标题: From Band 5 to pass [打印本页] 作者: Bad5shah 时间: 2011-8-27 03:13 标题: From Band 5 to pass
My last Dec 2010 result was band 5 fail but I managed to pass this June.
The reason I made the huge jump cos I totally relied on the CFA texts and mock in Dec 2010 and I did not fully understand major concepts.
So, I enrolled for Kaplan, followed Schweser books and worked all the way. Unforturnately as I have to give up my social life, I gained extra 10 kilos weight.
Most important reason is that I learned to love the material as I go along.
If I can do it, so can you. Don't give up if you haven't put enough effort.作者: RMontgomery 时间: 2011-8-27 03:25
M a Band 5 this June....Followed Schweser books...just wondering how far a band 5 is from clearing the exams ( in terms of marks or correct answers ).Also this was my second attempt. last time it was band 2...are any more attempt worth it?????or m just not a fit for this exam....are there people who took more than 2 attempts to clear level 1作者: LPoulin133 时间: 2011-8-27 03:30
rocksolid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> M a Band 5 this June....Followed Schweser
> books...just wondering how far a band 5 is from
> clearing the exams ( in terms of marks or correct
> answers ).Also this was my second attempt. last
> time it was band 2...are any more attempt worth
> it?????or m just not a fit for this exam....are
> there people who took more than 2 attempts to
> clear level 1
Can you provide your details, education background, work experience, strong and weak areas, etc.作者: Analti_Calte 时间: 2011-8-27 03:36
Yes if you can gain 10kgs, so can I.
On a serious note well done, Im fully relying on Elan. Hope it works out.作者: Analyze_This 时间: 2011-8-27 03:42
rocksolid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> M a Band 5 this June....Followed Schweser
> books...just wondering how far a band 5 is from
> clearing the exams ( in terms of marks or correct
> answers ).Also this was my second attempt. last
> time it was band 2...are any more attempt worth
> it?????or m just not a fit for this exam....are
> there people who took more than 2 attempts to
> clear level 1
I'm sure there are people who have taken it several times and passed.
Now, not to discourage you, but if you really studied your butt off the last two times and these are your results, I don't know if I'd keep trying...
It's not because you couldn't pass Level I next sitting, indeed I believe ANYONE can pass Level I if they put in enough time, but Level II is easily twice if not three times as hard as Level I. And in Level II, it doesn't matter how much time you put in, you still may not pass because of how tricky the exam it.
Think about it - Only 40% of people pass Level II. And these are folks who have already passed Level I.
Just sayin.作者: dirk01 时间: 2011-8-27 03:48
rocksolid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> M a Band 5 this June....Followed Schweser
> books...just wondering how far a band 5 is from
> clearing the exams ( in terms of marks or correct
> answers ).Also this was my second attempt. last
> time it was band 2...are any more attempt worth
> it?????or m just not a fit for this exam....are
> there people who took more than 2 attempts to
> clear level 1
The test is about the curve. band 5 doesn't mean anything except you were ranked at the middle of everyone who failed. It's still a ways to go to passing.作者: bchadwick 时间: 2011-8-27 04:00
I don't know, you need a lot of work still, do you feel like you can really master the material? And if time preparation will continue to be a stumbling block how will you prepare for the tougher levels in the future? I just received band 10 (non-finance background, my weak categories were corp. finance and FRA), but I knew it would be close either way...if I ended up band 2 then band 5 on level 1, I would walk away.作者: chandsingh 时间: 2011-8-27 04:05
rocksolid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for ur response....Well....I did studied
> but had limitations both the times as I had a
> fulltime job n family to support..so couple of
> hours each day during the weekdays and then the
> weeknds......Moreover I just took a week off
> before the June exams....Mayb lack of practice
> exam or mock exams... is wot did me in....M just
> wondering is it like just cracking another 25-30
> questions in the next exam to clear it and move
> from a band 5 to passing..Mayb i should be good to
> go with some more practice the next time....the
> stories I hear is that people bounce back from a
> band 2 to passing mayb with additional time n
> efforts..also that a few have struggled in level 1
> but have cleared level 2 in one attempt....I just
> dont feel like giving up at the moment as
> somewhere i do know that i haven't put in enough
> efforts both the times....for obvious reasons that
> i have failed in both attempts....Below are my
> june scores.....Any suggestionss.....
>
>
> The three columns on the right are marked with
> asterisks to indicate your performance on each
> topic area.
>
> Topic Max
> Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
> - Alternative Investments 8 * -
> -
> - Corporate Finance 20 - *
> -
> - Derivatives 12 -
> * -
> - Economics 24 - *
> -
> - Equity Investments 24 - -
> *
> - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - -
> *
> - Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 * -
> -
> - Fixed Income Investments 28 - *
> -
> - Portfolio Management 12 * -
> -
> - Quantitative Methods 28 - *
> -
> We have divided the full group of candidates who
> did not pass into 10 approximately equal score
> bands. Your score band below shows how your
> overall score on the exam compares with all other
> failed candidates.
>
> Your score band: 5
Looking at your scorecard, I can assure you that you are not very far away. Few positives from your score: Ethics was one of the hardest section this year and you have more 70% on that, so I assume you are a pretty smart guy. Second, Quants is pretty good too. Third and most important, I guess you are not covering all areas of the exam and probably as you said not enough practice either. Try to attempt as many mocks you can this December.
