Advice you wish you had for exam day

[higgmond]

@ishkurti

During my L1, the guy sitting next to me in the exam retrieved his backpack during break from the room we left our stuff in and reviewed his notes/books before going in for the afternoon. I am thinking of doing the same: bringing a pack of notes with me (plus I have the entire curriculum in my phone). Does someone know whether this is problematic?

I’ve done this, but you have to avoid looking up something from the AM session that you weren’t sure about. Instead, brush up on things that weren’t asked in the AM that you are pretty sure will be in the PM.

[cfacandidate13]

I wrote the CFA exam level 1 a couple of years ago, and then was sidetracked by family and work commitments. Hope to hit level 2 next year.

However, there was some really useful advice in this article on preparing for the exam, whether level 1, 2, or 3.

Preparing for the CFA Chartered Financial Analyst Exam.

[AS_MC]

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[AS_MC]

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[former_trader]

@higgmond

@ishkurti

During my L1, the guy sitting next to me in the exam retrieved his backpack during break from the room we left our stuff in and reviewed his notes/books before going in for the afternoon. I am thinking of doing the same: bringing a pack of notes with me (plus I have the entire curriculum in my phone). Does someone know whether this is problematic?

I’ve done this, but you have to avoid looking up something from the AM session that you weren’t sure about. Instead, brush up on things that weren’t asked in the AM that you are pretty sure will be in the PM.

This.

[DoubleDip]

I know, because I write exam questions for another test similar to CFA and have heard from that experience that the CFAI is also extremely careful in exam question construction. Test providers are well aware of test taker’s propensity to guess and the myths that choosing B always works and so on. I can’t speak for CFAI, but in the exam I write for, there is a great deal of time spent on proper exam question construction and in ensuring that patterns such as you describe are not present. Once the exam is over, there is analysis of test taker performance. There is an entire field devoted to this called psychometrics where reliability and validity are key aspects of the test design.

[geezie]

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[Greenman72]

@geezie

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Word. (Or a lack thereof.).

[padniaki]

Always underline “most likely” and “least likely” in the question. When your adrenaline is pumping and you’re trying to save time anywhere you can, it’s easy to skim the question, immediately spot the “right” answer, and move on. However, if the question had said “least likely” instead of “most likely,” you just lost points for carelessness.

[Give]

@padniaki

Always underline “most likely” and “least likely” in the question. When your adrenaline is pumping and you’re trying to save time anywhere you can, it’s easy to skim the question, immediately spot the “right” answer, and move on. However, if the question had said “least likely” instead of “most likely,” you just lost points for carelessness.

+1

Every mock I have taken, I have I missed at least one question because of that. Great advice.

[rnot]

@ishkurti

During my L1, the guy sitting next to me in the exam retrieved his backpack during break from the room we left our stuff in and reviewed his notes/books before going in for the afternoon. I am thinking of doing the same: bringing a pack of notes with me (plus I have the entire curriculum in my phone). Does someone know whether this is problematic?

We can bring a backpack with notes and other items into the center? I’m assuming once the doors close those items are off limits, even if they are a necessity such as your calculator?

[dspapo]

@padniaki

Always underline “most likely” and “least likely” in the question. When your adrenaline is pumping and you’re trying to save time anywhere you can, it’s easy to skim the question, immediately spot the “right” answer, and move on. However, if the question had said “least likely” instead of “most likely,” you just lost points for carelessness.

This guy knows what’s up

[higgmond]

@rnot

We can bring a backpack with notes and other items into the center? I’m assuming once the doors close those items are off limits, even if they are a necessity such as your calculator?

Every test center is a little different, but most have an area set aside where candidates have to leave their backpacks, etc. and you have no access to them until you hand in your booklet and leave the testing area.