This is an interesting thread and gives me lot more hope 
What I would really like to know is how many candidates put in serious efforts (>300 hours of quality study time), felt they were well prepared, had an OK paper and still ended up failing. If this number is high, that would really concern me.
Any retakers who think they were well prepared last year but actually failed?
^ Even that number shouldnt worry us too much mate. The reason is that on these kinds of exams, one could easily have an off day and then get gutted! But agree it does give an indication of the level of difficulty of getting a pass!
I put in around 300 hours of high quality study time. I felt very prepared on exam day. The only thing was that the morning session was rushed (even though I expected this).
The exam was my dream exam. I honestly don’t think it could have been any easier than it was. Pretty much everything I was afraid of didn’t get asked. If I fail this one, then the next one can only be worse.
Overall, I’d say it’s pretty useless.
Your chance of passing shouldn’t depend on how poorly everyone else does, and CFA Institute knows that. If ¾ of the candidates weren’t adequately prepared for this year’s Levle III exam, then the pass rate will be 25% or less. CFA Institute isn’t going to keep a 50% pass rate and award a charter to undeserving candidates.
I dont think language is a problem at all.
actually it doesn’t make any easier even the CFA concepts are written and examed in canddate’s native language.
I had tons of comprehensive problems when I was pursuig B.A. of finance in my own country. I knew every single character in a concept,but I still have to spend a substantial time to make clear what they mean and how then can be applied in practice.
it is not a problem of language , but rather a problem of comprehension or savvy. We all know that he financial vocabulary is very limited and the grammar is naive also. CFA english is idot compared with that of Shakespeare.
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with regard to the pass rate calculation.
there were 42% candidates passed L2 in 2012, lets assume 75% out of this part is serious l3 taker, the ratio is roughly 31.5%
As 52% candidates passed L3 in 2012, we dont know how many among the 48% faied ones registered again in 2013. This part of 2013 L3 candidates are experenced and comparatively seriously prepared, their pass rate may be higher than average.
for those who try the 3rd or 4th times, their pass rates are expected to be much higher than the average level of 52%.
Ultrablue,
I agree with you regarding the thought that second time Level 3 takers are better prepared. I am also one of them and I could tell that I was prepared better than the first time. I understood the concepts better and things were more organized in my mind. Needless to say, I also ended up practicing with more questions during the two-year period than the first time taker. I ended up doing the questions in the Schweser Qbank, Practice Exams and Mock exams twice IT WASN"T FUN AT ALL!!!
However, I don’t think it applies to 3rd of 4th time takers. I think it would be hard for those candidates to go through the process all over again.
I think it does not matter if you are first timer or second or any other. Even if you have prepared well first time and for some reason could not pass, I think it will require same effort next if not more.
Atuyljjj,
I completely agree with you. I spent more time and effort on my second attempt than the first time, which is why I really hope it pays off in the end!
I said somewhere that if I studied another 300 extra hours, I would not have done any better on the test and I mean it. Retaking again next year and studying another 300 hours I would have probably the same odds. I think you need to just have the sun and the moon and the stars allign for this one. It’s pretty subjective and random. One morning PM essay question can go wrong and derail you.
[quote=“anks612”]
What I would really like to know is how many candidates put in serious efforts (>300 hours of quality study time), felt they were well prepared, had an OK paper and still ended up failing. If this number is high, that would really concern me.
Any retakers who think they were well prepared last year but actually failed?
I did put in >300 hours of quality study time, did practice exams, mock exams and the whole nine yard. Despite that, I knew I had a bad paper for the AM session (when the results came in, it turned out that I had even worse than I expected). PM wasn’t much of a success either. I wasn’t suprised that I flunked the first time, but it was still shocking experience.
The second time I prepared better, used better tactics. I guess we’ll see the results anyway. It’s impossible to predict the results for all CFA exams, especially for the Level 3. You just do your best during the exam and hope for the best. There’s not much you can do.
I studied a lot first time around and got Band 10. I studied much more this time around and felt I was much better prepared, and was doing well on the mocks. I’m still very very worried. That ethics section was very difficult for me.
^^ Ethics doesnt determine it all … if you did OK on am (50%) and +70% … ull pass for sure… Dont worry too much
I don’t think anyone feels good about an ethics items set.
^^ especially me
You guys ever read about an ethics violation (the more serious kind) and say, “Sh*t, I did that too!”?
Palantir,
I guess we are in the same boat, but my band was worse last year. I am also very worried despite preparing more and better this time. Having failed the first time leaves a deep scar, in my case it did leave a big one. Despite that, I packed my things together and started studying earlier the second time. I hope and pray that it pays off in the end.
I was band 4 last year lol … i remember well when we, lord_of_war and I, shared this bad experience. I think ill be somewhere between band 6-7 this year …
Bilal,
I think you mentioned earlier that you hadn’t prepared well for this year’s exam. I guess it’s also a strategy. In my case, I thought it would be better if I just got things together and study. Maybe taking a year off is a good strategy, but I thought I might never return to the program after taking a year off. In either case, it’s a personal decision and each person has unique circumstances. I guess it is also a life lesson.
Definitely … its not about me not preparing well, its about:
1- relationship break up shit … (nov)
2- Family member spending few months at the hospital (december - feb)
3- Promotion at work (thank god this was positive) … but it consumes most of ur time especially during the first 2-3 months…
So yea in a nutshell that’s what kept me from studying in a serious manner