So guys just got a list of changes mailed from 300hours and one of the changes is that there will be a few MCQs in the essay section.
Was kinda hoping they’d replace essay with MCQs or item sets all together.
Man this onion keeps adding layers apparently. What is going on with the morning essay section folks. Seems quite unclear what to expect and how to navigate an already difficult piece of the Level 3 puzzle. Scanner or no scanner? MCQs or no? And it’s now shorter too? So many changes, some still unclear insofar as I can tell.
Once prestigious industry designation is becoming a joke. Replace Essey with MCQs, what’s next? Lower the passing rate to 50-60%? They already allowed 4 exam windows in a year.
Don’t worry about the prestige. They’ll make this exam difficult. They have an incentive for doing so. Regardless of the changes, be prepared for one hell of a ride come May.
It could be a May meatgrinder haha. Buckle up let’s riiide.
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And what makes you think so? We all suffer from Hindsight bias to some degree.
There is a reason why the essay section is there in the AM session. And much as I disbelieve I am gradually becoming inclined to believing the best days of the CFA Charter is behind us. It is on its way to commoditisation just like the once Ivy League B Schools used to differentiate and now no more. Just think about this 
- 4 times a year L1 and 2 times LII and LIII
- 2 hrs 15 minutes of each session with optional 30 minutes break. Proportionately no. of qs. reduced.
- LIII essay - so far a big qs. mark and if it becomes really a MCQ in letter and spirit then that’s the end of portfolio management.
And even if one justifies somehow the above departure how the 36 months Charter is celebrated is beyond comprehension. Either we were wrong to earn our charter for a 48 months or the future Charterholders are.
I am almost tempted lest it’s a violation to append that going forward I will mention that Charters earned before or after 2020? ( Of course I will never make such a discrimination )
For those of us who tried to take it twice and were denied due to covid, it’s very uncertain. I think everyone would prefer the usual 6 hour written format then to be test monkeys on the new morning am session. To be honest, I am not as concerned about the questions as I am about how to type math on a computer. There are always tons of questions I don’t know. I’ve learned to accept others mostly don’t know them either and the curve is what matters at the end of the day. If the 2021 pass rate is high, that’s great I got lucky. But I’d rather have taken it last June or in December. Absolutely no question about it. Not even close. Give me an exam where there are 10 years of data and examples, if it’s hard it’s hard for everyone, just let me know I’m studying something that’s been established. Dunno just my 2 cents. I think most of us are kicking ourselves we’re stuck with CBT involuntarily due to Covid. I’ve never been confident of passing any levels yet thus far I passed everything pretty easily in terms of results (not in terms of the actual test taking experience). My fear this time is that my prep materials aren’t even correct for the format I’m going to be tested in.
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Oh and lets not forget that a few questions tested won’t be marked and depending upon how people do on those, it may/may not be tested in future exams. They’re taking the GMAT route. Guess the only thing now remains is to make the test adaptive.
Just to add balm to the inflated ego of the current crop (Charter earned before 2020…thus promising superior returns)… Now one is only allowed to take a level’s exam up to a max 6 times! Wow.
So basically I’ll need to reincarnate to have a shot at the charter in case I mess up 6 times.
Is 6 times the absolute maximum, or do they require you to complete a requirement before you can try again? I wonder what would be the average number of tries before passing the last CFA exam. My guess is that the limit of 6 is sufficient for most people.
I don’t know. I can’t say. I have never taken any levels for 6 times.
@not_a_CFA I guess nobody truly knows at this point, but perhaps it makes more sense if it’s capped at a maximum of 6, period. Otherwise seems kind of pointless if you can reset it. Hopefully nobody here ever has to confront this dilemma! Cheers good day to everyone👍
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I really wish not. Do you know in China GMAT test takers post real test questions on this website https://forum.chasedream.com/forum.php to share with others? I shall expect the same going to happen to CFA exam. Massive cheating is on the way.
But why are you so paranoid ?
you are not worried about cheating? ok.
I asked them. It’a a permanent ban from the program once you hit the max 6 attempts on any level.
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Yes it is a permanent ban. What good will it do if the pass rate is 65-70%? Though premature but if this trend continues, I would reconsider my association with the institute.
When I passed (granted was not in one go as I failed LIII once), the pass rates were 38%(L1), 46%(L2) and 56 %(L3). The matrix becomes 0.380.460.56*1.44=14%.
Most of us range in the 14-16% bracket as it is likely you would fail once. Of course , there are straight passers for whom the same matrix becomes 9.8%
Now, imagine if the above become 50% (L1), 55%(L2) and 65%(L3). And the same for the straight passers. For repeaters it inflates further. Who is now bothered about 6 times a level ?
There was an online petition filed by one Charterholder comparing “the once Porsche CFA is now running the Boxster route” seriously raising the concern of the prestige and gravity of the program.
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Thanks! A permanent ban seems a bit strict, but if a candidate can’t pass even after 6 tries, maybe CFA isn’t for them.
Cheating has always been an issue for exams. The move to CBT actually makes cheating significantly less likely.
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Do the max 6 attempts for each level include previous attempts on paper based exam before CBT? Or it will start wef May2021 CBT onwards? If I have failed a level in year 2019, does it mean I will have only left 5 more attempts left?