Team, To those of you who like myself, sat and failed the L2 exam last year, can I ask what areas you scored top marks in and material/preparation did you use to get that result. Like many of you I simply do not have enough time to cover all of the CFAI material. Whilst the consensus is that Schweser does not cover the material in enough depth, from my results in the '07 exam (where I used only Schweser) I scored top marks in some sections (so my argument would be that Schweser alone is enough some topics). What I am essentially trying is identify what which candidates scored well on specific topics and HOW they did it. To use myself as an example. For 2007 I scored top marks (between 70 - 100) on: FSA Equities Material Used: Schweser Notes, Schweser Book 6, and ALL of the CFAI online practise exams. Study time: I studied from Feb til June. Approx 40% of my time on these sections alone. Study Plan: Read and highlighted Schweser books, re-read and took notes from Schweser books, next I completed book 6 and wrote down Q’s I got wrong, finally I took ALL of the CFAI online exams and wrote down the Q’s I got wrong. In the week leading up to the exam I reviewed all hand written notes and referred to the Schweser books when further clarification was necessary. From my experience I can say that Schweser alone was sufficient to cover the FSA and Equities topics. The study plan you undertake is up to you, however the one highlighted above worked very well for me. I found that during the exam there were very few questions that I did not understand in either FSA or Equities (ie Scwheser was sufficient). I did however, following the same study plan, score poorly on some of the lesser weighted topics (Eccons, PM, Quant). What I am trying to get an idea of is if this was a result of: using only Schweser for these topics, devoting less study time on these ares, or a combination of both. Your input to this would be greatly appreciated.
You scored 70-100% on FSA and Equities and still failed? Did you study ethics or portfolio?
Hi coops…i have very similar situation here with my results i just did schweser i didnt take notes i just read and practised the concept checkers and score 70 plus in Equity and FSA …i failed because of Derivatives and quants ( less than 50%)… this year i have got both…notes and CFAI text…honestly i am so pissed off due to my level 2 failure last year that i am not going to take any chance this year…so i have deceided to read a toopic from CFAI text and then reviser it through shweser and do concept checkers…i know it is very time consuming but i want to give one reading to the CFAI text thios year because thats what i didnt do last year/…and i want to be 100% covered this year… CFAI text as u must have noticed is very lengthy and gets bore at times…but i can think of a better plan than this …i guess i have to go through this pain… interstingly before exams i use to think that FSA and Equity are the largest area in exams and the one who scores well there shall pass…but i to my surprise i did well there but still failed…
This year, I don’t want to believe it’s the texts that I read (or failed to read) that could cause failure. It’s how many questions I can practice and master in each section. Even if I’m studying with only Schweser (I’m not) I am putting my premium on solving all the schweser study note challenge questions and practice exams, question bank, stalla passmaster, CFA text questions, and be able to analyse from my results where my weaknesses are and therefore, where I should concentrate my reading efforts on while I’m honing my skills where I have the sections mastered.
Coops: Your plan sounds exactly like mine, with similar results. One thing I am doing different this year is using the CFAI texts for quant and derivatives (under 50%). I simply have no experience with that stuff and I need more in depth knowledge. I used book 6 and CFAI practice exams also. They were big helps. Bottom line: I have got to get a better grip on quant and derivatives or I may be in big trouble again. Expect a lot of questions on this board from me on those two subjects over the next 4 months. And no laughing at me and saying “How did this guy pass level 1?” The answer is: I punted derivatives and did well enough on the rest. I don’t think I have that option at level 2.
same here guys, i scored above 70 in equities and FSA reading schweser only. This time again i am focusing more on Ethics, FSA & Equity , but will surely read derivatives and debt from CFA material. I think portfolio last time wasnt fully covered by Schwser so i’ll give a mix this time with cfai and schwes.
coops, what were your actual scores on the CFAI online exams? They are usually the best guide to exam performance - not just overall, but highlighting weak sections. Do they match up with your final result? Just curious, cuz that would be scary if they weren’t a good estimator…
im not a repeat taker, but judging by my schweser L1 experience from december i must second the notion that Econ and PM aren’t covered very well in their notes. Haven’t touched the curriculum back then but will def do so now. I do expect a pretty good grounding in Ethics and FSA from schweser again though.
null&nuller Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > coops, what were your actual scores on the CFAI > online exams? > They are usually the best guide to exam > performance - not just overall, but highlighting > weak sections. > Do they match up with your final result? > Just curious, cuz that would be scary if they > weren’t a good estimator… Null: The practice exams are good for practice, but too thin to be a good estimator. I did okay on the practice exams, and okay on the real one. Some are hard, some are easy, but depending on your strengths, since there are only (I think) 30 questions on the practice exams, it is tough to do a good prediction.
re: CFAI on-line exams- when I did them they were 60 Q each x 5 exams. They certainly did the job for me. + I did lots of qbank practice exams + Boston trial + got hold of past Boston papers as well. But the CFAI ones were the best in terms of style, depth, difficulty, weightings, etc. I passed - just trying to help the guy out…
null&nuller Off the top of my head my scores ranged from 85% down to 40%. (The 40% was a combination of fatigue and a difficult exam). I do agree with your comment on them being a good indicator though. Would you be able to provide us feedback on what sections you scored well in and how you studied? Thanks. CFA dummy Yes. I did study those topics. Results were 50-70 for Ethics and 0-50 for PM
“You scored 70-100% on FSA and Equities and still failed? Did you study ethics or portfolio?” So did I. I probably went 0-6 on PM.
