For those who sat for L3 last year as well, would you say this year's exam was more/less/of the same difficulty?作者: wake2000 时间: 2011-7-13 15:59
Morning was easier, afternoon was harder.作者: ohai 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
i don't know... i was walking in feeling much better prepared but have the same feeling about the results this year. i was band 10 so maybe the cards fall my way this time. definitely it is a very different exam from last year.
What was interesting about last year's exam is that most of people on the forum felt it was relatively easy. a lot of people felt it was the easiest level they took and felt confident. many thought it would be one of the highest passing rates. but when the results came out it was shocking to see one of the lowest passing rates. from what i learned, it's never what it seems.作者: bodhisattva 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
PM is easier than last year, AM is more dilutional (timing wise, becuase of only 9 Q sets). I was able to finish writing all the Qs last AM, but had to skip a 18pts Q this AM.作者: mar350 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
lenchik101 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i don't know... i was walking in feeling much
> better prepared but have the same feeling about
> the results this year. i was band 10 so maybe the
> cards fall my way this time. definitely it is a
> very different exam from last year.
This作者: aidebaobao 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I wouldn't get too caught up in pass rates -- especially comparing L1, L2, and L3 to each other. not to get all quant on everyone, just remember that at L3 the dispersion around the scoring mean is much, much tighter; therefore your margin of error is tighter for L3. You have to put yourself in a position to "win" every question. Whatever you do, you want to "fall" on that passing side (duhh...hehe), especially on the big questions. you need every point you can muster.作者: PalacioHill 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
IMHO morning much easier, Afternoon much harder. But last yr I was not nearly as prepared as I was this yr. There were a lot of questions in the PM where you can argue for any one of at least two of the answers.
Feel like im starting with 5/6 on each PM section because of the nature of the questions. Doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for mistakes.作者: Zestt 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
AM- Definitely short on time...I left one and half questions practically blank, but my own fault because I saw 9 instead of 11 questions and thought oh this should be easy on time and took too much time with IPS Q and by the time I looked up when I had finished that Q it was 9:56am...and from there it went south.
PM- I found it tough and very detailed oriented exam...too many little tricks, too many double choices that I had to take an education guess between two answers that I could argue for on both sides.
I am really curious to know how some of you repeaters found it?! I found this to be same difficulty as last year in general terms when you put the two sessions together...I think CFA is definitely trying to keep the difficulty level the same from year to year, I did find the morning to be way more calculation intensive than any other level 3 years I have seen out there recently. I think this made it a bit of time crunch for me personally.
PS: Remember do not discuss exam details...I am refraining from going on any of the topics with exam Q & A and will probably just come on here from time to time until after results...so enjoy your summer people and good luck on 6am of Aug ??/2010作者: mik82 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
Both sets were more difficult. At least last year- there were no taxes作者: Roflnadal 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I agree with doubleA and NJLVLIII. I found the am easier and the pm harder. In 2009 I failed in band 10 and did poorly in the am and well in the pm. I expect this year it will be reversed, just hoping it's a pass. Overall I felt much better leaving the room this year than last year, so hopefully my gut reaction is valid. Not sure if this is because I was more prepared, or the exam was easier or I'm just completely wrong on this.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Monday, June 7, 2010 at 04:32PM by jayjay77.作者: Darien 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I thought last year's exam was quite a bit easier, especially the morning session.作者: ll11 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I felt better prepared for this year's exam and thought I had better answers for many of the questions. However, I managed my time terribly in the AM section and left 20 points in unanswered questions, which is way too many points to give away. In the end while I thought I passed last year and did not, I finished this test thinking I did not pass it.
I thought the ethics section was more fair this year, but also a little easier.作者: thommo77 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
This was my second time taking level 3. Last year I did poorly on the AM and aced the PM. I feel that the AM was fair but a little trickier(particularly on the Private Client question). PM seemed more difficult this year. I left early last year. This time I stuck around and double checked a few questions. I ended up changing 4 or 5 of my answers.
I feel that I had a better grasp of the material this year and it was still a very challenging exam. Only reinforces why this is a very difficult certification to obtain. I think they did a very good job of testing the material.作者: Windjam 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
This year equal to more difficult. Had enough time to finish, but believe I droped a few bombs in the process.作者: former 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
Exam seemed much easier this year compared to laster year. Time management was a big problem though in the morning but the difficulty of the questions wasnt bad at all compared to last year. PM was MUCH easier than last year...would expect 90+%. However may not be enough after horrible time managment in AM.作者: jmh530 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
last year was easier...this year was about little things and correlation you can only know if you have read the CFAI text 5 times...
anyhow by experience i think a lot of us would be surprised in aug(some positively and some negatively)作者: mik82 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
Overall, I thought the 2009 was tougher, but there might be some increased knowledge bias in that. The 2010 AM was def. easier than 2009 in content, but more difficult from a time mgmt perspective. The afternoon I thought was about the same, maybe slightly easier, but less calculations than last year. In general, very few WTF moments (ala Wacc w/pension, Implied asset/liabilities, 2 bond hedge) as there were in '09.
I did notice the bigger picture more this year, when reading the questions,....like needing to incorporate the differences in duration for a life insurance IPS with a surplus and rising interest rates. That, imo, will catch a lot of candidates choosing the wrong answer.作者: Valores 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I think that both the AM and the PM were harder this year. No doubt about it.作者: nannan66 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I am retaker ( was in band 9). This year the exam was more qualitative. Fewer questions requried punching numbers in calculator. AM was easier compared to last year and didnt have many tricks.
PM in CFA Level 3 is very qulitative and it depends a lot on what you have learned from reading and solving end of chapter questions.
Reading study notes probably would make you guess more in pm and that's where the real catch is.作者: cityboy 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I was in band 10 last two years (hence the name). I agree with some others that this year's AM was easier from a content perspective but more difficult in time management. I completed last year's AM no problem and actually fared pretty well, but this year I essentially left 26 points unanswered.
Afternoon got me in 2009. This year I thought PM was easier. Either that, or I was more prepared. A few tricky ones, but I feel good about PM this year. Then again, I did last year too so kind of hard to say until scores come out...
Band 10 two years in a row is BRUTAL. Please CFAI, let me into the club!作者: thommo77 时间: 2011-7-13 16:00
I think the AM was a little easier, but the PM probably about the same as last year. Still, in the AM portion, there are a few things I know I missed. Who knows in the PM. I just don't have a very good feel for whether I passed or not. This is my second time taking the exam and I was Band 9 last year.
