kingstongal

So this is sounding like I am the exception to the rule which is what I was trying to find out. Out of curiosity when people say they are doing well on the Schweser test, are you saying 60-70, 70-80 or above 80? And does that mean working a whole AM or PM set in under 3-hours and not using any notes?

President1988

I'm averaging right about 70-75. Highest scores are about 80. Lowest score is a 58 (vol 2 exam 1am) working the whole way through without notes.

Now that I'm done with CFAI mock AM (80) and PM (77) I'm done doing dedicated tests at this point. In other words, I'm not going to sit down and take a full test anymore without notes. It's much more time effective to work a problem, check the answer, review the material if need be and move on to the next one. I will use the remaining three vol 2 schweser tests with this method. I will likely review previous tests i've done completely too time permitting...

sameeragarwal

Westibbs sounds like you are set. Out of curiosity, what was your study approach up until now?

giants2010

Finished exam I from the PM section. Total of 5 exams now including live mock, averaging 78.7%. This last exam i did the worst one (71.5 overall). Some of these questions are so vague i feel like i cant stand it.

smuggycfa

I've done well on the Schweser mocks (average 84.5 after 4 exams), but found the CFA mock to be noticeably harder (77 on AM so far with a couple lucky guesses, worse mark than any Schweser test). The Schweser questions felt like fill-in-the-blank questions, while the CFA questions were far more challenging conceptually. I'm good at plugging things into an equation or rattling off a list, but the deep understanding the CFA exam demanded really strained my abilities.

I could see myself getting unlucky with the item sets and getting killed on exam day. Still need more studying.

bdavi77962

My performance has actually been remarkably similar to Westibbs'

On average, scoring in the mid 70s on the Schweser mocks in Volume 1. Scored a 75 on the official CFAI mock (AM+PM). Volume 2, Exam 1 AM was for some reason made to be incredibly difficult. I scored a 62.

Not sure if this holds true for all the mocks in Volume 2, but I think it's a good chance to 'stress test' your knowledge in the final week leading up to exam day. I doubt the actual exam will be as calculation intensive, based on what Level III candidates have told me.

redskins44

Schweser live mock and schweser exam books are two different animals

liquidity

@tmortonsmith:

I read through the schweser material about three times. The third time, I created a test from the Qbank covering each book's material after i finished each book. I think I did this Qbank process twice. I then started doing schweser practice tests. The first couple, I worked through using notes and book to learn the material further and review. Then I started doing them on my own without notes or book all the way through. The first real test I took was Schweser Vol 1. Exam 2 pm. I've done tests through Exams Vol. 2 - Exam 2 AM.

At this point, i'm going to do a Schweser Ethics review (although this is definitely plagued by law of diminishing returns), and keep rolling through my remaining Schweser practice tests.

I might do the CFAI sample 2, because the first one was awful (61). I think I was just tired, and couldn't roll with taking a test online...which was annoying. Hated learning that i missed a problem after each one...really messed with my head...

needhelp1700

I guess we need the input of level III candidates over here ..which is difficult

WarrenB1

CFA Exam is about the same as the mock or a tad more difficult. I was scoring low 80's on the mock and ended up with all but one section >70%.