I took Level I in June and failed (Band 10) due, in large part, to getting a new job about a month before the exam…it seems that 18 hour days can really kill a study plan. Anyways, I’m trying to decide whether I should just get back to it and start studying for Level I again in December or wait till next June so that I’m back on “schedule.” My concern is two-fold: (1.) If I don’t feel completely confident I passed (until I see my actual results), and therefore won’t be completely committed to studying for Level II, that would only leave me between 3-4 months to study for Level II, which doesn’t seem like enough time. (2.) will I have the energy after Level I to keep pushing for Level II. Obviously, if I wait till next June for Level I again I’ll be losing residual knowledge, lengthening the process, etc. I’m sure there’s a thread about this, but I wasn’t able to locate one. If anybody has any advice, has done the Dec. Level I – June Level II, or has any other considerations, that would be greatly appreciated. Just trying to figure out how likely it is to go for a second attempt and Level I and then give myself a fighting chance at Level II five months later.
Go for it, unless you have to pay for airtravel and hotel at the test site in which case you might want to go for the June exam instead. Once you’ve passed Level I, you can then decide exactly how and when you want to approach Level II. (A lot of people seem to pass Level II only on their second or even third attempt.)
Just get back to it and take it in December. You’ll save a whole year that way when you pass. It will be tough to tackle L2 in a compressed timeframe but your mind will be pretty sharp from having recently been immersed in CFA material.
Alright, I appreciate the advice. I’m almost positive that I’ll push to for the December exam. Is there a cut-off date for when you can purchase Schweser/CFA study materials? I feel like I saw something about that during my preparation this time around. If that’s true, I’ll need to purchase the Level II stuff before December if I want to get a jump on studying during the 6-8 weeks waiting period.
Hi fellow candidates, I am in a similar situation to the original poster, but I failed miserably in Band 4 (partly due to my engineering background and lack of experience in Finance). I do not plan on giving up and want to retake the test, but my question is when? I have already scheduled (and paid already) three weeks off in September for vacations with the wife (kind of once in a lifetime trip) and I am not sure if I will have enough time to go through the material in 3.5 months which, based on the band I fell into, I should study all over again thoroughly. My concern is also the changes in the curriculum as I have made quite an investment on training material. What do you guys recommend? Thanks!
Dec.
Go for December. I failed B10 last June and decided to wait. In the meantime the CFAI changed about 40 per cent of the material, so alot of what I had banked became useless. Start in September and you’ll be fine. As I have posted here already, I beleive the key to L1 is reading the books once then doing as many problems as possible (Q-bank and Elan’s 2000 practice qs are the best). You just got to see this stuff thrown at you from every possible angle.
Take it this Dec. Apparently economics has changed 100% for 2012
If there is no financial constraint, go for it. Do your best and start studying level II 2 weeks after the level I exam. You should be good.