is on a lower passing rate yet again and mps 59-60.

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That is what I was expecting too. My exam was not straightforward. Very strange out of the curriculum questions and questions to confuse u (which was never the CFA’s reputation) Very weird. Now I understand why the passing rates have been in the 20s down from the 40s. I guess maybe they thought they needed to raise exam difficulty since switching to computer and conducting the tests multiple times a year.

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I too found the PM section challenging. Sadly, a day after my exam, I tested COVID positive with two my kids. So, the experience has not been a pleasant one. No Thanksgiving celebration with family. I wish I was mentally fit to tackle the PM. Wish you guys pass the finish line in style. For me, I am hoping to get back my health first.

Repeat taker from May ‘21. Agree with comments above, this test was much harder, AM & PM. Very odd mix of easy and hard questions. Flagged 10-15 Q’s each session. Prepped hard, but likely fail, walked out thinking I wouldn’t have passed if I studied 2x as much.

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Usually most candidates allocate same amount of minutes to whole Question set as marks allocated to it. For example, if there are 12 marks allocated to one entire question set, you spend approximately 12 minutes on that. Just guess approximate marks for sub-parts.

The approximate MPS will be around Mid 50s to low 60s - IMO.

August exam was apparently at 56%. Kinda hoping it stays the same this time. There a re lot of people who gave it this time and were supposed to give it last June. Let’s see what happens

ok, thanks for the - respectfully - obvious reply. The real issue is though that CFAI provides a mode of preparation that tends to be incompatible with the real deal: If you switch to a computer based format, then give the students also a CBT mock and not a paper based version that includes questions with differening point values.

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I had abandoned this program and been on and off for multiple years. But this is my first time taking the L3.

Before entering the exam room I was feeling pretty low because I only finished about 3 quaters of the online practice and had forgotten almost the contents I read earlier than a few days. The volume was just too much if it’s the first time fly over.

But I felt better when I exited the exam room. Contrarary to many of what you posted, I felt the difficulty level was in line of the text books and the practice online. My biggest problem was managing the time during morning session and I simply did not feel I have enough time to finish all. I need far more time to finish it. In deed I left a few sets totally unattended. My reading speed is little slow and typing speed sucks. I was wondering how many peole were able to finish all questions within the time. I finished afternoon session about 5 minutes before the timer ended. I feel confident my afterrnon session alone could pass but the shorfall on the morning session was hard to make up. I admire those who can finish all questions in the morning session. Even with paper exam format, I doubt I can finish all. With the CBT, I could only speed up marginally.

Some posts mentioned the MPS. But for L3 how could you get an idea of the MPS? It’s not like the L1 and L2 which could be inferred in some way.

For the CBT, I believe it is good good for L1 L2 takers because you only need to find the answer and click. For L3, it cast more difficulty to takers. The morning session took more time to read and type. With paper, one can glance entire contents quickly and tackle the question felt cofortable for him/her.

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Well none of this sounds particularly good so here’s to hoping lady luck is on your side, wishing you all the very best start to 2022!

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It can’t be 56% or even 60%. My May 2021 score was around 62% - 65%, and I failed, however too close to the MPS line. Probably MPS in May was 66-67%. I can’t imagine them lowering it by that much, otherwise, it is very unfair towards May exam takers.