So how was your Exam in General ?

CFA Level I
#41

I too thought the PM session was harder than the AM session. Can’t say, whether I failed or passed at this stage, but definitely think it could have been much worse.

I do not concur with people saying Schweser does not prepare you well for the exam. Pretty sure that if you had carefully been through all 6 practice exams ahead of the exam, you’d have seen many similar questions (or at least different questions, but the same concept).

I relied entirely on Schweser for my preparation, but am starting to think that I could have dedicated more time to the CFA Mock exam.

If I fail I know that I can not blame myself much though ; I did 6 practice exams.

It’s also perhaps of interest to you that the Schweser Volume 2 practice exams are much harder than the Schweser Volume 1 ones. Not sure, whether they do that on purpose though,

#42

Also let’s be honest; I think we could be doing 100 practice exams and still not get 100 % :wink: It’s amazing how comprehensive this programme actually is.

#43

The exam went well for me. though I cannot tell it is going to be enough to pass.

Hard to say how I have scored in each topic, but I can just share a feeling I had when going through each topic and after the exam.

Ethics - unexpectedly hard. Even some types of questions were like nothing I’ve ever seen in CFAI topic practice, CFAI Mock, or Schweser practice exams.

Quantitative Methods - unexpectedly easy. Was very surprised with how shallow the questions felt. I guess Schweser has prepared me well for the exam.

Economics - was relatively easy - but I was upset because, I was simply not prepared for some questions. Should have focused more on CFAI topic practice, which was the best proxy. Schweser did a terrible work on this one in my opinion. Some questions gave me a shitty fealing of: “oh, it is so damn easy but I just don’t remember it, because I saw it only somewhere in CFAI end of chapter tests long time ago”.

Corporate Finance - felt easy, though some tricky questions bluffed me. CFAI mock/practice was the best preparation for this one.

Financial Reporting and Analysis - though questions were not hard, I feel just as insecure about my performance in this area as in ethics. Before the exam, I expected FRA to be my stronger part. Often when choosing an answer I thought “if they mean it the same way as in mocks then it must be this answer”, but I always had a feeling it is somehow different. Schweser didn’t prepare me well for that part.

Portfolio Management - felt easy.

Equity Investments - felt really easy. Most surprising was the fact that the questions could have been answered really quickly. But 1-2 Questions I was not prepared for.

Fixed Income - felt really hard. I should have focused more on CFAI mocks/practice and not Schweser.

Alternative Investments & Derivatives - felt relatively easy.

All the info based purely on a feeling. Maybe in reality all the “hard things” I got right and all the easy things I got wrong. You never know :wink:

#44

Didn’t see many cute girls on the exam. Have been seriously disappointed.

#45

In my opinion, the exam was fair, but the AM was relatively easier than the PM at my centre, and I finished AM with like 20 mins left, and PM with around 10 mins or so. But it is not all about the time someone took at finishing the exam, but actually passing the exam, because that is what counts. So we wait till Jan 26 I imagined… Wish us all the best…

#46

Exactly what I thought. Great summary.

#47

That is because recession and crisis in financial sector. Eliott Wave Theory…when you find many cute girls around, crisis is almost over and bullish trend is yet to come.

#48

I beleive I nailed it. loooking foward to January

#49

That summary up there^ is pretty close to how I felt.

I failed band 10 in June. I know it was because of FRA. Honestly, if you looked at my breakdown, you’d say it could have been a pass.

I did about 200-250 hours more work, including a pile of questions and mocks. I scored 70 - 76 on all of them. Worked on the weak areas.

When I walked out in June, I felt as if I got obliterated. Like maybe band 6 or 7. 8 at the highest.

Based off of that feeling, I think I passed. Though, now, that’s what has me worried.

At this point, I’m not sure what I’d do if I failed again. Especially band 10. That would be pretty torturous.

I don’t like giving up on things, but if I tank it again, I’m not sure if I’ll continue or not, particularly because I don’t know what else I would do to prepare.

Dunno. I’m trying not to really think about it.

