On Tuesday I received the dreaded ‘Did Not Pass’ email for the June exam. I studied diligently for 5 months, accumulated ~340 hours, stuck to the study plan, utilized Schweser and CFAI materials, completed Q-bank questions, EOC videos and questions, completed several formal and informal mock exams, etc. etc. I felt well prepared and was confident that I put in a strong effort in my preparation. I came very close to passing but evidently came up short.
Does anyone have any study suggestions to improve my chances at passing the exam in December? Study plan suggestions, hours, tips, etc.?
I feel as though spending the majority of the time doing practice questions, mock-exams, and re-reading struggle areas is the high-level approach to take. I did well in most areas of the exam but choked on exam day in quant and FRA.
I think you should definitely enroll to take the exam again in 4 months. Re-read those sections and do formal mocks exams, a lot of them, and I think you’ll be fine next time.
The difference between me failing Lvl 1 last year and passing this year was studying econ/alt/dvs and taking the kaplan weekly online class.
Online class was a good review, econ/alt/dvs I went into cold last year and added some extra points this year and mocks at the end helped solidify it all again.
‘just’ missed it but i remember on exam day i felt VERY unsure of most of the questions.The fact that you cant glance over to see if you are correct tripped me up, I lost my cool in the exam and I think made stupid mistakes. ‘Quant’ was my downfall ( only subject under 50%).
What questions were the hardest and the most: time value, money market, statistics, probs. or hypothesis testing? And is there any questions regarding technical analysis? I just skipped that part
I went for the online classes because you can sit back at the office or at home and take them instead of having to waste time commuting. Also, if you miss the class, they are recorded so you can rewatch/listen to them on your own time.
You can register for the class on Kaplan’s website. Think it usually starts up 6 months before the exam and finishes up about a month before exam day.
Let me give you some advice on why you need to sit again in December: levels 2 and 3 are only given once each year. Don’t force yourself out of the picture for getting to level 2 by not sitting. In my opinion, you want to try and take the shortest route possible to complete all three levels, otherwise you’re looking at a 4-5 year timeline and eventually you’re going to want to finally be done studying, I know at this point I’m ready to be done studying and have my free time back.
The beauty of sitting for L1 in June is the fact that you go into December with a fresh memory of topics and that you can still get it done and align yourself for L2 next June. Go for it man, trust me on this one.
I’m with @Blackmamba here. Look sometimes an exam can just be a bad old day at the office and these things happen. Never mind how many hours you spend, just get that crap done!! Focus heavily on FRA and pick up on the weak parts. I wish i was on this when I started but essentially you need to juts be good at all headings with some wiggle room so to speak. If you really want it I am sure you will do it and do great in the resit in December. All the very best of luck, it will feel so sweet when you pass the Level 3!!
Thanks everyone for the solid advice and positive encouragement - really appreciate it!
For what it’s worth, I paid the $100 to have my exam retabulated…it was graded correctly. It was worth a shot anyway and well worth the $100 in my opinion.
Going to buckle down and give it another go in December. Best of luck to all of you who are preparing as well!
If you bombed FRA there is a guy named John Harris (financial accounting workshops) that does a two day class that focuses solely on FRA. I took it for level 2 and he was awesome. I think he may do the same for level 1, but not sure. I’d highly recommend him if you are weak in FRA and can get to his class (I think they are in most larger US cities).