Taking Level III for the 3rd time

never knew it can be so tough to pass level 3. i passed level 1 in dec. 2007. level 2 in june 2008. taking level level 3 in june 2009.

PtrainerNY Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What band did u get> > I was a Band 10-er I’m loving this thread. At least I’m not alone…well maybe in the number-of-repeats-dept. Great advice by all.

Wow…I was always under the impression that L2 was the real killer, looks like I’m going to have to start earlier than I anticipated.

One good advice I received: Practise, and MORE practise.

Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement. Hopefully I am able to clear this.

I passed L2 on the 4th attempt, not looking for a return trip for L3:)

I passed L1 in Dec 2003 and L2 in June 2004. I failed L3 in 2005 despite putting in more hours and knowing that it was going to be the toughest exam of the bunch. I passed in 2006. In 2005, I decided to rely solely upon Schweser, yet just know them better than for L2 and L1. I would put more time in. I also took the Schweser class and failed. I bet if they gave me a band, I would have been in the lower half. During the exam, I looked up in anguish. I felt like I was hit by a 2x4. I did not have a clue how I could have studied any harder. When I got the results, I failed and failed bad. I signed up 20 minutes later. Mainly so that I could keep the L3 candidate on my resume. Plus, you have too much invested to throw it away. No one puts down that they passed the first two levels and gave up on their resume. I had to change my way of studying. 1. I needed to fight complacency 2. I needed to study differently 3. I didn’t want to burn out. 1. I signed up for a $900 weekly analyst’s class for L3 given in San Francisco in January. This would provide me with structure. It was my own cash, so I was going to get the most out of this class. You can’t be cheap with the CFA. I vowed to be 100% prepared PRIOR to each class and sit in the front. There actually was a really cute girl up front which made going to the class easier. The proctor said that 90% of the people who went to every class the year before passed. Good enough for me. Yet, I don’t think the class helped me other than to provide structure. 2. I used Schweser again, yet also read the textbooks and did all of the textbook problems multiple times. The schweser questions are softball. The end of chapter questions are better. They aren’t the same as on the test, yet they are good. Do them over and over and over again. 3. Make your own flash cards. Put the SS on the front and the answer on the back. Writing them myself helped me learn the concepts. Its funny, yet I don’t think I ever studied the SS on L1 and L2 and I passed. Literally, I never looked at them. 4. Work out. SUPER important. Take your flash cards, sit on the exercise bike and ride for a half hour. 5. Take the schweser class. It is given in April. Its a great review. If you start in January, then this class will actually be fun because you already know everything. 6. May is for taking tests and reviewing the schweser. Also, do the end of chapter questions again. I am not a big fan of the online exams. I took two and got around a 50% on each when I was scoring 88% on Schweser. The online tests do scare the crap out of you due to their difficultly. Do go over the old essay questions. 7. Start studying in January. Don’t start in September. You will burn out. You do have enough time. Yet, you will need to put in 300 hours. 8. Quick and dirty way to pass. Start in January. Study Schweser. Do all the end of chapter questions. Work out. Do flash cards. Do the old AM tests. Do the schweser tests under timed scenarios. Yet, you need to shake it up. Do things differently. There are many ways to study for this exam. Don’t give up.

JacksonSF thanks a lot for that. It’s very helpful. I plan on studying early because I’m taking two vacations in the early part of '09, but I definitely don’t want to have to retake this test.

I agree with a lot of what is written here. I passed this year by studying less than I did last year. I was able to go to the Superbowl and on a week’s vacation all before the exam in 2008. What I found helpful was: 1) Create a 6-month study calendar where you have DAILY study goals. Stop studying when you are done your goals for the day. After that, spend time enjoying your life (don’t hit the booze too hard) 2) Take notes to the CFAI books. The books have a lot more material than Schweser/Stalla and it is easy to overlook the details amongst heavy verbiage in the CFAI books. 3) Spend at least 3 days before the exam focusing on the smallest details about a particular topic that you have struggled with or think you are already amazing at. Ask yourself “how would I answer the question with/without a particular piece of information?” Answer your questions to really understand what you need to know to pass. Many people fail by only a few marks and knowing the little things is almost always the difference. If you can focus, truly focus on the little things, then you will pass. From first-hand experience, I must say that the prize on the other side is well worth the wait and hopefully you will understand next August…be prepared for the best feeling of your life!

I would suggest you to talk to as many people as possible who passed Level 3, and try to figure out what you did not do. Did you remember/commend all the key points? (Say if someone ask you what is VAR, can you explain it right away? Can you think of the ways CFA will test you? Can you think of what are the other areas this topic can link to?) Did you use the bullet point format and the CFA words for short answers? Did you focus your energy on the heavily weighted areas? Did you recite GIPS? Did you do enough tests to boost your confidence? Do you want it as much as all the other ppl competing agaist you? (It could be just speculative. But to me, I am competing with guys in their 25 to 30, and for the last couple of days they always came to the library eariler than me, and left later than me, and they are freaky smart… and they probably do not have babies or other family stuff to worry about…so are you physically prepared?)