#50

^I too am not sure if I passed, but it sounds like you did. This was my second attempt as well. After the exam I was fairly distraught because I figured I must be pretty dumb to have to take this exam a 3rd time. Someone on another thread said “quiters never win, but losers that never quit are stupid”. I kept thinking about that and feeling really low, like maybe I don’t belong in finance. However, since then I have pulled it together and realized two things. One, I REALLY don’t want to quit! I want to own the knowledge that the program encompasses for the sake of accomplishment but also I can only imagine how amazing it must be to be able to interpret markets with the kind of knowledge base you develop by sticking out the program. I want that for myself… bottom line. Second, I am older than most of you kiddos (36) so I have lived long enough to have seen that the two areas of my life that have lead to the most accomplishment and success were also two areas that I showed little promise in when I started… like you really wouldn’t have put money on my success! It took time but I eventually was able to overcome mediocre talent to contend with those who had a lot. Anyway, I WILL be taking the exam a 3rd time if needed. I wanted to ramble out all those thoughts for anyone else that was feeling similar to me. Good luck everyone!

#51

Thanks for sharing. FWIW, I’m not much younger than you. Just turned 34.

Also, I’m a firm believer that standardized testing measures intelligence in pretty limited ways. I don’t really see failing a level — even repetitively — as a sign of…anything really, other than an indication you just need to study more. You know what the curriculum is. You know what you have to study. If you can honestly say you tried your hardest, there are only two options for all of us: Try hard again, or don’t. Also — and a lot of people don’t want to hear this — there’s luck involved. Nobody knows all of the questions cold.

I would say that anyone who failed should at least be improving between tests.

That’s part of the reason I’m not quite sure what I’ll do if I fail this time. It would mean that, despite a ton more practice, I literally didn’t improve one bit from the last time.

#52

I also found the PM session easier than the AM section. I find it intriquing that there is such a divide of people who found AM vs PM section eaiser vs harder. Maybe the difference in how people felt by section comes from how they studied? CFA Material vs Schweser?

I feel like I had to take a complete guess on 5-10 questions.

I feel like I had to take an educated (50%) guess on about 70 questions.

I felt like I had answers for the other 160 questions.

Assuming 0 right from my complete guesses and 50% right from my 50% guesses gives me 35 questions correct. Assuming I get 75% of the questions I had answers for that gives me 120 questions. I have no idea what to truly expect but I am guessing my score will total to around 65%.

I know no one really knows for fact, but is there any real thought of an estimated average MPS?

#53

I’m guessing MPS is 63% - 66%. I doubt that it can be much lower than around 62%, and I also seriously doubt it’s any higher than, like, 67%.

Based on my June performance, and how I was doing before the test, I’m guessing I was right around 60%, maybe a hair over. That was band 10.

#54

What is everyone elses thought in comparison to his?

66% sounds possible, 63% sounds a bit too low in my opinion. Each question is worth .41 points. So approximately 5 questions = 2 points.

A question a little more personal about myself, who thinks, if anyone that a 65% is possible to pass?

#55

Um…if the only section I failed is derivatives, is it still possible to pass? I am 99.9% sure I failed derivatives ahahaha…

#56

I thought pm session was a TAD easier. I felt i was flying through quantitative methods, portfolio, and equities (granted those are my strongest topics). felt like FRA in PM session was about the same and so was fixed income.

#57

If I had to guess one number, I’d guess 65% is the MPS. 70% is a good score. I can’t imagine too many people do too much better than about 75%.

And, if it makes you feel any better, I thought I got WRECKED in June, and I was band 10. I literally almost left at lunch, because I thought it was already over.

The test is sort of an odd and fickle thing. It can be pretty tough to tell exactly how well you did.

This is also one of the few times I don’t trust my gut. I really am not sure where I’m at. I’d give myself 60-40 passing to not passing.

Ethics was a bit tricky. Quant, I felt, was weirdly easy. And I found fixed income very tough. The rest felt about right.

#58

Um, if you only failed one section, you’re already looking good. I failed 3 with band 10. I’ve also seen people pass with like 3 failures.

#59

Talking about MPS, I dont think it can be greater than 66%. I say this because a friend of mine passed a year ago with a pathetic score, his max score (assuming he had max score in each bracket) could not have been more than 160. Plus, we know this exam was slightly harder than his, my guess would be 158 which is 66%. It can be slightly lower than this but can’t be higher.

#60

Similarly to everyone else, found the afternoon a lot harder. Overall though, I thought the questions were worded well, and didn’t try to trick you etc.

Is anyone planning on signing up for level 2 before results?