Hey Sponge is back! I’m pulling for you man.
Thanks. This site gets boring during off study/results time; especially since they got rid of the Off Topic section.
I was pretty relaxed and comfortable with only another week of waiting…til I read this thread. Reading the posts almost gives me the same unsettled, rock in my stomach feeling that I know will come after I hit the link to view results but before it’s done loading. Nothing I can do now to change my preparation or answers, but I’m starting to remember those stupid mistakes I made. Anyway, good luck to all of you
Good to hear from you Sponge - I told my wife that Aug 19 is the day of reckoning. What I didn’t tell her was that I will have the results at 6:00 a.m. my time. So after I check results, I will head back upstairs (where she will still be sleeping) and let her know, which she will not be expecting because in the past I have always called from work. The pure jolt of “PASS” or “FAIL” is brutal. Nothing else is so absolute. Our performance is relative, most things in life have some shade of gray. Even health is relative: “I am feeling relatively well for 43 year old.” Not this. One press of a mouse button and there you have it. Good luck, folks.
“rock in my stomach feeling that I know will come after I hit the link to view results but before it’s done loading.” Well put Vanz – I am dreading that rock.
good point on the ‘success up to this point’ posts - anyone who got to take L2 is clearly a pretty smart person, probably did well in college, standardized tests, professionally, etc…and to not make this cut is a bit of a shock because it’s the first time we’ve come up short, for a lot of us anyway. I’ll own up to it & say this was my 3rd time taking it - and now its a battle of the ego, like ‘I can’t let this crap beat me’. but I’ve also matured alot because of that same experience - and know there are some limitations you’ve got to learn to live with. and in what I do…if I don’t become a CFA, I’ll just hire one!
Sponge_Bob_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This year is the worst that > I can remember, which I attribute to having a > confirmed results release day and having first > hand knowledge that any confidence going into that > day can be shattered in an instant. This is exactly it! I even said this yesterday to my colleague who wrote L2 for the first time. feels like a death watch at this point.
It is very sobering to hear people who have had to tackle this beast two or three times say that they still feel as overwrought and uncertain as ever. For the past couple of months I have been telling myself that if I don’t pass, I’ll just kill it next time – hey, it should be a lot easier the second time through, right? Apparently, that is not the case. I hope we all pass…
sigh so true cosign goes to eleven> The pure jolt of “PASS” or “FAIL” is brutal. Nothing else is so absolute. Our performance is relative, most things in life have some shade of gray. Even health is relative: “I am feeling relatively well for 43 year old.” Not this. One press of a mouse button and there you have it. Good luck, folks.
I think I just gave myself bad Karma. A guy at my office just failed his series XX exam today with a 69%. Thats only 1 question… my first reaction was to laugh. I feel bad, but it really is funny. Of course, it won’t be funny if I have the same result tuesday morning 
Whatever, he gets to retake in 30 days and lost no $ / maybe 20 hours of time.
Hello, First time poster, long time reader. I felt compelled to finally register on this site after reading this thread. Many of the feelings expressed in this topic are the exact same ones that I am feeling. I took level II for the first time this June, and am waiting for my results on Aug 19th, as many here are. After taking the AM session of the exam I was feeling pretty good and grabbed lunch with some friends who were also taking the exam; relaxing during the lunch thinking that my 300+ hours of studying really had paid off. Well all feelings of elation quickly depleted during the PM session; I left the exam feeling like I was kicked in the stomach; the PM was extremely anomalous in my opinion. I know it’s been expressed on here plenty of times before, but two BOP questions, and no free cash flow? I was completely shocked, and everyone I spoke with after the exam shared my same sentiments. Grant it, I left level I feeling unsure, and passed it fine. I hope the same holds true for level II but I just don’t know…if I fail, I think it will crush me. I’ve always worked hard my entire life, never received a ‘C’ in college, and was working for a fixed income shop right out of college, so failing this thing would just be a huge blow to me. It also doesn’t help that I had a dream in which I failed the exam, and looking at how low the pass rates were for level I this year, I’m even more pessimistic now. One positive thing I see (depending on your perspective) is that I’ve yet to talk to someone who felt confident after taking level II. So I have a feeling that the posters on this board, are probably in the percentage that actually put at least the 250 hours of study time recommended, and therefore if we are not very confident, then odds are others are even less so. Not long to wait now.
akanska Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think I just gave myself bad Karma. A guy at my > office just failed his series XX exam today with a > 69%. Thats only 1 question… my first reaction > was to laugh. I feel bad, but it really is funny. > Of course, it won’t be funny if I have the same > result tuesday morning > > Whatever, he gets to retake in 30 days and lost no > $ / maybe 20 hours of time. Laughing at that is pretty damn evil =P I failed my Series 63 the first time too, by 1 question. Pretty devastating since EVERYONE said it was a cakewalk. I had to hold it off until after LII to tackle it. As a matter of fact, the day I took the 63 for the 2nd time was the day I checked my LII score. Managed to pass both, so I went out w/ a bunch of friends for steak that night…
Level II: FAIL I hate see this, but if it really comes on screen, we have to face it.
LEVEL II: OUCH, LET GO OF MY ARM- OK, OK, YOU PASS!!!
