Mechanical pencil or regular pencil? Which one do you advice?

CFA Level I
#21

i was dying to know what could possibly involve 20 posts about pencils. thanks for a good laugh. good luck tomorrow and with the great pencil debate.

#22

yeah, this is a little much over pencils, right?

#23

Avoid pens with recording devices

#24

A little excessive, but after that post the other day about people getting very long bans and exams voided, it is understandable that people will want to make sure that they are 110% legit!

#25

avoid knives, guns must be OK though

#26

As long as it’s registered and concealed. standard I(A) knowledge of the law

#27

mechanical pencils were allowed last December. I had two on my desk. timotimo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > so Mechanical pencils are okay, can i get a > witness?

#28

Hate to bump such a long post about pencils, but can we have a Dec '10 L1 test taker confirm that mechanical pencils are not going to be a problem on test day?

#29

I confirmed with CFA institute that mechanical pencils are allowed as long as they are #2 or HB.

#30

haha, this topic is back… btw, better look stupid than die on June 4… so when they say #2, is it the 0.5mm one ? I prepared a pack of wood pencils with the sharpener, but since i realized i can use a mechanical and i like mechanical, i will use them. My mechanical are the BIC matip grip 0.5mm #2. That the good one right ?

#31

Miss*Yiota Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > haha, this topic is back… > btw, better look stupid than die on June 4… > > so when they say #2, is it the 0.5mm one ? I > prepared a pack of wood pencils with the > sharpener, but since i realized i can use a > mechanical and i like mechanical, i will use them. > My mechanical are the BIC matip grip 0.5mm #2. > That the good one right ? I think so. I asked them specifically but they did not mention about 0.55 and all, so I assume that it’s allowed. Here is what I sent: Hello Sir/Madam, I have gone through the pencil policy and it says only HB and #2 pencils are allowed. “Mechanical pencils”, in which lead comes automatically and you don’t need sharpener to sharpen them, also have number #2 printed on them. As the rule is not clear to me about the pencils rules, I wanted to check if mechanical pencils are also allowed? If mechanical pencils are allowed, among the category of #2, there are various pencils available of different sizes e.g. 0.75mm, 0.5mm, etc. Is there any restriction on these sizes as well? Here is a link which has picture of mechanical pencils if I was not clear enough about mechanical pencils: http://www.amazon.com/BIC-Mechanical-Pencil-Medium-Pencils/dp/B00260X7F2/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1306542287&sr=8-14 Thanks, Saurabh Here is what they responded with: Thank you for contacting us. You can use a mechanical pencil for the exam provided that you use Number 2 or HB lead.

#32

I imagine that the CFAI customer relations person does not have a fun job…

#33

OMFG. the 0.5/0.7mm is the diameter of the lead…

#34

“Here is a link which has picture of mechanical pencils if I was not clear enough about mechanical pencils”

#35

wow, now that #2 has different size, are all the diameters allow within this broad #2 ? Now I’m in doubt, i like working with my mechanical and i’m use to, but now this question about the size really make me think about having the wood just to b safe Btw, why are they asking specific pencils ? Is it for the machin which correct the exam to be able to read the copies ?

#36

Lol pencil policy is still better than UBS dress code policy. Did you guys hear about this news? http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2011-01-17-ubs-dress-code_N.htm

#37

Alright guys hate to bump this long and dreadful post but I’m sure there are others wondering the same question. So mechanical pencils are ok, got it. They say we need “#2 or HB” lead. Well, I have a load of “2B” lead which I used throughout college on all my scantrons and they all went fine. Is 2B not allowed??? Please tell me someone else has done this!?

#38

Just get some #2 or HB’s. Your 2B would probably work just fine, but lead is like less than a dollar. Why even risk it on something so small?

#39

This is true, too bad I live far from any office supply/stationary store. Need to scout the damn gas stations now.