Dear Mr. Gaur, Thank you for contacting us. Our policy is that you must use a pen with blue or black ink on the essay portion of the Level III exam. However, if for some reason a candidate uses a pencil instead of a pen, we will still grade the exam. Please note, however, that you should use a pen, not a pencil, on the essay portion. Please contact us again if you have any further questions or requests. Regards, Pat Watts Client Services Visit our website at www.cfainstitute.org Learn more about the CFA Program at http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/index.html Learn more about the CIPM Program at http://www.cfainstitute.org/cipm/index.html -----Original Message----- From: Anish Gaur Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:51 PM To: CFA Institute Customer Service; CFA Institute Customer Service Subject: CFA Level III exam concern Hello, I would be appearing for the Level III exam this June. A quick concern - I have very well read on the CFA Institute website that either a blue or a black pen should be used for the morning session. However, i have come to know that candidates have attempted the exam in pencils and have actually passed the level III exam. PLEASE provide any insight regarding this dilemma. Really appreciate your help. Thanks a lot, Anish
Classic.
lol. i love that you wrote them about it, anish!
I think without saying it, thier policy on using pen is more about protecting the readability of your paper for the marker. Pencil is going to smudge alot easier as time passes and the exams move through the grading process, making the paper harder to read. So I think what they might be saying is sure, take your chances with the pencil, but if we can’t read it, the onus is on you because we told you to use pen.
Hahaha. Use Pen. If not, we will still grade it. But use pen.
wanderingcfa, as Big Babbu said above!! Good luck all…
So. You all are going to use pencils in morning?
so what you guys decide to use, pen or pencil?
Well, you must use a pen, but if you use a pencil it will be graded.
mwvt9 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, you must use a pen, but if you use a pencil > it will be graded. So are you going to use pencil? I want to know how many people would use pencil vs. pen. I think I’m going to use pencil.
Erasable pen. End of debate.
Dwight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Erasable pen. End of debate. http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-FriXion-Point-Black-Erasable/dp/B001GAOTLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1243204443&sr=8-1
done. erasable pen.
Dwight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Erasable pen. End of debate. cfasf1 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > done. erasable pen. Fine. I will try one of these things, but despite your views on the efficiencies of markets, there is a reason why they haven’t taken off.
Erasable Pens Erasable pens were tremendously popular when they were introduced in the early 1980s. They combine the readability of brightly colored or black ink with the eraser functionality of a pencil. While the pens are still manufactured under names like Gillette Eraser Mate, they aren’t as commonly used as they were before. Patents US2966418 and US4097290, among others, describe these pens in detail. What makes erasable ballpoint pens so different from traditional ballpoint pens is the “ink” – instead of being made from oils and dyes, it is made of a liquid rubber cement. As you write, the ballpoint rolls on the paper and dispenses the rubber cement ink (the resulting mark is known as a trace). Modern erasable pens work by allowing a ballpoint pen to leave a definite and intense black or colored trace which looks like an ink trace, but is capable of being easily erased shortly after writing (usually up to 10 hours). After that time, the trace will harden and become non-erasable. Erasable ink generally consists of 15 percent to 45 percent (by weight) natural rubber that is dissolved in a series of volatile organic solvents with varying boiling points. Decline in Popularity Though erasable pens were all the rage after they hit the market, it wasn’t long before they were banned in many schools and discouraged in the office place. The reason? The very same thing that made the erasable pen such a godsend also made it an irritation. Papers, filled with erasable ink, and then shuffled about, would often easily smear and erase. It was back to traditional inks for most people, and the erasable pen became relegated to that niche market with other innovations such as “invisible ink”.
Any guidance on the model of pen? - Eg. ballpoint, fountain pen, marker, brush, feather and inc - Will CFA institute accept crayon or coloured pencil?
I’m going to use pencil because I know that it’s not going to disappear off my paper sometime between june 6th and august. I’ve heard that erasable pen has a tendency to rub completely off leaving nothing but a light blue or black smear on the paper. Pencil might smudge, but not to the point of being illegible.
Also read that erasable pen is sensitive to extremes in temperature. So I was kind of imagining a faded paper because someone left the papers in a hot van or something. So I am pretty much plannign to stick with pencil. I write in pencil all the time and it is still legible after so many months.
A few years back when I was practicing CFA exams, I used erasable ink pens. I went back to look at what I wrote a few months later and virtually all the ink had faded. I thought I crushed the exam and failed horribly. What was weird is that I compared my answers with some friends and we all had the same thing. I got <50 in almost all categories and they got >70 in almost all categories. I hate to think it was the ink but you never know…
i feel this post is sensible.