Qbank As a representation of actual test

CFA Level I
#1

First time taker, and wondering if the schweser qbank is indicative of the types of question one would see on the test, and if not, what % should I be striving for before I move on to another section?

#2

QBank is generally easier than the real test. It’s more of a concept checker than a simulation of the actual exam.

#3

I thought it was easier than the actual exam. Schweser mock tests and the CFAI mock were much closer to the real thing.

With that being said, Qbank is still a great resource for nailing down a section. I used it a lot in my preparation for L1.

#4

Jags,

Is that because in Qbank there are a large amount of easy questions?

If you remove these easy question from Qbank when you make a practise test, would you (and others) say that the level of the medium and hard questions are much better reflection as to the difficulty we can expect to face?

#5

I’ve found that qbank is much easier than schweser mocks. Even after removing easy questions from qbank and doing a test of 120 questions I consistently get about 80%. For the mocks (4 so far) I get between 70 and 75%. Qbank is still a great tool to track your progress and review concepts though.

#6

I thought the actual exam used multiple angles to test you on a topic, whereas the Qbank questions were more straightforward.

Removing the easy questions would probably give you a better idea…I never did this, so I can’t say from experience.

Here’s what I would do:

  1. CFAI EOC questions are very similar to the real thing (especially those towards the end of each section). I would do all of them.

  2. Use Qbank to nail down topics you’re having trouble with. I made 95% of my Qbank quizzes on single sections (FRA, EQ, FI, Ethics especially)

  3. Schweser mock exams are pretty accurate. Do as many as possible and really review the answers.

  4. CFAI mock exam is a must. VERY similar to the real exam difficulty. I got crushed when I took it, but it made me really focus and lit the fire I needed to pass.

#7

Is there any difference between Schweser Practise Exam and Mock exam?

#8

Sorry. I meant to say practice exams. Not sure about the online mock exam they have but the practice exams are great. They have explanations for each question with specific references to each LOS.