First 3 Morning questions ..... gap, material, discuss, between

kd26gioi

Usually a combination of Portfolio Management: Individuals and/or Institutional. If I am not mistaken, getting these 3 questions correct would be the key to pass L3.

However, the CFAI material kept using old material (ie Peter and Hilda profile.....) to discuss the issue and seems to have a gap between the material and the actual exam.

What would you guys suggest to do? Other than:

- Doing past exams.
- Practice and time the questions.
- Understand Command (ie Define / Discuss / ...) words.


Any "solid" approach to tackle these 3 questions????

dvilayphet

So it seems as if the key is to answer in short bullet points filled with key words.

Does this mean that those marking are better able to mark a shorter bullet point format than longer sentences with key words and explanation interspaced? The latter would take more time and would require the market to spend time integrating the points into a bullet point format: if markers have time constraints then this will favour the bullet point format. Markers may not have time to process the larger content of a longer answer while optimising their own marking objectives.

If this is the case the probability of failing with the correct responses is higher if you answer in a format which is not optimal for the marker. Two to 3 paragraphs with explanation and content versus 4 bullet points with the same differently organised content.

If correct, this would imply a bias towards certain presentation formats which is a strategic but non curriculum outcome.

In this case, the answers provided by the CFA in EOCs and their sample exams etc should also be in a buller point format to capture the outcomes required.

The marking process may therefore be an important determinant of the result, which will result in a skewed exam marking process.

I wonder if the CFA do a quality control on this issue? What is the % of passes with bullet points versus the % of passes with essay type written content? What is the distribution of the PM answer outcomes with the AM for essay written versus the AM/PM for bullet points? Do they select a sample of AM essay format answers with AM fails but high PM marks and remark the exams to check whether the markets are marking for content and not for format?

There is so little we know about the marking process and the quality control of that process.

economicz

The best thing you can do to prepare is to see as many practice exams from CFAI, Schweser, etc. as possible. The essay section is not luck. The morning is difficult b/c it requires to you put all the information together and none of the answers are "cookie-cutter." Understanding the information from the books is a great start, but you have to be able to think on your feet. There is a big difference between memorizing material and identifying answer on a multiple choice exam and being able to regurgitate data from memory and put it on paper. It is a different level of thinking.

I used Schweser books and took 14 notepads worth of notes. I also did all the IPS examples from CFAI books. I didn't get through all the Schweser practice exams, but did all the CFAI prior exams.

Good luck.

profil

I went through the material in Schweser first (reading only). Then I went through again doing Qbank and taking notes in a notebook (3-4 note pages per reading, this became my memorization guide). 3rd time through I did all Schweser problems and CFAI EOQ problems, and used my notebook to help with formulas and lists etc.

Then spent the last few weeks on practice exams and memorization. I did it all in order except saved Ethics for last. I also listened to the Schweser audio books on my commute, about 2x through the material. Multiple passes works for me because it means each time you get more and more familiar and by the time you get to the exam, you've seen it all 4 or 5 times, most recently within a few weeks.

Some people go through only once or twice in great detail, doing practice questions from the get-go, but that wouldn't work for me because I would forget the practice questions I'd done 2 months ago.

YAhmed

I went through the material in Schweser first (reading only). Then I went through again doing Qbank and taking notes in a notebook (3-4 note pages per reading, this became my memorization guide). 3rd time through I did all Schweser problems and CFAI EOQ problems, and used my notebook to help with formulas and lists etc.

Then spent the last few weeks on practice exams and memorization. I did it all in order except saved Ethics for last. I also listened to the Schweser audio books on my commute, about 2x through the material. Multiple passes works for me because it means each time you get more and more familiar and by the time you get to the exam, you've seen it all 4 or 5 times, most recently within a few weeks.

Some people go through in great detail, doing practice questions from the get-go, but that wouldn't work for me because I would forget the practice questions I'd done 2 months ago.

zbird2134

picnic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not sure if I am qualified to offer advice on
> the morning session. I passed this June, got 1 <
> 50%, 2 50-70% and the rest >70% for the morning
> (and all but 1 >70% in the pm).
>
> My thought is manage your time, if you find
> yourself flustered by a question, move onto
> something that makes you feel more comfortable and
> confident, and go back to the question if you have
> time.
>
> Get the most important facts down first. Keep it
> simple, try to imagine the test answer key and
> think of what they are looking for. Key words,
> short bullet points full of info and not all
> fluff. I wrote very little in the essay part.
> Obviously, write the answers in the correct places
> on the pages. Do loads of practice exams and grade
> yourself fairly or even a little bit harshly. Know
> the material, understand it, don't just memorize.
> However, memorization of the types of answers that
> get points also helps (especially in the IPS
> sections).
>
> Hope this helps someone.


