This is the weird thing about multiple choice, isn’t it? Randomly select answers and get 33% or try to act smart and get zero.
I also picked B whenever had to guess and to my surprise the total number of Bs were only 24, i.e. quite close to randomness.
I put double B in 2 places just one after another and that was compromise under Forum’s influence because, imo, B wouldn’t be the best solution.
It happened to an African test center, some 300 exams were lost. Google it.
I felt more confident walking out of AM than PM. But that s also because the very last two PM questions just threw me off… I felt like the part of the brain with those two formulas was just erased and I had to guess. Some parts of PM felt so easy to the point that now I am wondering if there were traps or I have not been careful reading the tasks. Nevertheless, some questions were just “what?” For one, I clearly remembered the formula and ruled out all 3 options. Skipped it, thinking, let me get back to it with a fresh head. Got back, thought through that question like 10 minutes total (3 times during the PM session), and just picked something that seemed more plausible. Goddammit, CFAI, hope you did not have typos there.
With AM, I was surprised seeing the post from a guy finishing it in 1:45, because although I felt like knowing what to say for about 70% of the questions and literally writing non-stop, still took me 2:50. Had to go back to a couple section I had skipped. But in general, AM didn’t feel that scary. While English is not my first language, I write in cursive which probably allowed me to finish in time, but I can see people running out of time if typing in their responses. One question was where I was really unsure if they had a typo in the number. Hope the steps I wrote down will give me some partial points.
To sum up, I felt less confident that walking out of L2 last year (but then I scored 70+ in every section), but more confident than 2 years ago when I failed L2 with band 6 (barely studied though). Overall, probably because I have no clue how AM will actually be scored, and because English is not my first language, L3 seemed harder than L2. Glad I did not underestimate it early on, at least I think so.
AM was quite manageable but PM was somewhat unexpected. I would not call PM the “hard” but, some less anticipated staff appeared which shook my confidence. I blind guessed 3 - 4 questions which were so easy if one could recall very basic formulas; there was no way to solve them with poor reason or common sense, without remembering formulas. Ethics was tricky as always and I’m sure I made some mistakes in that section. Anyway, I will be surprised not to pass. My estimation of chances: 75 pass/ 25 fail.
Hi everyone, nice to see you again.
AM - Fair but time intensive
PM - Fair
I felt AM exam OK with few curve balls like Q1. However, I’m just disappointed with myself for not executing in the best manner. Even after doing AM exams up to 2009 I got hung up at Q1 part a and wasted my time. I solved other questions in a fair manner I guess but lost 8mins of PM-Ind calculation question due to time which I could solve even verbally. Can’t tell you guys how much I’m hating myself for it.
In the PM, many questions were straight definitions, you know it or not, I believe CFAI wants to force candidates to study their materials and perhaps in coming years they would have more questions like that. I found majority of questions pretty doable but there was one calculation question that I can do even while sleeping but I perhaps spent 15 20 mints on it but it wouldn’t show up as an answer choice. Also, I prepared somewhat for GIPS but dropped the calculation question I thought would be the last thing they would ever ask but oops it was there, I just knew the formula and not sure whether I applied it correctly.
I consider myself as someone who possess very poor memory, but guys I remember 57/60 PM questions. I got 9 confirm wrongs, 10 doubtful, 3 unknowns that I couldn’t recall. So 38/60 is not a good score IMO.
I think I would be a borderline pass because of leaving blank 8mins sub section and two or three sub sections I had no idea about (but still did it) and in the PM I think I made too many mistakes that may not makeup for weak AM.
I pray I pass but if I fail it better be band 6 or 7 but not 10!
they should disallow pencils for AM. it would be better for those who like to erase as well. such a waste of time…
Blah
Found AM and PM about the same difficulty overall. For the AM, not especially difficult but wide and deep and so implying to write and turn the pages as fast as possible. Harder than the mock for the PM, my humble opinion
I found it more tricky than the mock. Not a lot but a significant number of curve ball/tricky questions, especially the ones with calculations. I am surprised to see that people there did not (on average) noticed that also, even if some questions may appear tricky (easy or not) for some people and vice-versa.
