Hi guys! I’m back!
I failed band 9 in June. Boo hoo! But I’m pretty confident in my knowledge of the material so I have decided to actually live my life until 12/1 then start studying then
are there retakers in this forum that have started already? I think this is too early but I wanna get a feel for how you guys have received the new material.
Im not gonna ask if 12/1 is early enough to start because I know it is. 6 months is plenty of time. Especially when you’ve taken it before
Haven’t ordered it yet. Doing FRM level 1 in the meantime. I’ll study after that.
TommyJohn: to each their own, everyone studies a little differently.
I failed band 10 but won’t change my approach next year; I’ll start studying in late february giving me three months. However this time, I will buy the schweser material (instead of using an older version) and attack my weaker subjects like deriv and alt, and read through ethics multiple times. I’m hopeful that will be enough.
TheBigCheese: do not take FRM 1 lightly, it is an unorganized beast! The material is hard, the test is crammed, and unfortunately the prep material is weak. I passed w/ “solid” marks across the board, but thought I failed after taking the exam. I’m taking L2 in november.
^ thanhs for the insight. what approach would you recommend. I’m going to start studying tomorrow.
Ditto Will start from Dec How is FRM going along ? Doing from Schweser + BT questions
Again, depends how you study. I used schweser exclusively for FRM and it’s a good read, but maybe too easy re its mocks and QBank. Bionic turtle’s questions are supposed to be better but I hear their notes are not as good. You should def check out the bionic turtle forums because they are much more active and helpful for the FRM than analyst forum.
One thing that makes the FRM harder than the CFA is its lack of resources and structure. A few examples:
there are tens of mock exams for the CFA, you’ll be lucky if you find five for the FRM. Same goes for online resources, youtube videos, etc., the FRM world is sparse.
the CFA exams are neatly organized, i.e., CFA L1 questions were ordered and grouped together. The FRM exam was a clusterfuck and you’ll be using every last minute, unlike the CFA which provided more than sufficient time on the exams.
the CFA “topic tests” are useful and plentiful.
also note on exam day that you are provided eraser-less pencils, it changes the dynamic on test day re your strategy for filling in educated guesses (and messed me up a little bit).
That said, I’m only using schweser for FRM L2 again. I just don’t have the time to invest in more.
Good luck w/ your studies. FRM material is really interesting and I think you’ll enjoy it!
@Moey What was approx quantitative and qualitative distribution of questions in FRM 1 paper? (divulging info is not a violation in GARP afaik) How far the Garp official mock and Schweser mocks are representative of the actual exam?
I honestly don’t remember, I took it last november and the whole thing / year is a blur. Here are the forum posts about that exam:
http://www.analystforum.com/forums/frm-forum/91346685
https://www.bionicturtle.com/forum/threads/november-2015-part-1-frm-exam-feedback.9164
They were representative but not as hard as the actual exam. Apparently bionic turtle is on the harder side, making the exam feel like a breeze.
Thank you much
In theory. I have signed up for the exam but not yet for study materials. I still need to bite the bullet on the cost for those. Anybody know if Kaplan has a pass guarantee or any sort of discount for sad souls that did not pass (i.e. myself)? Happy studying to you all!
Just do it! I nickel and dimed the CFA L2 and it cost me band ten and an extra year - not worth it. #BiteTheBullet
Yes started studying today in fact. I spent thirty minutes - at work too - creating a planner and aloting four full days dedicated to every reading (all 52) of them one by one from now through April 15th after which I will be doing nothing but mock exams.
Tommy,
I was a retaker last year and cleared it, I think if you have band 9, that implies you knew material well, you just have to practise more.
I would suggest starting slow from December and from february onwards you an really dig deeper, practising questions
I would recommend doing EOC three times + official mocks and all official section tests.
You will nail it
All the best
After putting in a lot of ‘superficial’ work for the exam in June, I realised a week before the exam I had not done enough mocks. I was quite a bit off passing which was annoying given I put in a lot of hours.
I Also took some risks by glazing over certain areas such as Alts & Eco which I got punished for. Finally, I felt pretty confident coming out the morning paper but the afternoon paper REALLY hammered me personally
For this year I am going to go via Elan and watch every single hour of all the videos from Basit & Olinto. Apparently they are sometimes painfully long and slow, but if thats the price to pay to really understand the material then so be it. I could read the CFA books, but I personally learn better from video lectures than reading.
As soon as the products become available I will crack on (I think that’s october). This time around I Will make sure I understand all the material inside out to the point I can explain it as well as possible. I am also going to be less of a lurker and start actually answering people’s questions on here as opposed to being the guy who always asks. I just need to build my confidence back slowly but surely.
I will leave 2 months before the exam solely for questions. I will do all 6 schwesers, the elan ones, all topic test, all EOC and most importantly all blue boxes.
Leave no stone unturned this time. It’s so long and I really cant be bothered but I cannot face leaving this unfinished business.
Rex
I personally prefer Schweser Videos because they are shorter & to the point --> after that go to EOC curriculum + portal topic test CFAI.
Arif Summary also good for last 2 months --> watching it with speed 1.6-1.8X rather than normal speed.
TommyJohn, I was Band-9 fail last year using Schweser books + 3 CFAI mocks… Was < 50 on PM, Econ, and FRA. I think I’ll start in Nov, and review the failed sections about one per month, including EOCs. Then in February review the sections I passed or >50-- FI, Alt, Deriv, Equity for two months. Then start mocs in April, at least one/week until test. Until then, I may buy a book on PM and start casually reading.
You’re right and I plan on ordering soon and starting in October. Good times ahead.
I’m starting now. There is always something to catch up, don’t want to miss precious time. Although, I’ll order books lately. So far, Econ and CorFin remain same.
Kaplan has a pass protection policy where you get 50% off the next purchase if you failed. However, the policy only applies to certain packages.
Welcome back… 