i want to start a thread to get everyone to share any exam day horror stories so we can all learn from it and prepare (IF POSSIBLE)! for my level I, the guy in front of me sat right under a leak in the venue. he hid all his papers to one side of his desk but of course all his work was soaked through already. you can imagine him being SUPER pissed and can’t really move desks until the afternoon session. i actually moved in the afternoon session because the splashes were affecting me… but man sucks to be that guy! please share your horror stories (washroom emergencies, calculator malfunctions, missing equip, etc…)
When I wrote Level I at the Javits Center, two of the proctors stood right in front of my desk (I was front row) and chatted through the afternoon session of the exam. If X-Acto knives were allowed in the CFA exam, I would’ve stabbed them both to death.
Wendy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When I wrote Level I at the Javits Center, two of > the proctors stood right in front of my desk (I > was front row) and chatted through the afternoon > session of the exam. > > If X-Acto knives were allowed in the CFA exam, I > would’ve stabbed them both to death. you should have told them to STFU. i think there was a guy who sh*t in a sink on exam day once, and then another guy who wiped his faced with a sh*t towel he pulled from the trash becasue they were out of towels. true story, its DEFINATELY in the AF archives.
Showed up at Javits last year with one of my study buddies: Me: I’m in section JJJ. What about you? Him: I’m in A5. Me: I don’t think it works that way. They’re all three letters, right? Let me see your ticket…Yeah, OK, you’re not taking the exam here. Him: What? Me: Yeah, dude, you’re up in midtown at the Hilton. Him: How can that…how did I… Me: Stop floundering, get outside and get in a cab right now, idiot. Go. GO! [shoves him towards door]. Him: Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii- So yeah, that was fun.
The proctors were chit chatting in the exam room? Should have reported them. Not supposed to cause a disturbance.
I would’ve loved to tell those proctors off in the middle of the exam. But I wasn’t willing to take the chance of them then accusing ME of causing a disturbance. I had a lot to lose. A proctor that makes $10 an hour two Saturdays a year – Not so much.
My stories aren’t nearly as bad as the above but likely are more common so they might help someone. Bad past experiences at Level 1: I went to a bagel shop in the morning for breakfast. I thought if I had a good breakfast, it would hold me through the morning. It was a bad idea. I had to go to the bathroom so bad in the morning session and was so far away from the bathroom. It took a good minutes and killed me on the test. I know someone that went to a fast food restaurant for lunch during the level 1 exam since it was the only thing near the test site. Apparently it was not the most sanitary fast food restaurant in town. Needless to say, he didn’t even come back for the afternoon session. My advice…pack your own lunch, make your own breakfast and eat only things that really agree with you. You don’t need to have those problems on exam day. Also don’t drink too much coffee or tea or anything else for same problems noted above.
You could tell them that if they are going to talk, the least they can do is tell you the right answers.
That’s why everyone should bring earplugs.
LOL good post. Few good stories to post: 1) Took my level II in Vancouver and it was a sight to behold. It was the only time I have witnessed a MEN’S washroom’s with at least 20 bathroom stalls that were all occupied + a lineup of a gazillion guys. Only during the CFA exams… 2) My buddy had to change batteries during the exam. He thought he was covered since he brought his screwdriver. He said during the exam he cut his hand pretty bad when his hand slipped. Had to write his first half of his Level I with blood all over his desk. 3) Heard somebody that took two calculators to an exam. One’s batteries died, the other (which was new), didn’t work.
I was sleep deprived after the AM session and ended up burning my tongue on the coffee i bought (anxiety i tell ya!)… The other thing that could have been a big issue but was not … lining up to get into the test center and one of my pencils scrapes my exam ticket…person at the door makes a fuss but then offers to help me erase it off…
ih8studying Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 3) Heard somebody that took two calculators to an > exam. One’s batteries died, the other (which was > new), didn’t work. What a nightmare. I was thinking of just bringing a second calculator since I wouldn’t have time to fiddle with a screwdriver. My thought was: worst case scenario, the other calculator somehow doesn’t work and there is almost no chance of that happening. Then you say it happened. All of these bathroom stories behind are my worst nightmare. I’m definitely going to force a dump the night before the exam
I took level 2 in Moscow last year. On the way to the Crocus Expo Center I pulled over on the highway to assist a motorist that had just been in a car accident. He was dead. Dead, dead.
the first poo story is true. the second one is fake and made up.
So, this was in June 2007. I drank a lot on Saturday night. My flatmate left at 7:30 in the morning for his Level 3, I remember saying good luck to him. Exam starts at 9:00. At 8:30, my phone started ringing, I was still sleeping but answered the phone since it was from the flatmate. He said, “I forgot my calci”. I knew the address of the center but did not know the directions. I got up as quickly as possible. Was on my bike with his calci in say 3 minutes. Handed him the calci at say 1 or 2 minutes shy from 9. That was my craziest driving till date. When I handed him calci. He didnt say anything, just gave me a smile. He cleared the exam.
When I was taking L2, my friend brought his calculator out during lunch break and re-entered the hall in the afternoon without his calculator. Guess what? He wasn’t allowed to exit the venue to retrieve his calculator from his bag outside and was told a report would be filed if he did. Someone beside him brought in two calculators and offered to lend him but was stopped by the proctor. He did the second part of the exam without a calculator and in L2 , that’s just suicidal.
I think the way proctors act sometimes is just plain stupid
CFAI should get actual charterholders to proctor the exams, instead of the dimwitted riffraff that they actually hire.
guy next to me accidentally scribbled some jibberish on his exam ticket… they wrote him up… not sure what happened to him but he didn’t show up for level 3 the following year.
^ Maybe he didn’t have to anymore. He adopted the model and bottle lifestyle.