Passed at first attempt with CFAI texts and did around 5 practice exams and 2011,2010, and 2009 CFAI mock exams. Results; seven above 70s, two 50-70, and one 50. It is latter I realized Schweser exams are just stress tests and don’t test comprehension of concepts that CFAI tests. So shifted to CFAI mocks. Have a Google search and find them.
arunprasath Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > workdog3 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > After reading this forum post-exam, I give > myself > > a 10% chance of having passed on the first > > go-round. > > > True. And I thought of ace-ing this exam in > single attempt. Did it in first attempt. Never confident when I came out of the exam. But PASSED with some ugly matrix.
4 attempts…here is the breakdown 2008: band 7 - major skiing accident in Feb. and did my best to pass 2009: band 4 - didn’t study properly and thought I knew everything from 2008 - rude awakening 2010: band 10 - legit studied and used all CFA text and did all EOC and mocks, etc… 2011: passed - did well in ethics and think I got the adjustment, thank the cfa gods for this 
rjs157 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 4 attempts…here is the breakdown > > 2008: band 7 - major skiing accident in Feb. and > did my best to pass > 2009: band 4 - didn’t study properly and thought I > knew everything from 2008 - rude awakening > 2010: band 10 - legit studied and used all CFA > text and did all EOC and mocks, etc… > 2011: passed - did well in ethics and think I got > the adjustment, thank the cfa gods for this you are the man!!!
2 and passed
Third attempt 2008: band 8 2009: band 10 2010: skipped 2011: passed I also did L1 twice and I am in my 40s, full time job, young family so I found it always a struggle to find time to study especially weekends - so I devised my plan to study months before the exam bit by bit. The third attempt was a huge gamble and sacrifice as to taking away time from family who had to put up with it and so I got a lot of flak from my wife but lucky I passed. Now if only she let me take Level 3… Bottom line is just keep on trying - the better your study process the better your result will be. Press on!
4th time 2007: no banding 2008: band 10 2009: band 7 (studied harder than the previous times yet ranked lower, but also doing a part-time Masters and full-time work) 2010: skipped 2011: passed - scored >70 in 6 areas including the big ones (Ethics, Equity, FRA), rest were 51-70
1st time - pass
I just failed Level II for the third time 2009: band 1 or 2 (don’t remember) 2010: band 6 2011: band 8 At least I’m moving in the right direction. I used Stalla this year and fulfilled all the requirements for the Stalla Promise, which means I was promised I would pass! But also means that books and classes are free next year. I guess that means I can’t give up. Edit: in terms of excuses, I work a 60+ hour per week job and I’m married with one child and another on the way, which means that finding time to study either means neglecting my work responsibilities or my family.
2009: Band 8 (Used only Schweser and Question Bank…put in major study time) 2010: Band 4 (Used both Schweser and Curriculum…put in major study time, probably didn’t drill down into the concepts enough because of the sheer number of books to read) 2011: PASS!!! (Read Schweser, Watched a ton of videos, and solved every single End of Reading question in the Curriculum) Advice to those who failed? Hang in there…the pain becomes a distant memory once you pass. I would personally recommend reading schweser to get through the material, watching videos to summarize the material, solving ALL the EOC questions, and reviewing the Curriculum itself in identified weak areas…
Passed! Fifth time was a charm. Although passing is VERY satisfying, I still have the same problems with the exam as before. I improved in 5 sections, no change in three and in one (Econ) went from 70%+ to <50%. I studied econ, I knew the material, why the drop? I think it just highlights the randomness of basing 5% of the exam (6 questions) on one topic that comprised 216 pages in seven reading sections. I think that highlights the problem with Level II, there is too much material.
GPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Passed! Fifth time was a charm. > > Although passing is VERY satisfying, I still have > the same problems with the exam as before. I > improved in 5 sections, no change in three and in > one (Econ) went from 70%+ to <50%. I studied econ, > I knew the material, why the drop? I think it just > highlights the randomness of basing 5% of the exam > (6 questions) on one topic that comprised 216 > pages in seven reading sections. > > I think that highlights the problem with Level II, > there is too much material. well done, congrats. The difference between passing and failing attributed to pure luck is just too much, which puts into question the legitimacy of the whole exam. I am band 10…with a little bit of good luck, I could have passed very strongly…at the same time with a little bit of bad luck, I could have failed band 2 or 3, etc.