I was the same way FxdIncme…never a C in college, always did reasonably well on tests, exams, etc. If you do see the “fail”, don’t let it throw you…this is not an exam from a college course, it is an exam spanning 6 or 7 classes with no partial credit. I can honestly say that in many ways that a CFA exam for LII (maybe even LI) is harder than the entire MBA process (and yes, I have my MBA). If you (or anyone for that matter) sees a “fail” on their LII results, pick up the pieces and push forward. It is tough to hear others proclaiming they “passed”, but remember there is another 50% who failed and many that passed weren’t sitting for the first time. I think it is very telling that only 1 in 5 that start the process actually see it through to the charter - just think about all those things and it puts the difficulty in perspective. FxdIncme Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hello, > > First time poster, long time reader. I felt > compelled to finally register on this site after > reading this thread. Many of the feelings > expressed in this topic are the exact same ones > that I am feeling. I took level II for the first > time this June, and am waiting for my results on > Aug 19th, as many here are. After taking the AM > session of the exam I was feeling pretty good and > grabbed lunch with some friends who were also > taking the exam; relaxing during the lunch > thinking that my 300+ hours of studying really had > paid off. Well all feelings of elation quickly > depleted during the PM session; I left the exam > feeling like I was kicked in the stomach; the PM > was extremely anomalous in my opinion. I know > it’s been expressed on here plenty of times > before, but two BOP questions, and no free cash > flow? I was completely shocked, and everyone I > spoke with after the exam shared my same > sentiments. > > Grant it, I left level I feeling unsure, and > passed it fine. I hope the same holds true for > level II but I just don’t know…if I fail, I > think it will crush me. I’ve always worked hard > my entire life, never received a ‘C’ in college, > and was working for a fixed income shop right out > of college, so failing this thing would just be a > huge blow to me. It also doesn’t help that I had > a dream in which I failed the exam, and looking at > how low the pass rates were for level I this year, > I’m even more pessimistic now. One positive thing > I see (depending on your perspective) is that I’ve > yet to talk to someone who felt confident after > taking level II. So I have a feeling that the > posters on this board, are probably in the > percentage that actually put at least the 250 > hours of study time recommended, and therefore if > we are not very confident, then odds are others > are even less so. Not long to wait now.
Sponge_Bob_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was the same way FxdIncme…never a C in > college, always did reasonably well on tests, > exams, etc. If you do see the “fail”, don’t let > it throw you…this is not an exam from a college > course, it is an exam spanning 6 or 7 classes with > no partial credit. I can honestly say that in > many ways that a CFA exam for LII (maybe even LI) > is harder than the entire MBA process (and yes, I > have my MBA). If you (or anyone for that matter) > sees a “fail” on their LII results, pick up the > pieces and push forward. It is tough to hear > others proclaiming they “passed”, but remember > there is another 50% who failed and many that > passed weren’t sitting for the first time. I > think it is very telling that only 1 in 5 that > start the process actually see it through to the > charter - just think about all those things and it > puts the difficulty in perspective. Thanks Sponge…this is helpful. I’ll make sure to re-read this over and over from 8-9am on Tuesday.
good talk sponge. it’s getting bad over here. i can’t fking stop thinking about the audit committee question that i knew the answer to but somehow f’d up. i hope it won’t come back and haunt me. you’ve got to take all the gimme’s and i f’d it up. fck.
That is really helpful Sponge; I appreciate the advice. If I do see ‘fail’ I will try again, but after all the effort I put in, it would just be such a let down in so many ways; I’m trying to pass this thing in 18months. I guess either way I’m going to be drinking that night, in celebration or sorrow, here’s hoping the majority of us here will be celebrating. Sponge_Bob_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was the same way FxdIncme…never a C in > college, always did reasonably well on tests, > exams, etc. If you do see the “fail”, don’t let > it throw you…this is not an exam from a college > course, it is an exam spanning 6 or 7 classes with > no partial credit. I can honestly say that in > many ways that a CFA exam for LII (maybe even LI) > is harder than the entire MBA process (and yes, I > have my MBA). If you (or anyone for that matter) > sees a “fail” on their LII results, pick up the > pieces and push forward. It is tough to hear > others proclaiming they “passed”, but remember > there is another 50% who failed and many that > passed weren’t sitting for the first time. I > think it is very telling that only 1 in 5 that > start the process actually see it through to the > charter - just think about all those things and it > puts the difficulty in perspective. > > > > FxdIncme Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Hello, > > > > First time poster, long time reader. I felt > > compelled to finally register on this site > after > > reading this thread. Many of the feelings > > expressed in this topic are the exact same ones > > that I am feeling. I took level II for the > first > > time this June, and am waiting for my results > on > > Aug 19th, as many here are. After taking the > AM > > session of the exam I was feeling pretty good > and > > grabbed lunch with some friends who were also > > taking the exam; relaxing during the lunch > > thinking that my 300+ hours of studying really > had > > paid off. Well all feelings of elation quickly > > depleted during the PM session; I left the exam > > feeling like I was kicked in the stomach; the > PM > > was extremely anomalous in my opinion. I know > > it’s been expressed on here plenty of times > > before, but two BOP questions, and no free cash > > flow? I was completely shocked, and everyone I > > spoke with after the exam shared my same > > sentiments. > > > > Grant it, I left level I feeling unsure, > and > > passed it fine. I hope the same holds true for > > level II but I just don’t know…if I fail, I > > think it will crush me. I’ve always worked > hard > > my entire life, never received a ‘C’ in > college, > > and was working for a fixed income shop right > out > > of college, so failing this thing would just be > a > > huge blow to me. It also doesn’t help that I > had > > a dream in which I failed the exam, and looking > at > > how low the pass rates were for level I this > year, > > I’m even more pessimistic now. One positive > thing > > I see (depending on your perspective) is that > I’ve > > yet to talk to someone who felt confident after > > taking level II. So I have a feeling that the > > posters on this board, are probably in the > > percentage that actually put at least the 250 > > hours of study time recommended, and therefore > if > > we are not very confident, then odds are others > > are even less so. Not long to wait now.
Nice post Sponge, thanks. I would strongly concur with you, nothing in my MBA program (which I completed at a good school) approached the drama and challenge of this exam.