drk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As mentioned earlier, half of the test is not just > recognition but recall. What that means is if I > ask you to write the seven steps in the due > diligince of AI. you should be able to recall > those 7 steps. Most of us if we read multiple > time, we can recognize whether one step is there > or not in the due diligince process but to recall > 7 points it does take some good rote study. > Whether we like it or not, believe it or not. This > is truth. > > Second - I am sure every one knows it but practice > tests make a lot difference for level III compared > to any other test. I am sure some people have > passed with out lot of practice tests but these > tips are for average students not exceptions > > Third - The importance of EOC if you have studied > Schweser cannot be ignored. This is super > important. > > I hope this helps I def. agree w/ the recall at least on the Schweser exams (haven’t cracked the CFAI exams yet, but will this weekend). Its almost as if a good portion of the exam requires you to memorize swaths of the curriculum. For L2 you could rely on the questions and vignette to jolt your memory. For L3 if you don’t know those 7steps… you might as well move on. EOC are also very helpful. I’ve used them to fill in the gaps that schweser maybe missing or that I just didn’t catch on my first reading.
you wont be saying that after you pass. the best piece of advice i ever heard was ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…
I couldn’t help but respond to this thread- I am a two time level 3 fail- each time in band 8. I don’t think there is any secret other than know the material stone cold. I do agree that EOC’s are essential. Most Qbank and even the first book of Schweser exams seem easier to me than the real exam. I’d use them as warm-ups. I honestly don’t know how I failed last year- I knew the material very, very well. I was surprised. Nerves may have played a role. I would say to keep calm, and DEFINITELY expect the unexpected on the exam. Each year CFAI has used a term or framed a question in a way that leaves everyone wondering what the hell to do- count on at least one question in the AM to blow your mind just a tiny bit and don’t lose your calm. Fixed income seems to be an area they love to test in tricky ways. I’m taking it again this year, even though I am not doing anything differently other than just working hard and keeping calm. I’ll be over 8 months pregnant when I sit for the exam, so that alone means I am very chilled out on this attempt and refuse to let my nerves get to me because it doesn’t help. I really mean that- I was very prepared but very nervous and failed. Be chill!
hobokenchris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >The way I think of it is that > level 3 requires an ability to think outside the > box whereas 1&2 did not require this. > priceless.
To add to some of the wisdom on this thread… The CFA text 'Summary" pages at the end of most readings, shouldnt be ignored. It nails down the key concepts of the reading “from the CFA perspective”.
I’m not sure how this level has a regular pass rate above 50%, you have to know this stuff pretty cold for the morning session. I hate it when I tell people I’m taking level III and they say “nice, that’s the easy one, right?” I usually reply with something like “That’s what the people who pass say!” If this test were multiple choice it would probably be the easiest. For everything I read I think “well that seems obvious” or " that makes alot of sense to do it that way" however remembering to actually do it that way without answer choices is a whole different animal. That’s what makes this test so hard.
exactly, I did a morning question today, Grinold Kroner, I know the formula (I understand all parts and did many calculations), but they did not want to calc anything, just asked to describe grouped div yield and repurchase (income return) and g + i (nominal growth), and so on, and I got so confused by the question that I was wrong in every part of the question…
You guys are freaking me out. I hope they don’t ask crap like “list and describe the due diligence items specific to private equity and contrast with alternative investments”… that will = fail for me.
markCFAIL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You guys are freaking me out. I hope they don’t > ask crap like “list and describe the due diligence > items specific to private equity and contrast with > alternative investments”… that will = fail for > me. now you are freaking me out!!!
Smokin Thanks for sharing. Good luck. Did you do the previous years AM sections. I am sure you did it and multiple times EOC. Was there any particular section you did not do well in both the years? I don’t what else one can do if you did all this
how much time is devoted to studying?
markCFAIL Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You guys are freaking me out. I hope they don’t > ask crap like “list and describe the due diligence > items specific to private equity and contrast with > alternative investments”… that will = fail for > me. This shows up on a (Schweser/Stalla) practice exam, not saying which one though.
thats why i mentioned it. I saw it and was like “really?” I feel like the schweser tests (book 2) go really deep into really lightly covered subjects, and as such you don’t get a representation of all of the curriculum, more like a tiny random subset.
Atleast we need to identify which topics needs more memory so that we can revise multiple times so that it sticks
wow that’s all I gotta say about this thread. There is no need for this thread 39 days before taking the exam.
pfcfaataf Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > exactly, I did a morning question today, Grinold > Kroner, I know the formula (I understand all parts > and did many calculations), but they did not want > to calc anything, just asked to describe grouped > div yield and repurchase (income return) and g + i > (nominal growth), and so on, and I got so confused > by the question that I was wrong in every part of > the question… YES!! The Equity Repurchase Yield is the Opposite of the Share Repurchase so its the opposite of what you typically do. Not only that, but you had to know the income, growth, and PE Growth breakout. I would have definitely missed this on exam day.
smokin’hot has some excellent points—especially the “chill” observation. One thing I’ve experienced: being prepared = being chilled = being somewhat calm under the L3 pressure! Also, pls keep in mind that the “margin of error” (as in your answer being different from other candidates’ correct answers and the hence the guideline answers) is very slim…everyone at L3 has proven themselves at L1 and L2, so the competition is steep. Put yourself in a position to win EVERY question…Relax… and give the grader a reason to pass you!
Honestly, I think staying calm is really important particularly in the morning session. I ended up spending 55 minutes on Q1 last year, 55 minutes! I thought I was a goner, but I went to the bathroom, threw some water on my face and said I’m not going back to my seat until I calm down. Pretty much just had to read and answer what came to my head right away, I felt like a robot because all of my over-preperation really paid off. It was without question the sharpest I ever felt in my life. Finished the morning exam with like 2 minutes to spare and had one of the higher scores on the board, but the key was staying calm and focused. Of course, without the ~400+ hours I put in there would have been little chance. You’ve all taken and passed these exams, you can pretty much count on seeing at least one question that makes you go “WTF is that?” just don’t let it rattle you. You are all so close, don’t let up now.
I hate to say it but I had very little correlation between areas I did well or poorly in each year- I failed ethics the first time but over 70 in derivatives, opposite of what I expected- then the next year over 70 ethics but failed derivatives. It’s hard for me to say where I have weak areas although fixed income has not been strong enough in either exam. I did every single AM section I could get my hands on, as far back as possible. I hate to scare people, but this is really the truth: I did every single AM exam, all the CFAI exams they offered, every Schweser exam- and I never got below 68% on any of them- though I don’t grade the AM exams. I’m hoping to score way higher in practices this year to assure a pass. I’ve gone through book 1 of Schweser already and I am averaging 65-68% so far.
smokin’hot: Are you getting 65-68% on only the multiple choice portion of the sample exams?? Meaning that the morning session you are not counting? Last year I was averaging around 55-60% on the morning (with my bias grading of course) and around 65-70% on the MC… Finished band 8. Just to give you an idea.