I think I’m writing so someone can talk me out of it or not talk me out of it. I misjudge the amount of material for this exam. I started reading around Labor day. I thought a good 3 months will be enough to get through the material. I have been studying diligently since I started. However, I feel I am no where near the finish line with only 4 areas completed in full and others, somewhat completed and one I’ve yet to start. I will say by Saturday, I will be able to get though 65% of the material and I HATE going into any exam without studying 100% of the material. One question I dont recognize can throw me off and spill over to questions I should be able to answer. I really wanted to be a Level III candidate by this time next year, but not sure if I’m willing to sit for this exam. I do not find the material difficult, it’s just so much to take in. I really want to do well. Suggestions?
One more thing, I have heard people say they started reading about 3-6 weeks before the exam and they passed - Now I think they were all lying.
Tough spot to be in, that was me in June, I gave myself about 2 months while working full time and i tried cramming really hard but it didnt work out. I ended up being really stressed, felt like shit and didn’t really learn anything from the experience. I would say if you are really confident in the material you have learned so far then maybe give it a shot. However if you are shaky on the material you have covered and know zero on the remaining material i wouldnt really put myself to the stress. I think the people that studied less than a month and still passed probably know a lot of the material from either their work or their coursework.
Man, I don’t see why you wouldn’t show up in general for one. Like it’s on a saturday, so it’s not taking time out of your work week, and you spent the past 3 months studying for this day. Stopping now is just throwing away all of that and the money you paid for it, and deferring your eventual completion of the program. Worst case ontario, you go to the test to see what the situation is like and what the environment feels like to make the second try easier. But lets make sure next time is for level 2.
If I’ve learned anything from this exam so far, it’s that you cant know everything. Heck, theres 30 pounds of textbooks on my desk downstairs and I’ve tried to learn as much as I can. Can I say I know everything? No, nobody can (Except S2000 who i know will be lurking), but at least giving it your all and trying to beat the MPS is all you can do. So many people talk about sections they omit fully because the ROI of their time wasn’t worth it, so they skipped derivatives, alts, whatever the case since they know they just have to beat the mps. Just try your hardest, SHOW UP, and get past level 1 so you can be writing level 3 in no time. You have a few days left, assuming you took work off you can study 15 hours a day, totaling 60 hours before exam day you can definitely learn a lot. I don’t want to see a quitter, just go write the damn test and make yourself proud.
I will let you guy know what I do. Meanwhile I’m still studying - Thanks for your advice. But I have learned a lesson - 6 months or even more is required to fully prepare for the CFA.
Sorry to hear about that mate. Let me offer a realistic opinion given on what you have mentioned: your probability of going through the Dec 2016 level 1 is very low (sorry to be that harsh but hear me out…)
There are 3 options available to you:
Keep going
Completely give up
Partially give up
Given your realistic chances, I would suggest the third option, i.e. go to the exam with the expectation to fail. Try and be fully prepared for the 4-5 topics that you have covered so far and aim for for 70%+ in these topics in the actual exam. You will better understand the style of questions and level of difficulty in these topics, especially when fully prepared. On results day (where you will be expecting a FAIL grade), if you haven’t achieved 70%+ in these 4-5 topics, mark them as your weak topics. Forget about the other topics you haven’t covered yet.
For your next sitting in June 2017, use the remaining 5 months (Jan to May) for your remaining uncovered topics and weak topic/s. The Dec 2016 exam experience will be crucial and should therefore provide you a reasonable expectation of what to expect for Jun 2017 exam.
Note: If possible, you should include Ethics in your fully prepared topics towards Dec exams because it is the most tricky topic to master.
Concluding, although it is very unrealistic that you’ll survive the Dec 2016 exams, it may be very realistic that you’ll go through in the next June sitting!
Hey…pls dont give up…i am studying for 6mnths but 2 weeks back …i was getting a similar feeling …jus do IFT summary videos, cfa mocks and rememver formulaes…i knw wht u r going thru but dont waste ur 3mntsh efforts…the portion is indeed vast but u will cleqr.dont give up at tis stage.
It’s too late. You are registered already so you have nothing to lose going to the exam.
Once you sit for the exam I am not sure what would be beneficial for you - to pass or fail. If you pass and get your results in early February you will have 4 months for L2 in June and you could be in a bigger mess.
I would suggest doing mock exams. This will help u cement the material that you already know and give u a quick overview of what to expect for the material u haven’t covered. Just remember, it is just an exam, I bet you’ve done hundreds so far in your life. It may be the hardest one yet, but it is just another exam. Definitely go write it, you put in the effort for the last 3 months. Good luck!
Some questions will include raw information that you need to process before you can start answering. For example, he said he “really wanted to be a L3 candidate by this time next year”. Or debt was twice the equity, or inventory turnover was increasing while average inventory was constant etc
You’re right, the material is not extremely hard it’s really tough managing the material. When only 8.9% receive the charter, most of the candidates are not prepared to complete the process. Most academic experiences don’t prepare one to tackle this academic exercise especially if you’re not employed in the Investment Management business or not surrounded by CFA charter holders.
Keys for success:
Whether you’re studying from the CFAI text or third party study notes you need to know/track how many pages of material you can go through per day. With 3321 pages of material in the first exam, even if you used all 90 days that you had to study for the exam that would require you to complete approximately 37 pages a day. That wouldn’t leave any time for a final review. You could probably read 37 pages a day but throw in going through examples and end of chapter problems with calculations, 37 pages a day is highly unlikely. That’s why CFA societies like the NYSSA recommend that you start as soon as the CFA material is available. If you start at the beginning of August for the following years June exam and you used 6 weeks for your final review that would leave you with 263 days of study and approximately 13 pages per day to complete. Much more manageable than trying to cram 37 pages a day.
Time spent prior to the final review: 60% of your time New Material 40% of your time for Review during the 263 days.
You really need to be an exam analyst on the CFA Exam…it’s really a great process if you can solve the challenge before you.
I think this is a flawed conclusion (unless you try to fit my response into the category of “they weren’t prepared”). There are many more reasonable explanations as to why only 9% or so receive the charter. Many people decide or are told it’s not needed for their job so they don’t pursue it further. Some people are told to take through Level 2, for example, because they had no prior degree and it’s a quick and relatively cheap way to get a mini education in the basics of finance, accounting, and economics. Many people have a family and have to postpone the exam and eventually never come back to it. As we’ve witnessed on here quite often, people think the exam will help them make the switch into finance after years in another field. I’m sure this does happen if someone completes at least level 2, but a fair amount of these people probably don’t get the jobs they expected and won’t ever achieve the qualifying work experience to get the charter, even if they finished level 3. A lot of people beat their head against the wall with this exam, but quite a number of people who had no issues with the exam don’t finish it for many other reasons (including the realization that if you’re good, you don’t need it, and it’s very unlikely to be make or break). Heck, I’ve heard people talk about not taking the next level because their employer wouldn’t pay for it and they didn’t want to pay out of pocket (not to mention all the people who only sign up to take it in the first place because an employer wants them to but they have no real intention of completing it).