What's your key material for 1) the overall exam and 2) for individual and institutional questions?

When you prepared for the exam, did you try to group several related readings together to study?

Ladies and Gentlemen, do study hard GIPS for next year!!!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 06:58PM by EEYY.

Zestt

I'm not sure if I am qualified to offer advice on the morning session. I passed this June, got 1 < 50%, 2 50-70% and the rest >70% for the morning (and all but 1 >70% in the pm).

My thought is manage your time, if you find yourself flustered by a question, move onto something that makes you feel more comfortable and confident, and go back to the question if you have time.

Get the most important facts down first. Keep it simple, try to imagine the test answer key and think of what they are looking for. Key words, short bullet points full of info and not all fluff. I wrote very little in the essay part. Obviously, write the answers in the correct places on the pages. Do loads of practice exams and grade yourself fairly or even a little bit harshly. Know the material, understand it, don't just memorize. However, memorization of the types of answers that get points also helps (especially in the IPS sections).

Hope this helps someone.

Chuckrox8

kenluce, Judge Smails, pandeter, mikecocos ... I'm in the same boat.

I failed L3 band 7. I was in complete shock. To qualify myself, I'm a pessimistic test taker. After exam day, I was convinced that I failed L1 and L2; in both cases I passed on my first attempt with relative ease - 13/20 sections >70 between the two tests and nothing below 50 on either L1 or 2. L1 represented 4 of the 7 sections that I didn't score >70 on between the first two levels; I took L1 without a minute of sleep the night before. The 7 sections that I didn't post scores of >70 were almost entirely the smaller sections (5% alternative assets variety). My background also includes a Masters degree in Finance where I earned a 4.0 GPA.

I did better on the PM section than many of the people that passed L3, but I had *5* sections below 50 in the AM. I went into the level 3 exam feeling better prepared than I was at L1 or L2 and I left the exam thinking that I nailed both sections. Again, I was completely shocked by my results.

I have no regrets with how I prepared for L3. If I studied 200 more hours for L3, my guess is that I would have ended up with a higher band fail, but a fail nonetheless. Whatever happened, it resulted in a systemic and epic collapse in the AM. I must have scored 0 points on some AM sections...why? Did I put my answers on the wrong pages? Were my answers too short? Was I unclear on command words? Did I not show enough work to earn partial credit?

I'm rambling (venting really). What's my point? I'm taking this thing again. I want to destroy it. I can solve a "content" problem. I can't readily solve a problem with HOW I am pre-programmed to answer an essay question. I'm just anxious at the thought that I can't learn may way out of my problem with the L3 morning section.

I'm not going to knock CFAI at all; it's their test, and I own my failure. I would say that the institute dedicates hundreds of pages to each study session and assigns a weighting to each of them. To me, the most heavily weighted aspect of the L3 AM section is the format itself. They should have a comprehensive guide on how to approach the AM section if the approach has a significant impact on your results. It's hard to find clear and concise instructions on how they're going to ask questions and then a sample of realistic exam day answers that would score points. Yes, they provide samples and mocks with explanations which are then prefaced by statements that they don't represent realistic exam day answers. The templates and formats that they offer aren't provided in their actual exam day format. The scoring key is a complete mystery.

My approach for 2012 will be to start really early, complete CFAI EOC's and blue-box questions, watch all Stalla videos, complete all Stalla homework, and re-read the 200+ pages of notes that I have...by January 1, 2012. The remaining 5 months will be dedicated to the old CFAI exams, CFAI mocks, CFAI samples; Schweser books 6/7; and mocks from BSAS, Schweser, and Stalla. Hopefully that does the trick....

Analyze_This

Do the 16-week Schweser online course. I'm no genius by any stretch but Bruce did a great job on coaching you how to answer these PM questions. VERY VERY helpful, its stuff that you don't get to read anywhere. I think thats the biggest thing that I took away from that course.

I probably had few words in each point for the first 3 questions, thats it. If they asked what was the risk tolerance, I'd said average willingness, below avg ability. Thats it.

segalm

The other post mentioned about "Creighton University CFA Boot Camp".


Is it good?? Any 2011 notes available??



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 09:47PM by EEYY.