Guess what? The only reason you failed in this exam is because of FSA. I think you bombed FSA big time. I have seen worse score report than this, but those people still passed.作者: joehogue 时间: 2011-8-27 04:17
rocksolid, i dont think you should use schweser anymore. I failed in Dec 2010 with:
I'm not knocking Schweser, many many people pass with them, but for me I don't think it works. I found their questions overly complicated, long-winded and convoluted. I made a pretty major error of not looking at the change in material between Dec and June which may have cost me (or may not have). I do remember about 4 or 5 questions straight in Corp Finance and saying to myself WTF?! I had never even heard of some of the stuff they were asking. 10 questions over the exam is definitely enough to be a difference maker.
Anyway, the exam really isnt that hard (I say having failed it twice haha). It's more of a brain teaser than an exam. You just have to shove a lot of crap into your head and splurge out formulas in the test room. A lot of people go on to fail level 2 because I dont think they have the basics down (so, every cloud...)
I'm thinking of taking it again. Just because I can't stand that I have to tell people I failed. I think I will try Stalla, heard good things.
What areas are you struggling with?
jestersdead88@yahoo.com作者: thecfawannabe 时间: 2011-8-27 04:23
Band 7. This is my 4th attempt. I took several years off to do my MBA in Finance. I am thinking of doing this again in December, but I need to know if I should. Can you provide some guidance?
Stoploss....As per me , you should certainly go for dec'11 exams..you were pretty close both the time and its just unfortunate that you dint get through on both occasions.....also i think you shouldn't be changing you prep provider...stick to scheweser...imagine if scheweser was that bad you wouldnt have scored band 9 or band 10.....some more efforts n u'll be on ur way to level 2.....for me m still not certain if i wuld attempt this dec or take some more time n come back in june 2012.....作者: MarginofSafety 时间: 2011-8-27 04:35
damn, 4th tempts for L1? Is that gonna take you another 8 tempts to pass L2?作者: cityboy 时间: 2011-8-27 04:41
Thanks. How do you think I feel? What would you do?作者: transferpricing 时间: 2011-8-27 04:46
jpm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks. How do you think I feel? What would you
> do?
What do YOU want to do with a CFA? Which area do you want to work in? Is it req'd/needed, more than MBA in Finance?作者: skycfa 时间: 2011-8-27 05:04
So I also failed band 5 on my first attempt this past June. I admit that I didn't start preparing well in advance and only dedicated the last 2 weeks before the exam to study (schweser notes), but it was pretty intensive studying. I didn?|t have any time to go through EOC questions or any mock exams either as I was still learning the material up until the day before the exam. I do have a financial background though and I thought it would be an advantage.
Before the exam I had no expectation of passing but after I came out of it I though with luck I could have pulled through otherwise a band 10 at min?K To my dismay it was a 5 ??
Question is, I felt somewhat confident after the exam and thought I knew what I was doing, I don?|t think I can study any differently apart from doing more practice questions and sample exams but will that really mean the difference between a band 5 and a pass?
Results Matrix
performance on each topic area.
Multiple Choice
Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
- Alternative Investments 8 - - *
- Corporate Finance 20 - * -
- Derivatives 12 * - -
- Economics 24 * - -
- Equity Investments 24 * - -
- Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - *
- Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 - * -
- Fixed Income Investments 28 * - -
- Portfolio Management 12 * - -
- Quantitative Methods 28 - * -
We have divided the full group of candidates who did not pass into 10 approximately equal score bands. Your score band below shows how your overall score on the exam compares with all other failed candidates.
Your score band: 5作者: dvilayphet 时间: 2011-8-27 05:10
Yes. That will mean the difference between a Band 5 and a Pass. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pass these exams without thorough understanding of how CFAI is going to test you. You really do have to practice via questions and mocks as much as possible in order to engrain what you've read and feel comfortable with all of the different ways that CFAI tries to trick you on these exams.
Good luck.作者: jbaldyga 时间: 2011-8-27 05:16
I have wrote Exams twice, in Dec 2010 and June 2011 and failed in both. Most disappointing things was Ethics. Both the time it was under 50%. I know, I have to do a lot in all the sections but Ethics is somethings I have always worked on an and can't decide what else to be done.
I indeed face the concerntration in ethichs and most of the questions I do in ethics in mock goes right. Done know what approach to be followed.
Kindly suggest.作者: mp3bu 时间: 2011-8-27 05:27
I'm sorry. I passed Level 1 on the first try in December of 2008. Don't have my results from that test any longer. Passed Level 2 on my second try this year. Now a Level 3 candidate for June '12.作者: profil 时间: 2011-8-27 05:33
jpm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Band 7. This is my 4th attempt. I took several
> years off to do my MBA in Finance. I am thinking
> of doing this again in December, but I need to
> know if I should. Can you provide some guidance?
>
>
> Q# Topic Max Pts <=50% 51%-70% >70%
> - Alternative Investments 8 - - *
> - Corporate Finance 20 - * -
> - Derivatives 12 * - -
> - Economics 24 - * -
> - Equity Investments 24 - * -
> - Ethical & Professional Standards 36 - - *
> - Financial Reporting & Analysis 48 * - -
> - Fixed Income Investments 28 - * -
> - Portfolio Management 12 - - *
> - Quantitative Methods 28 - - *
Hats off to you jpm. Having the determination to taking lvl 1 4 times is not easy. When I took lvl 1, I thought it was so hard and I hated someone who said lvl 1 was easy. Later I found out that lvl 1 was actually quite easy compared to lvl 2 and lvl 3. lvl 1 is easy in a sense that you don't have to completely understand everything to pass. To pass lvl 2 and lvl 3, you have to understand everything cold.
If I were you, I would try networking instead. Imagine you spend 1000 hours on networking instead of pounding books. Assuming you spend 1 hour on 1 person, that's 1000 ppl in total. It gives you more bargining power on job hunting than with just passing CFA.
