Just out of interest - What is the general perception in this forum on which level is the hardest to overcome? I thought it was Level 1 but it now seems like it might well be Level3 Is that the case?
level 1 is a joke. i got gassed when i passed, but now that i started level 2, i realized that i will probably be in this program for 10 years
Each level had it’s own unique difficulties. Level 1 was a challenge because I’d never taken a test of that magnitude before, so learning how to study so much material was a struggle. Level 2 was challenging because the material was more difficult. So while I had knew how to study for the CFA exam, I struggled more with the concepts. Level 3 was a challenge because of the essays and because there was a lot of material that I’d never seen before. In hindsight I would say the level 1 was the easiest. I had seen most of the material in undergrad or grad school. My scores would agree with this, they were the highest on level 1.
- willy
Compared to 2 and 3, 1 is amateur hour. I’d say 3 edges 2 for toughest, because in June 2008, at least, they didn’t take any prisoners in the morning essay section.
Used to be 2, 3, 1 but judging from the last two years it’s pretty clear that it’s 3, 2, 1. There were some really smart people this year (people who had absolutely no trouble at all with L1) who walked out of L3 sure that they failed, leaving multiple questions blank, ready to storm CFAI over an impossibly difficult exam. The passing rate on L3 is just barely higher than L1 and the group taking it is much more selective (i.e., they have already passed L1 and L2 and know how to pass these exams).
1 is way easier than 2