Is there a big difference of pass rate among different regions? I heard mainland China has around only 30% - 40% pass rate for level 3 compared to around 50% pass rate globally. How come there is a such big difference? How about other regions?
I was just wondering the same thing with my buddy. I’m surprised that China would have such a low pass rate. I would’ve thought that Asian countries with a) long history of standardized testing b) pressure on individuals to succeed c) competitive employment environment would result in insanely high pass rates.
I guess it is because of their poor English skills. It is especially important for Level 3.
I heard canada is pretty low
Colorado is pretty ‘high’.
#bazinga
I am personally amazed at people with less than 5 years of speaking/writing English passing the CFA exams.
Agree. I have been surprised by how complicated the wording can be in the item sets.
But I guess it can be done with hard work. I work in a same company with guy an Asian guy who has passed all three levels. His English is not good at all…to the point where his emails do not make any sense and his verbal explanations are even worse. I have thought about asking him how did he manage to pass the exams but I guess that would make me look like an @sshole.
Actually, CFA is not an English skill test. Spelling and grammar does not matter in the morning section as long as you understand the knowledge and express them clearly.
exactly. I’m asian-american and i’ve had to take L3 three times to pass. I’ve seen some international students pass it on their first go. So it’s more about content-understanding than it is about the actual language.
Non-native english speakers will have to work harder, thats all that means.
Some of the text in the vignettes and some of the questions, the way the text is worded, is very difficult to understand even for a native speaker. Some sentences could easily have two meanings depending on how your interest the emphasis.
And some sentences have no meaning. 
ha! Got 'em Bill!!! LOL
For non native speakers, and for whom English is not even a working language, level III is partially a test of memorization.
I’m in this situation and how I see:
It is no problem selecting the right one from 3 answers when I know the material.
But when I have to write a definition it takes time sometimes to remember the exact word CFAI is using. So I spend more time for the same question than a native speaker, and sometimes I make mistakes.
In one of the questions I wrote SUFFICE instead of SATISFICE. I say they are synonims, but I wonder how CFAI would assess it and how they would grade it.
OK spelling and grammar are not important, but is you are not using the exact words I’m not sure you’ll get those points.
Consider this. Passing Level III is an achievement but striving to better one’s command of English is an even bigger achievement, in my opinion, as its benefits last a lifetime.
So to all candidates, let me suggest that you make slight adjustments to your priorities and expectations of success.
how do you know that? Doesn’t it depend completely on your personal situation?
As I said, it’s my opinion; and it’s your choice whether to believe it or not.
What was interesting was there was a survey done at /r/cfa and though it was a small sample size (couple hundred people), the results showed that across all levels, people who said English was not their first language had a higher pass rate than the native English speakers.