17 years of exams… Totally not worth the life. It would cost around $12,000 not including any 3rd party materials.
dpcfa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > awaiting L3 results here. my 2 cents - sorry but > if you fail level 1 twice you will never pass > level 2 +1. if you band 9-10 level I because you werent doing enough mocks but actually read all the material and freaked out on test day, then thats fine IMO but if you like band 5 or 6 level 1 and you studied for 300 hours i wouldnt bother continuing. L2 builds on L1 and if you cant grasp L1 there is just no way you’ll get through level 2
There’s a dude on the L3 board who has taken L1, L2, and L3 probably a total of 10 times total. Pure dedication right there. I heard of a girl who sat for L1 SIX times! I think she finally realized that the CFA was not meant to be after the last effort.
iteracom Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you really gave L1 your best solid effort and > are still only getting Band 6 or 7 (ESPECIALLY > after trying 2 times or more) the CFA program is > not for you. This is probably the best way to look at this; considerable improvement means you are at least able to grasp the material, but may just require better preparation. Any lack of substantial improvement from one attempt to the next would probably mean that a candidate simply lacks aptitude or interest in the material.
If you’ve got at least normal intelligence and you fail the exam its probably because you just aren’t studying correctly. Rethink your strategy if you fail.
Most people who pass level 1 on their second try will take level 2 two or three times and then quit the program.
I was band 9 in my first attempt. Got all >70% this time. You are saying I should stop. Are you kidding me? Lot of people here dont have the luxury to study 3-4 hr a day with family and kids. And they have a 9-6 job.
There is no right answer to this question. Ultimately it is up to the individual. If you want to spend 17 years obtaining the charter or 6 years trying to pass level 1 that is your prerogative. The nature of the course is such that you need a certain level of motivation. For me, this was the key ingredient - much more so than time allocation, study methods or even raw intelligence. If you don’t have the drive you will struggle because the course is hard and there is a large quantity of information to retain. Contrary to popular opinion I didn’t think level 2 was insanely difficult. It is a step up from level 1, but that is to be expected. If you can pass level 1 you should be able to pass level 2.
ChickenTikka Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you’ve got at least normal intelligence and you > fail the exam its probably because you just aren’t > studying correctly. Rethink your strategy if you > fail. Agree for the most part. If you are failing because of an inherent lack of aptitude for the material, it’s probably a good idea to realize your limitations and let it go. If you have a good aptitude for the material, but failed largely due to time constraints/poor study plan, you should give it another try. For me, my biggest issue is looming time constraints.
TwoGuns Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Contrary to popular opinion I didn’t think level 2 > was insanely difficult. It is a step up from level > 1, but that is to be expected. If you can pass > level 1 you should be able to pass level 2. did you take L2 in one of the last two years?? from personal experience in '09 and from talking to friends in '10, i thought there was a HUGE gap in difficulty between 1 and 2. i would never agree with the statement “if you can pass level 1 you should be able to pass level 2”. there are plenty of people for whom this is not true.
Just past level 2 (2nd attempt), pretty much echoing what other people have said, if your questioning about your commitment now with Level 1, how do you think that will hold up until Level 3? With Level 1, you could have gotten away with not studying a section (I skipped econ completely for Level 1) or even skim some LOS since you had 240 questions and the type of questions they asked were very broad With Level II, you HAVE to study and understand EVERY LOS and sections. The amount of questions asked is cut in half and the questions they ask is very specific. So even though the material is still very wide and broad, the TEST is deep and narrow
Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > >“if you can > pass level 1 you should be able to pass level 2”. > Total BS. L2 is a much larger dragon with more heads while camped in a bigger castle with 10x the random flames coming at you. But unfortunately, the princess is still in another castle.
dpcfa - I sat level 1 in Dec '09 and level 2 in June '10. I passed both with reasonably good marks and I stand by my comments. Level 2 builds on level 1 so I felt a lot of concepts were fairly intuitive. I’m not saying it was easy and it was definitely harder than level 1 but I wouldn’t go as far as saying ‘there was a HUGE gap in difficulty’. My biggest challenge was the change to my personal circumstances. During my study for level 2 I moved hemispheres, changed jobs and became a Dad for the first time. If the gap in difficulty was as massive as you say there would have been no way I could have passed. A candidate that has passed level 1 has proved 2 things - 1) they have a decent base level of intelligence and 2) they have the capacity to retain a significant quantity of information. Add drive/motivation and the appropriate amount of study time and the candidate ‘should’ pass level 2.
dpcfa - I work with a girl who failed level 1 twice, and passed level 2 1st time, she’s awaiting results for L3. To say such affirmative statements as ‘u’ll never pass L2 if…’ tells me that ur obvious a smart dumbass (someone who’s obviously book smart, but that’s it). I mean, how wud u no other people’s capability of passin an exam given they have failed one, according to u, u passed both L1 & L2 1st time, so u definitely cant make such firm statements. Adoo - given that you failed L1, u will have a gut feeling within urself whether or not you can pass the exam, and i just have a feeling that u believe u can, but may be doubting urself from the majority of negative comments on here. I failed one of my IAQs (a relatively easy exam with almost no content compared to the CFA), and passed L1 CFA 1st time, getting over 70% in all categories. Obviously, as the world is filled with ppl like dpcfa, no1 believed I will pass, based on the fact I failed the IAQ, and were extremely shocked to find out how well I did. I obviously knew I cud pass it well. All that chat about L2 being impossible compared to L1, I think that’s a whole loada crap. It may require a lot more work to be put in to understand, but I’m sure it is just as possible as L1.
The question is not how many attempts but how much money do you want to spend? You can go on ebay pay very little for all 3 levels of the exam and then spend a few years studying and then pass on the first try. Or you can save money on buying books on ebay and instead pay for the test each year until you pass. The 2nd option seems very expensive.