Yes. That will mean the difference between a Band 5 and a Pass. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pass these exams without thorough understanding of how CFAI is going to test you. You really do have to practice via questions and mocks as much as possible in order to engrain what you’ve read and feel comfortable with all of the different ways that CFAI tries to trick you on these exams. Good luck.
I have wrote Exams twice, in Dec 2010 and June 2011 and failed in both. Most disappointing things was Ethics. Both the time it was under 50%. I know, I have to do a lot in all the sections but Ethics is somethings I have always worked on an and can’t decide what else to be done. I indeed face the concerntration in ethichs and most of the questions I do in ethics in mock goes right. Done know what approach to be followed. Kindly suggest.
jdivico Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yes. That will mean the difference between a Band > 5 and a Pass. It is extremely difficult, if not > impossible, to pass these exams without thorough > understanding of how CFAI is going to test you. > You really do have to practice via questions and > mocks as much as possible in order to engrain what > you’ve read and feel comfortable with all of the > different ways that CFAI tries to trick you on > these exams. > > Good luck. Can you post your results and bands for both times?
I’m sorry. I passed Level 1 on the first try in December of 2008. Don’t have my results from that test any longer. Passed Level 2 on my second try this year. Now a Level 3 candidate for June '12.
jpm Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Band 7. This is my 4th attempt. I took several > years off to do my MBA in Finance. I am thinking > of doing this again in December, but I need to > know if I should. Can you provide some guidance? > > > Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% > - Alternative Investments 8 - - * > - Corporate Finance 20 - * - > - Derivatives 12 * - - > - Economics 24 - * - > - Equity Investments 24 - * - > - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - * > - Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 * - - > - Fixed Income Investments 28 - * - > - Portfolio Management 12 - - * > - Quantitative Methods 28 - - * Hats off to you jpm. Having the determination to taking lvl 1 4 times is not easy. When I took lvl 1, I thought it was so hard and I hated someone who said lvl 1 was easy. Later I found out that lvl 1 was actually quite easy compared to lvl 2 and lvl 3. lvl 1 is easy in a sense that you don’t have to completely understand everything to pass. To pass lvl 2 and lvl 3, you have to understand everything cold. If I were you, I would try networking instead. Imagine you spend 1000 hours on networking instead of pounding books. Assuming you spend 1 hour on 1 person, that’s 1000 ppl in total. It gives you more bargining power on job hunting than with just passing CFA.
dotassa-Thank you for that feedback. I tend to be competitive, and I hate to quit anything. I think that’s what is eating at me the most with this test. However, at some point I have to focus on those things that will give me results in the end to further my career. Obviously, I don’t want to keep chasing this charter if it will continue to be a futile effort.
jpm Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Band 7. This is my 4th attempt. I took several > years off to do my MBA in Finance. I am thinking > of doing this again in December, but I need to > know if I should. Can you provide some guidance? > > > Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70% > - Alternative Investments 8 - - * > - Corporate Finance 20 - * - > - Derivatives 12 * - - > - Economics 24 - * - > - Equity Investments 24 - * - > - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - * > - Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 * - - > - Fixed Income Investments 28 - * - > - Portfolio Management 12 - - * > - Quantitative Methods 28 - - * An MBA in finance and you don’t pass? Though I understand the exam is quite different and it’s a different comparison. CFA is 100% exam based, while MBA has lots of writing and projects etc. The thing with an MBA is, once you get in you graduate (95% pass rate if anything). Unfortunately, but signing up for the CFA exams, doesn’t mean you will finish it. Many people drop after Level 1 or Level 2. Where’s the argument now for MBA > CFA?
jpm Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dotassa-Thank you for that feedback. I tend to be > competitive, and I hate to quit anything. I think > that’s what is eating at me the most with this > test. However, at some point I have to focus on > those things that will give me results in the end > to further my career. Obviously, I don’t want to > keep chasing this charter if it will continue to > be a futile effort. Once you get the studying style and method, level 1 - 3 is just as easy. it’s all about understanding and not memorizing. Too many traps in the exam to trick those who only memorize formulas.
whystudy-Yes, I see your point about the MBA vs. CFA. Are you now judging me because I have an MBA but haven’t been able to get past the CFA? I’m not defending my MBA. I’m not sure how we got on this subject. However, these are totally different. MBA schools have entrance requirements that vary by school. The CFA has very low entrance requirements. So long as you have a bachelor’s degree and a CFA sponsor, you can take the test. Also, with a masters degree, you get several chances to get a good grade, generally speaking. The CFA gives you 1 chance per level. You can’t really compare the two. The only comparison that is fair is the overlap in material from the finance/accounting classes.
jpm Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > whystudy-Yes, I see your point about the MBA vs. > CFA. Are you now judging me because I have an MBA > but haven’t been able to get past the CFA? I’m not > defending my MBA. I’m not sure how we got on this > subject. However, these are totally different. MBA > schools have entrance requirements that vary by > school. The CFA has very low entrance > requirements. So long as you have a bachelor’s > degree and a CFA sponsor, you can take the test. > Also, with a masters degree, you get several > chances to get a good grade, generally speaking. > The CFA gives you 1 chance per level. You can’t > really compare the two. The only comparison that > is fair is the overlap in material from the > finance/accounting classes. not to sound mean, but in a very simple statement. A person who graduates from economics passes the CFA Exam Level 1 compared to a person who graduates from MBA in finance and fails CFA Exam Level 1. You can argue anything, but the result is what matters. And if anything, a person who had completed an MBA should have even more experience in exam writing and studying.
I came to this foum for constructive feedback, not to argue with people. Have a nice day.
jpm Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I came to this foum for constructive feedback, not > to argue with people. Have a nice day. If you want constructive feedback, here it is. I completed the program, but failed each exam once. Though the light might seem dim since you are at level 1, but it’s all worth it at the end. it’s not an easy journey, but it’s well worth it when you see the final PASS on the Level 3 exam. Like any other exam, there’s an element of luck involved as well; from the question/topic they ask to what you have guessed that day. So don’t take a beating on it. And if you have done well on Mock exams and think you pass, think again. No exam question will be the same, atleast not the ones that determines if you pass or not. Always think twice about guesses cause those are where the deciding factor is for pass or fail. Majority of the candidates will get the core questions right including yourself, where it makes a difference is the difficult question where majority of the candidates have to guess; that is what truly determine the people who pass and the people who fail. Any Band 7 to Band 10 usually means you have passed the exam (more than 50%) but failed because of the few guesses. Level 1 is 10-15, level 2 is probably 4-8.
This is helpful feedback. Thanks.