First of all I sincerely wish all of you all the best, hope you all pass cause I believe all of us deserve to given the huge effort we’ve put forward… For me it all went well i guess except for PM (As expected) and the afternoon session of ethics (the research questions, that’s the only topic i haven’t reviewed in ethics!!!) Anyway, here’s my actual topic: Two hours into our examination, we experienced a power cut in the testing hall. Consequently, the proctors immediately asked us to stop writing and contacted CFAI New York to inform them about the incident. Me and my colleagues waited in the testing hall for updates. Shortly after the head Procter informed us that CFAI New York requested that we remain in the test center for at least an hour, after which the exam will be canceled and performed on another day if the power does not resume within that time. After 40 minutes of waiting, the hotel managed to power the emergency lighting. However, the lighting was dull and insufficient for reading. The Procter gave us the option to continue the exam yet I informed her that I suffer from mild Nyctanopia, or so called night blindness, and that the amount of light is not sufficient for me. I tried shifting to other seats to improve the lighting condition yet with little luck. You could imagine how frustrating the situation was for all of us that day. Because of the low lighting, I ended up skimming through the remaining passages and solving the questions with minimal concentration. I’ve reported my case to CFAI -I totally screwed up in the Real Estate Equity section because of what happened, and I feel that wasn’t fair-. Has anyone of you ever experienced such a thing? or at least do you know how CFAI would handle my case? Any inputs are much appreciated! thanks.
They gave you an option to walk away and do it again later. I’m afraid you don’t have a leg to stand on. You can’t simply have a free option to take the exam, then if you fail blame the light. Bad luck and all that.
I am sorry. I wouldn’t wish those circumstances on anyone after the work they put in. You deserve a fair enviroment to be tested in.
I would call them. Seriously, do it now.
I guess it depends on whether this option to continue was really given and if there was anyone who rejected it.
We weren’t really given an option, there was a lot of ambiguity on how things will turn out, i mean in my case if i really had an option (i.e. if they told us that you either leave and do it another day or continue), i would’ve stopped the exam and left; after all i’ve been preparing for this exam for 5 moths, and wouldn’t want to screw my chances of passing because of “lighting” issues! the “option” was a quick shout for all the candidates “do you want to continue and is the light sufficient?” the majority said “yes” so it was a “yes” to all of us, despite our individual circumstances!!!
Usif Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Procter gave us the option to continue the > exam yet I informed her that I suffer from mild > Nyctanopia, or so called night blindness, and that > the amount of light is not sufficient for me. From your initial post, it seemed you had been given the option to continue/wait. I just need to say - bugger of a situation, you have my sympathy. If you weren’t given an option, then you may as well contact the CFAI and try it on. At the very least they should give you free entry to the Level 2 next year if you do fail. They can’t really just give you free pass. You’d also need to prove you have what you say you have - it could be a convenient excuse for everyone in Bahrain otherwise!
So I think collectively you all made a mistake but it’s difficult to correct now. First, there’s precedent for the power failure scenario: http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?11,493305,page=1 CFA_Halifax is still around on LIII and they let the group do the exam on Sunday. Someone should have loudly stood up and said that emergency lighting is sufficient for exiting the building during an emergency, not takng an exam. Simply because some group of people can read well in the dark doesn’t mean that everyone should be able to - in particular I read in the dark much better 20 years ago than I do now so inadequate lighting is a form of age discrimination (night vision goes as you age). Now you have a problem and it’s not really clear what CFAI could do. They can offer you trivial amounts of money, free CFAI books, etc…
USIF I’m not sure why you wouldn’t take the option they gave you. I would have stopped. They do give the exam on Sunday, I’m not sure if they do it where you are. In NYC, I know someone that took level 1 on a sunday.
CFAdummy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > USIF I’m not sure why you wouldn’t take the option > they gave you. I would have stopped. They do give > the exam on Sunday, I’m not sure if they do it > where you are. In NYC, I know someone that took > level 1 on a sunday. ok just to make a few points clear… there WASN’T an obvious “Option” to leave the exam. as I said, it was just a simple Q asking us if we can continue, and since there were few who answered yes, that “yes” applied to all of us; I didn’t really know what would’ve happened if I left the exam room, but i made sure that the proctor knew of my situation as soon as we resumed.
Usif Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > it was just a simple Q asking us if we can > continue, and since there were few who answered > yes, that “yes” applied to all of us; As Monkey Magic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_(TV_series) taught me: There is a word inside all of us. We must whisper it to ourselves quietly. The word is… “no”. Saying to the proctor “I can’t take the exam in these conditions” may have met with a better result, but it’s a lot harder to see what can be done about it after the fact.
Usif, I’m sorry about what happened. It’s easy for us to say what you could’ve or should’ve done but the reality is that it was hard to know what your options were. You were focused on the exam and were not prepared for outage. Contact CFAI. Hopefully, they will be understanding …
Hi Usif Like yourself, I was extremely disappointed too at the lack of adequate testing conditions following the blackout (see my post: http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?12,772404). I called CFAI as soon as I got home and I also sent them an email. I guess all we can do is hope for a satisfactory outcome. Good luck.
Nayfamom Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Usif > > Like yourself, I was extremely disappointed too at > the lack of adequate testing conditions following > the blackout (see my post: > http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?12,77 > 2404). I called CFAI as soon as I got home and I > also sent them an email. > > I guess all we can do is hope for a satisfactory > outcome. > > Good luck. thanks nayfa… did they get back to you?
Nope. They said “within 4 weeks”…1 down, 3 more to go 
Ok, here comes my directness: I really, really detest whiners. I really do. Buddy, this world is full of people who die of starvation unless they find themselves something to eat. They don’t feel entitled to ‘fair eating conditions’. Get frigging glasses or get yourself a different line of work. There. Sorry to be blunt.
Four Castles: A fellow test taker is looking for some suggestions or comments on an unfortunate situation, which very likely will not end up to the candidate’s satisfaction. All you offer is a crappy “starvation” analogy and an insult regarding a person’s sight. No need to apologize. I don’t think anybody is seeking your empathy.
goes to eleven: What gave you the idea I was going to apologize?
they’lll give you a $10 gift certificate you can use to help pay for your exam next year.
milkpump Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > they’lll give you a $10 gift certificate you can > use to help pay for your exam next year. i’d give up my cfa if they turn out to be that cheap.