I’m curious to find out how people who took the exam last December felt they did on the exam? Personally, I felt really burned out in March and lost some quality study time. As a result, I felt like I tried to cram to hard in May to overcompensate. I feel like I’m peaking now…all the formulas are fresh in my head. Hope I passed, but really regretting taking the Level 1 in December and not last June.
I took level 1 in last Dec… I was burned out throughout the period from April to May … tried to cram it all in May… looks like it obviously wasn’t the right strategy and all this back to back CFA quickfire might have cost me in terms of my result on the Level 2 exam.
i disagree…i took level I in dec as well, had all of dec and most of jan to forget about CFA exam studying and ski with my family…once results came out i started again…admittedly it took me a week or two to get into the grove, but once i did, i went at the same pace as last fall. I felt like doing II on the heels of I kept me in the correct frame of mind, and kept a lot of the foundational knowledge relatively fresh. I feel today exactly like i felt after level I exam–completely burned out, and confident that i am close to the border of pass/fail.
agree with petetini, took it slow after dec and then picked up strong steam once results were out also found that the fresh level I stuff in my mind helped learn level II depth easier as well as still being in the frame of mind of studying and not going out i did take small periods of study breaks ( a week here & there ) to alleviate the stress… … after seeing this years level II exam – i’m glad i still had level I fresh – there was like 20% level II material on this test – it was all review of last year in my opinion utter dissapointment matter of fact, i completely wasted my time in most of may studying in depth stuff that never was tested
I just moved into NYC last July after graduating from college and immediately jumped into studying for Level I and obviously passed back in December. After the test, I got a taste of living the good life in NYC as a young guy and therefore, found it hard to get back into the swing of things come Feb. Was I burnt out? No, not at all. Were there more distractions this time? YES, definitely. I started dating a girl and eventually had to bag that sometime during March. Work started heating up, the new friends I made started to disappear… My social life is a disaster these days, hopefully this summer I can pick it back up again…I really hope I dont have to take Level II again. As hard as it is for “older” (no offense, just stating the facts) folks to study while having a family to attend to, etc…, it’s also hard for us younger peeps. Living in NYC and not having a social life and therefore nothing to fall back on during those depressing Thursday nights at Starbucks can be pretty tough as well. Sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth it??
took L1 in Dec and passed. Took level 2 last weekend. I felt I was prepared and actually had an easier time with some things like FSA synthesis and some of the equity since it was still fresh on the brain. Definitley had less time per day to study for L2 than at L1 due to some personal things, but I did study a full extra month than I did for Level 1. Walked out of the test feeling about 50/50. Feel a little better now that the emotions are gone and I have had some time to reflect. I feel good about my chances and would say it is definitley doable to hit them back to back, even if it doesn’t work out for me that way.
I did
it is definitely worth it…you are half my age jalmy8, and will be done with your examinations at the same time i am…there is plenty of time to be young in the city…and as someone who lives right outside the city i can tell you unequivically NYC is much for fun when you have some walking around money in your pocket. There is no reason not to work as hard as you can at your career and your studies right now before you have a family etc. “youth is wasted on the young” Think of this as your graduate studies without the 100k out flow.
CFA isn’t easy at any age. At least when you’re younger, it’s only yourself that you’re upsetting…or perhaps your signifigant other. For me, what was harder about being one of the, um, older (ahem) people was that my 3 year old daughter didn’t give 2 sh!ts about the CFA exam, she simply did not understand why her daddy couldn’t play / watch videos / eat dinner with her. And she would cry, and literally hold onto my leg as I attempted to leave the house with my schweser books. I’ll never forget how hard that was. Thankfully, she will. I took Lvl 1 in Dec and I think having it fresh in my mind was an advantage. But I did suffer burnout.
ya, its doable, just have to be committed to it
dec L1 as well. next on the radar, Nov 2008 FRM
I took Level I in Dec. and didn’t start studying until April because of work, etc. I don’t think it was adequate mostly because of the amount of reading that I needed to do in the short time period. Granted, I don’t think I fully maximized the time I did have. Doesn’t matter now, anyway!
I did LI last december, and if I knew then what I know now I would have either sat for LI in June or just waited to take LII next time. Burnout really became a problem for me in April and early May, but I also started studying for LI in late July. I think it really kept me from getting to understand some of the topics as well as I could have, and if I manage to pass it will be worth it… but if not, then I will regret spending 2/3 of my vacation time to prepare when I was basically handicapping myself by starting with only a short amount of time and the burnout issue.
So, if you could do it again, what would you do? From your messages, I see the burnout is a big problem for a lot of you. I will sit for L1 exam in december 08. If I pass, I’ll take L2 in june 2009 like you guys and like other candidates, I think. Your experiences and your advices are very helpful for us. Good luck to you all, anyway
Dsylexic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dec L1 as well. next on the radar, Nov 2008 FRM same here thinking of giving FRM in nov.
petprim–do it, pour everything you got into level one in december, take a nice vacation between test and results…and then do it again. Give it a sick effort and next summer you’ll be very happy. kabhii and Dyslexic…what is FRM?
When weighing the pros and cons of going back to back, I’d have to agree the most with Aimee. If I’d taken the exam in June, I would have started studying for Level 2 sometime in early December. My problem came at the end and I didn’t have time to thoroughly go through derivatives and, unlike Level 1, you can’t come to the table withouth having a solid grasp of every topic. My cram session the night before the exam enabled me to get the basics down so I didn’t get completely screwed, but I also lost questions that were readily attainable. I only took a week to do a final review…much like I did for Level 1, but a longer review (probably a month) would definitely have done the trick. I’m really comfortable for the Level II exam if I have to do it again, but am pissed to think that another couple of weeks studying would have made the months I did spend studing a little easier to let go.
I was totally burnt out and that will play a major part in my results. I had a hard time getting through everything productively around April and May. I wouldn’t recommend against taking the Level 1 DEC, Level 2 JUNE route because there are those who have managed to pass, but its a mental challenge for sure.
petetini Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > petprim–do it, pour everything you got into level > one in december, take a nice vacation between test > and results…and then do it again. Give it a > sick effort and next summer you’ll be very happy. > > kabhii and Dyslexic…what is FRM? Certification for Financial Risk Managers (www.garp.com)
Thank you, petenini & misterfridge. BTW, this is the link about FRM : http://www.garp.com/frmexam/overview.aspx?ekmensel=c580fa7b_10_20_866_1 Any other advices?