This is my first post in Analyst Forum. I have failed Level 3 again. I am not working in asset management industry, however, I have some other career plans after finishing Level 3. I am 32, currently working as a Finance Manager in an oilfield company and deeply worried due to my consistent failures in Level 3.
June 2014 - CFA Level 1 Passed on 1st attempt
June 2015 - CFA Level 2 Passed on 1st attempt
June 2016 - CFA Level 3 Failed Band 6 (Studied Schweser, Practiced CFAI EOC Questions, PY Questions)
June 2017 - CFA Level 3 Failed Band 1 (Deliberately failed, lack of focus as I was getting married)
June 2018 - CFA Level 3 Failed Band 9-10 Close to MPS (Studied Schweser, Referred to CFAI Text for areas that were difficult to understand, Practiced CFAI EOC Questions, PY Questions)
Can anyone offer some useful advice on how do I restrategize my study plan? Some said that I should study CFAI texts.
Passing is solely a function of practice. There is no better practice then the actual CFA past papers. You can access these online all the way back to 1999. IFT also provide a free sheet which shows you which questions are out-dated.
Focus on hammering those. Understanding the answers (the answers are an amazing revision tool - they are detailed)
Couple that with Topic tests, EOC and the blue boxes.
That is everything you need, every question comes directly from the LOS which you can learn through the mocks, TT’s and BB’s.
I used a video provider (IFT) to synthesize the material for me. I was never going to read the whole curriculum but I can listen to the video lectures and get my exposure that way.
Mock till you drop. As many questions asked in as many ways as possible is the key. Someone who does 10 mocks and scores say 50% in each compared to someone who does say 3 mocks and scores 70% in each, is in a much better position despite the lower scores simply because they have seen that LOS tested in a vast number of different ways, the person who does 3/4 has performed well but does not have that exposure to track curve ball questions.
Next year be that guy that does 10 and you will feel ready for anything come game day!
I think you need to consider whether it is understanding of the material or exam skills that are the issue.
I would suggest you take a break from it for a few months and then come back using CFA materials plus a different study provider. It feels like I’ve been pimping Level Up today, but if you look at my earlier postings you’ll see I’ve had limited success using Schweser.
start with CFA books in the next 2 weeks => target February to be done with the material
February/March => watch videos/refresher (IFL or LevelUp)
April/May => review and practice (past AM/PM exams, EOC, blueboxes, CFA questions).
I did LevelUp (videos and BootCamp) this year and was pretty happy with the materials. I will use the free 7 day trial this weekend to check the IFL and decide.
ok, for your 2017 fail, forget that coz you were getting married. Doesn’t really count.
I was like you last year, demotivated after 2nd fail…and all throughout this year i had to keep fighting the demotivation. It was such a strong force and could’ve been the easy way out to quit. But I powered on, determined, and gave my all for the last chance.
Like someone else here said, I ‘mocked till I dropped’. I think L3 is all about practising the essays. PM is easy.
Sounds like my story, though I know very well where my problem lies. I try to minimize total time spent on studying and its reflecting in lack of practice, have repeated the mistake 3 times in a row now. I just failed this year having aced the morning and tanking the pm. Anyway this time it’s the last, all or nothing. I like making videos , have summed up my experience if you’re intrested
I posted this in another similar thread…my 2 cents.
I felt very prepared going into the exam. Overall, I passed easily doing a little worse in the morning than I thought and a little better in afternoon than I thought.
You need to study smart, not just hard for level 3. The CFAI tells you the weights for the different topics, and the exam (and old exams) are pretty much in line with their guidance. So if you spent a bunch of time on nailing down performance attribution, while you didn’t have a firm grasp of say taxes or fixed income…then you didn’t study smart because CFAI told you one section was 5% and the other two 30%. Not listening carefully to CFAI is an amateur move.