I disagree with “pure luck” having too much to do with it. Maybe people get lucky and pass, but I really don’t think people get unlucky and fail. What I mean by that is the people who put in enough time to know enough of all the material seem to pass with a fairly safe margin (i.e. most sections over >70%). The people who are seeing their band number jump up and down over several attempts are probably “getting lucky” in that the year they have a 8 or 9 band the sections they knew were tested, and then next year the sections they don’t know were tested and they got a band 4. If you put in the time to master most of the subjects (which we all know is extremely difficult and may take 1 or 5 tries) then you will pass without relying on “luck.”
burk85, anyone who scores > 70 in all sections is obviously very good and very smart, no doubt. Luck helps/hurts those with less than solid mastering of the material and the test mindset. One vignette of something you know well can make a big difference between passing and failing.
2008: pass lvl 1 2009: band 8 2010: band 9 2011: pass I spent 250-300 hours studying and failed in 2009 and 2010, mainly because of FSA and to lesser degree Corporate Finance, which were always tough for me. 2010 was particularly annoying as I scored 70%+ in most categories, but flunked FSA. I planned to take a year off and sit level 2 in 2012, but decided to try again in 2011 at the last moment. Therefore, I only had about 2 weeks of quality studying plus whatever knowledge I retained from previous attempts. As many noted morning session was brutal. I ended up facing 12 FSA + Corp Finance questions with 15 minutes to go, but must have had few lucky/educated guesses there. Afternoon session was a breeze and I felt comfortable with all topics.
Omar Adnan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 1st time - pass Where you the guy that put out the L2 notes in pdf this past spring? If so, thanks!! 'cause they were very helpful. m
2010 - Band 8 Fail (Studied ~175 hours, half @ss attempt) 2011 - Pass (Studied ~300 hours and took an accounting prep class) I’ve had my “FAIL” score matrix pasted to my wall behind my monitors for the last 365 days. I took it down yesterday and gave it to my gf to tear up. It was awesome. If I had failed I definitely would have sat for the exam again. I will earn the CFA charter no matter what.
Passed at first attempt … AF helps a lot.
skylancer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just a quick consensus, how many tries have your > attempted on Level 2 ? > > This is my last year’s score. Hence this is my 2nd > attempt… > > Level II: Fail > Your score band: 1 Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% Alternative Investments 18 * - - Corporate Finance 36 * - - Derivatives 36 * - - Economics 18 * - - Equity Investments 72 * - - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - * - Financial Reporting & Analysis 72 * - - Fixed Income Investments 36 - * - Portfolio Management 18 * - - Quantitative Methods 18 * - - Its me again, 2nd attempt. This time around, its even better. I put in at least 500 hours of study, and guess where it had got me. Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% - Alternative Investments 18 - - * - Corporate Finance 36 * - - - Derivatives 36 - * - - Economics 18 * - - - Equity Investments 72 * - - - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 * - - - Financial Reporting & Analysis 72 * - - - Fixed Income Investments 36 * - - - Portfolio Management 18 * - - - Quantitative Methods 18 * - - Band 2 So assuming each 500hrs bring me a level up, I will need another 500hrs * 8 = 4000hrs plus my initial 500, it will be 4500hrs. That means I have to study everyday of the year, putting in 12.33 hours. And given that from the exam day till now is about 53 days, I am already behind by 653.5 hrs… Thank God for giving me such a smart brain. Its already impossible for me to pass…
1 shot 1 kill looking back at my scores for mock exams: CFAI 2011 mock: 64% CFAII 2010 mock: 67% Schweser mock: did 3 of them at 65% Stalla mocks: did 3, 78% BSAS mock: 78% according to CFAI standard, I am definitely at the border line. I must say I passed with a little bit of luck. here is why -Pension questions of the FRA are 90% similar to those appeared in the BSAS morning exam. I reviewed a Big blue box in forcasting in the equity valuation text the night before the exam and there it is on the exam the next day.