As you can see you are far from only one. Key for me: not starting early enough. Too much work. Kid stuff (I’ve got 6.) I’m in same boat - blew through L1 and L2 easily first time, failed this one (both times barely somehow) twice, didn’t even show up last year (literally had no time - on road entire year, and wasn’t about to spend weekends when that was only time i was home - alimony and child support too expensive with 6 of them :-)) Keys to studying I’ve heard from multiple people - old tests, end of chapter problems. Hang in there and let’s have a occasional “multiple time loser” thread to see how we all do. I was much closer with half the time using CFAI than i was with twice as much time with Schweser by the way … while CFAI readings can be a beating, i find the repetition helps cement it; also key - do own notes for major topics.

do the end of chapter questions over and over and over again. They aren’t half as difficult as on the examination. You might even think they are similar to the Schweser. Yet, what else have you got to practice? I felt the schweser end of chapter questions were easy. Yet, whereas Schweser would have one or two questions, the CFAI textbooks contained tons of questions of various difficulties. The exam will tie many concepts together, yet doing these questions over and over again will prepare you better than anything in my opinion.

This is my second time taking the Level III exam and boy, I do not look forward to it. I read the text last year. I plan on reading the Schweser notes over and over again and doing all the CFAI questions as well as any other questions I can get my hands on. However, this year I do not plan to read the CFAI text because that is what I did last year and sadly, I did not retain much. Is anyone else following this strategy? AND…for those who did follow this strategy…did it work? I too am burned out after work. 12-13 hour work days is a little much for me but I still chug along… You guys are awesome. I take comfort in knowing that there are many people out there in the exact same boat as me. Let’s all row together and get passed this beast of an exam. And yes, Level III is by far the hardest level (in my opinion).

I failed just studying schweser in 2005. I passed doing everything in 2006. Yet, I agree that you don’t need to read the CFAI text books. I read both in 2006 and came to the conclusion that Schweser does a pretty good job. I don’t know how people just rely upon the CFAI textbooks. Schweser goes through the SS and answers them pretty well. I would be worried about not answering the SS properly. Yet, Schweser doesn’t handle the practice questions well. So, I would know the Schweser backwards and forwards. If you have trouble with a SS, then read the text books or perhaps buy an old version of Stalla to get a different look to the SS. I actually purchased someone’s 2005 stalla for the 2006 test. It helped to have different problems and solutions in the Stalla manner versus the schweser. Yet, do all the CFAI end of chapter questions. At least the ones that CFAI tells you to read. Know these backwards and forwards. The actual test questions will be harder, yet you will have about the best preparation that you can have by the end of chapter problems. Example. When you are recalculating beta or duration, Schweser will have one or two problems. The CFAI texts will have 10 problems of increasing difficulty. Plus, they sometimes take it to a higher level by asking a followup question like calculate the rate of return or something. Tear apart the AM tests. Know that stupid real estate present value problem. Compare and contrast the first monster question for each year. This question is the KEY to your AM test. It has the most points and it gets the most time devoted to it. If you can answer this 30 minute question in 15 minutes, you are stylin for the rest of the test. You need to really have a handle on the old tests to come up with an efficient strategy to answer it. You cannot go back. You better calculate that rate of return properly. Pre tax, after tax. You better know how to remove short term cash needs. If you don’t take the previous AM test and don’t sit down each storyline to compare them, you are really hurting your chances to be efficient. Sometimes the AM questions ask for a certain amount of money at a certain age. Well, then you need to enter the FV and the PV into your 12c and then calculate the rate of return. You also need to be very familiar with making everything pre-tax or post tax. You also need to be familiar with time horizons. Anyways, just rambling. Know the schweser. Do the end of chapter CFAI questions. Really understand the AM tests (especially the first question). Compare and contract them. Do the Schweser tests. Start in January. Put in 300 hours. Work out. You will pass.

I’m studying LI and just popped in to see what was happening in the big end of town and unfortunately stumbled across this thread…now I’m seriously concerned! I now have visions of myself having damn CFAI books hanging around for the next ten years! If I’m lucky!

Hey Jackson, Thanks for your input. That is exactly what I needed to hear. I feel reading the CFAI text has excellent end of chapter questions, but Schweser does an excellent job summarizing everything. Again, thanks for your lengthy answer. Time to study!

I don’t know how people just use the text books without schweser or stalla. What if you answer the study session incorrectly? For L1 and L2, I really never looked at the SS. I just memorized the schweser. I took L3 twice. You need to know the SS and the correct answer. This is one reason why I am big on making your own flash cards. Anyway, Schweser does a good job. The risk is too great not to use them IMHO. If I did it again, I wouldn’t re-read the CFAI texts unless I felt that I was not getting a sufficient answer from schweser. Test it out. Read the schweser, then read a CFAI chapter. Ask yourself whether the CFAI reading helped you. It might, yet I bet you get way more out of the schweser. Do go to the CFAI website and print out the questions from the CFAI text books. Do all of these questions over and over and over again. If you do them in Jan-Mar, do them again in May. Like I said, they aren’t the level of the test, yet they are the best way to prepare because you really don’t have another source. I cannot stress enough how important it is to do these questions over and over and over. Its like the joke about two guys in a forest when a bear appears. One guy starts putting on his tennis shoes. The other guy asks why. The guy with the tennis shoes says that he doesn’t need to be faster than the bear, he just needs to be faster than the other guy. If you are well versed with these end of chapter questions versus another guy who didn’t study the end of chapter questions, you have an advantage going into the test. Yet, you can still trip up and get eaten by the bear. Yet, all things equal, you will have an advantage over anyone not studying the CFAI questions.

That is one heck of a deep response. I’m just waiting for the Schweser notes to be delivered. I hope by this weekend I can crack open the books.