I failed Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% - Derivatives 36 - - * - Economics 18 - - * - Equity Analysis 72 - * - - Ethical & Professional Stnds. 36 - * - - Financial Statement Analysis 108 - - * - Fixed Income Analysis 36 - * - - General Portfolio Management 36 * - - - Quantitative Analysis 18 - * - i just used schweser and did not pass any test’s before hand. but you can see on “any other year” i would have passed. gutted was not the word but am over that and just need to nail this mother fukker schweser is the way forward for me as i cant read those volumes without losing sight of what i need to learn. it makes no sense to focus on minutiae. Any thing i need clarity on i will go to the CFAI text, the internet, infact anything or anyone to help me. I start my evening classes next week for 2months in London with Kaplan and hope that will help my study plans. can i recall what i studied last year. hmmm, no. but i hope it will come back. i will read all of schweser to refresh those i should know (but dont) and those i have no seen before… its going to be emotional
FWIW, I think I would’ve passed on any other year as well.
cjb001 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I failed > > Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% > - Derivatives 36 - - * > - Economics 18 - - * > - Equity Analysis 72 - * - > - Ethical & Professional Stnds. 36 - * - > - Financial Statement Analysis 108 - - * > - Fixed Income Analysis 36 - * - > - General Portfolio Management 36 * - - > - Quantitative Analysis 18 - * - > > i just used schweser and did not pass any test’s > before hand. but you can see on “any other year” i > would have passed. gutted was not the word but am > over that and just need to nail this mother > fukker > > schweser is the way forward for me as i cant read > those volumes without losing sight of what i need > to learn. it makes no sense to focus on minutiae. > Any thing i need clarity on i will go to the CFAI > text, the internet, infact anything or anyone to > help me. I start my evening classes next week for > 2months in London with Kaplan and hope that will > help my study plans. > > can i recall what i studied last year. hmmm, no. > but i hope it will come back. i will read all of > schweser to refresh those i should know (but dont) > and those i have no seen before… > > its going to be emotional wow…how have you not killed yourself?
Ive read through a few of the Schweser books and Im very happy, thus far, with my retention rate. While I certainly dont remember formulas or anything like that, general concepts are relatively clear. At the same time, Im kinda worried that with four months until the test, I have *too* much time (if such a thing exists).
omgwtf Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > cjb001 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I failed > > > > Item Set Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% > > - Derivatives 36 - - * > > - Economics 18 - - * > > - Equity Analysis 72 - * - > > - Ethical & Professional Stnds. 36 - * - > > - Financial Statement Analysis 108 - - * > > - Fixed Income Analysis 36 - * - > > - General Portfolio Management 36 * - - > > - Quantitative Analysis 18 - * - > > > > i just used schweser and did not pass any > test’s > > before hand. but you can see on “any other year” > i > > would have passed. gutted was not the word but > am > > over that and just need to nail this mother > > fukker > > > > schweser is the way forward for me as i cant > read > > those volumes without losing sight of what i > need > > to learn. it makes no sense to focus on > minutiae. > > Any thing i need clarity on i will go to the > CFAI > > text, the internet, infact anything or anyone > to > > help me. I start my evening classes next week > for > > 2months in London with Kaplan and hope that > will > > help my study plans. > > > > can i recall what i studied last year. hmmm, > no. > > but i hope it will come back. i will read all > of > > schweser to refresh those i should know (but > dont) > > and those i have no seen before… > > > > its going to be emotional > > > wow…how have you not killed yourself? lol…lets just say i was in a bit of a mood for a few days, but lots of people had similar scored and failed too, that was some small consolation
null&nuller Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > re: CFAI on-line exams- > when I did them they were 60 Q each x 5 exams. > They certainly did the job for me. + I did lots of > qbank practice exams + Boston trial + got hold of > past Boston papers as well. But the CFAI ones were > the best in terms of style, depth, difficulty, > weightings, etc. > I passed - just trying to help the guy out… N&N: Where can I get more info (time, place, costs, past ones, etc…) on the Boston exams? edited: Sorry - I was being a lazy scut. Before I get flamed, I decided to look it up. Found info on the online test bank at http://www.bsas.org/education/education_detail.asp?program_id=92 I also found reference to their mock exam, bit it looks like it is part of their CFA prep class. Is it possible to take it separately w/out registering for the whole class?
I’m in the same boat as the others, over 70 on FSA and Equity analysis but got hosed on Fixed income and PM, the rest were all 50-70 I’m reusing Stalla this year for the bulk, but supplementing with CFAI texts for new LOS’s and areas I bombed…I also got the Q bank so I can do questions until I’m sick of it. Is anyone else finding the CFAI style of multiple example hard to wade through?
This is what you do to pass. Read Schweser, do every exercise after readings…then re-read exercises and do them again, thus re-inforcing. Then do all CFAI book exercises to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Then do Qbank for days on end… then do practise exams in a realistic simulation, so you can practise your time management. Repeat if necessary. this sh.it becomes a part of your soul when you repeat it so much