If you don’t have a lot of work experience, then consider taking LevelUp or some other program that has videos that teach from the curriculum. Key point is that they teach, and that’s what you need because a lot of the curriculum is new to you. If you have experience in asset management or banking, then you’re ok with a study provider who summarizes like a Kaplan.
Whoever you choose to study with, stick with their methods and work it hard. Loads of people pass using ALL these providers, their systems work if you apply them and put in the time grinding away. Stop accumulating more and more study materials, you will only confuse yourself and feel pressured to get through it all. Don’t be a victim of marketing.
Be consistent, especially if you are busy with a lot of commitments. I have a stressful job, lots of travel, kids, and a wife who is angry at me and the CFAI. So I never studied more than 20-45 minutes at a clip, but I did study almost every day. Consistency helps ensure you cover everything.
You don’t need to do 10 timed full exams or pay to have your exam graded. Most old exams are full of questions that aren’t relevant anymore. I never did a whole mock exam, but I timed myself on individual morning questions, did all the CFAI provided online questions, and many old relevant exam questions. Studying from old exams is exam prep 101, if you’re not doing old exams you’re just an amateur.
I posted this in another similar thread…my 2 cents.
I felt very prepared going into the exam. Overall, I passed easily doing a little worse in the morning than I thought and a little better in afternoon than I thought.
You need to study smart, not just hard for level 3. The CFAI tells you the weights for the different topics, and the exam (and old exams) are pretty much in line with their guidance. So if you spent a bunch of time on nailing down performance attribution, while you didn’t have a firm grasp of say taxes or fixed income…then you didn’t study smart because CFAI told you one section was 5% and the other two 30%. Not listening carefully to CFAI is an amateur move.
If you don’t have a lot of work experience, then consider taking LevelUp or some other program that has videos that teach from the curriculum. Key point is that they teach, and that’s what you need because a lot of the curriculum is new to you. If you have experience in asset management or banking, then you’re ok with a study provider who summarizes like a Kaplan.
Whoever you choose to study with, stick with their methods and work it hard. Loads of people pass using ALL these providers, their systems work if you apply them and put in the time grinding away. Stop accumulating more and more study materials, you will only confuse yourself and feel pressured to get through it all. Don’t be a victim of marketing.
Be consistent, especially if you are busy with a lot of commitments. I have a stressful job, lots of travel, kids, and a wife who is angry at me and the CFAI. So I never studied more than 20-45 minutes at a clip, but I did study almost every day. Consistency helps ensure you cover everything.
You don’t need to do 10 timed full exams or pay to have your exam graded. Most old exams are full of questions that aren’t relevant anymore. I never did a whole mock exam, but I timed myself on individual morning questions, did all the CFAI provided online questions, and many old relevant exam questions. Studying from old exams is exam prep 101, if you’re not doing old exams you’re just an amateur.
I did the Schweser online class (ran from January-May) as well as the in-person three day review. After that used the remaining time before the exam (~4 weeks) doing full practice exams. I did this for both level 2-3 passing on the first time using this method for each. What I liked is it kept me on schedule and I really felt like I knew the material heading into the final 4 weeks while doing the practice exams. It helped increase my confidence walking into the exam.
Additionally, the teacher gave really good exam strategy tips, how to prioritize your studies, ways to approach morning section questions, etc.
Haha yeah, it’s an insane amount but I just wanted my chances of getting tripped on curveballs/failing minimized, so I used a variety of providers…
CFA 2007-2018 (12 AM papers)
Meldrum/Magician #1-4 (#3 far and away hardest AM mock I ever took)
Kaplan #1 (far and away WORST AM mock I ever took). Trashed the rest after that one.
So, 17 total AMs plus 17 PMs from Konvexity, Schweser, Meldrum, Wiley, and CFAI (although CFAI PM mocks are kind of a waste of time bc a lot of them are in the TTs).
Huge overkill to many people, I realize this lol, but I wasn’t thrown off by anything on the exam (except for one 4 pt sub Q), and confidently answered everything so take with that what you will.