I notably agree with the fact that the institute put a lot of “you know or you don’t questions” (more on the pm), to “invite” CFA candidates to study the curriculum (more) deeply.
To be honest, I think it will be a 50-50. I miss time to finish AM (miss 2-3 questions) and got only 15mn on PM to go back to 50/50 questions and 2 full randoms. Made 2-3 changes.
I did not expect my PM to save my AM. Conservative estimation lead me to a low-mid 60 AM and a 70 PM. So it is not really a “damage control AM - bursting 80+PM strategy” but a more balanced allocation 
We will see!
Anyway, congrats to all, and hope that everyone will got a brillant pass!
A++
Lol! Anyways I have already counted it as an incorrect annswer whatever it was.
AM: Felt easier than past exams. Flew through it except for a couple of questions where the minutes didn’t seem appropriate. For example, the 6 minute Risk Mgmt problem that required multiple calcs.
PM: Harder than mocks IMO. Caught 3-4 little tricks that were easy to gloss over, and likely missed some. Had to outright guess several times. Even for formulas or problem types I knew, there were minor changes or the calculated answer wasn’t an option (for one). Felt completely numb for the middle third of the test.
Estimates
AM: 70-80
PM: 55-65
Overall: 60-67. Either barely Passed or Band 9-10 Fail
Test was probably the 2nd easiest exam since 2013. All you had to do was focus on last 4-5 years of mocks and pound them into your head and you would have passed.
No excuses
Study correctly
Study effeciently
Dr. Heatherington, that you?
Haha, the outcome will probably surprise you, you will likely pass PM and score worse in (or even fail) the AM.
it’s almost always the case…
NANA
I am so sorry to hear that… sleep is so important, make sure you bring some melatonin with you next time, actually I hope there won’t be a next time for you!!
Try to enjoy the summer before the result comes out.
BEST OF LUCK
NANA
I’m inclined to agree with this. You likely need to provide comprehensive answers that truly demonstrate the core concept being tested to get full credit in AM. This is challenging to do across the board given the time constraints if we’re being objective. I’ve already exited the post-exam optimistic phase, going to be a long two months!
I saw comments on an old thread that chances of people on this forum passing were greater than the average for all takers. I.e., the pass rate of forum members is expected to be above 53%.
I took a huge dump in the middle of the am. Didn’t feel that coming on until it was almost too late
well yeah, cause at least people who post here show up to the exam. Some of the fail rates are coming from those not showing up.
I’ve seen numbers around 20% no show for the exam. But that s probably for all levels, l3 is not that bad i think, but still. I have a colleague who did not sit for l3, because she realized somewhere around february-march, that she wont dedicate enough time anyway. So yes, of those who take it, the pass rate is 60+ i would expect.
I guess it speaks volumes as to the difference in how some of our minds work, or strengths and weaknesses… but I am just baffled at how many people think the PM was harder than the AM. I took 6 Schweser mock AMs and the 3 on the CFA site, so it’s not like I didn’t practice the AMs, but still found it significantly more difficult than the PM.
I’m hoping a 70-80 in the PM carries my 50-60 in the AM. I counted 41 answers that I was pretty certain of in the PM (90%+ confidence… surely I missed a few) and 15 that I was at least able to eliminate one wrong answer (50% confidence… a lot of them were decent guesses but not certain). I’d be surprised if I was under a 75 in the PM and would be shocked if it was below a 70. The morning was just tough though. The first question, I’d be lucky to get away with a handful of points and I compounded that with a few mental errors (writing in the wrong box not once, but twice). Overall - I’m confident I’m over 60% but under 70%, so I guess I’ll sweat until 8/8.