In an earlier post I advised you to focus on the Level III essay exam. While that still holds you can’t ignore the item-set (case study followed by six MCQ questions) exam. The item-set format is similar to what you experienced at Level II; but, you still need practice.
The most important sources of practice are:
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Curriculum blue box examples. If you’ve been following my advice, you should have been working through the curriculum examples as part of your regular study. At this stage it will be useful to revisit these examples and make sure you understand/remember the key concepts. This will help with both the essay and item-set exams.
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Curriculum practice problems. Ideally you should have been working through the curriculum practice problems as part of your regular study. If not, you must do these questions before the exam. As with the blue box examples, this will help with both the essay and item-set exams.
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CFA Institute online topic tests. You’ll find topic-wise item-sets (case studies) on the CFA Institute website. CFA Institute has put considerable time and effort in creating these topic tests. Once you have reviewed a particular topic you must do the CFA Institute case studies. If you perform poorly on the first few case studies, then review/study some more before attempting the rest.
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CFA Institute mock exams. The final part of your review should involve taking the full length item-set exams made available by CFA Institute. Note that the 2016 Level III mocks exams are in item-set format. (There is no 2016 mock essay exam. To help you practice essay exams CFA Institute makes actual essay exams available from previous years.)
If you complete the above and are looking for more practice, then you can turn to mock exams made available by prep providers. In the final 2-3 weeks you should attempt as many full-length mock exams as possible. I encourage my students to do at least three in an exam-like setting.
Some candidates insist on working through CFA Institute mock exams from the past. For such students I have the following comments:
- Many of the case studies you’ll find on the website are based on cases in past mock exams. These cases have been updated to reflect the 2016 curriculum. Hence do the online case studies before thinking about past mock exams.
- The curriculum changes every year so when working through past mock exams there is always a chance that some material is not part of the 2016 curriculum.
- I’ve created document identifying which cases from past mock exams are still relevant. You can access this document by contacting me here
Keep in mind that the mock exams are the property of CFA Institute. The more recent mock exams specify the following terms of use:
By accessing this mock exam, you agree to the following terms of use: This mock exam is provided to currently registered CFA candidates. Candidates may view and print the exam for personal exam preparation only. The following activities are strictly prohibited and may result in disciplinary and/or legal action: accessing or permitting access by anyone other than currently-registered CFA candidates; copying, posting to any website, emailing, distributing and/or reprinting the mock exam for any purpose.
Best wishes,
Arif Irfanullah, CFA