Why L2 is harder than L1 only, background, everyone, material

tarik64

L2 is harder. My background is that I only entered finance two years ago (after 15 years out of school and no quantitative degrees) but I've managed to passed L1 and L2 the first time. When I started L2, I wondered why everyone thought it was so much harder (I only knew one person out of maybe thirty charterholders who had passed the first time). Having passed it now, here are my thoughts:

1. the volume is not substantially larger but the depth of the material is greater i.e. in L1 you are building up a background in the material and learning the tools; L2 is implementing those tools so there is more "active" content i.e. stuff you need to know how to use rather than just understand.

2.THE TOPIC WEIGHTINGS: in L2, you could pretty much target FRA, Ethics, Quant and one other topic and you could pass because you knew the exact number of questions to expect. In L2, the percentages are variable so you cannot target as much. Also, they can and do throw questions from other topic areas into a topic.

3. THE QUESTION FORMAT: The question format is almost a topic area in and of itself in that you *need* experience and practice reading through 2-5 pages and then answering six questions which may centre on a topic area that wasn't given a lot of attention in the curriculum. So if you are weak on one topic in L1 you might get a couple of questions on it. In L2, you might get a whole vignette on one topic you are weak on and, as each question counts more, this can really hurt. If you get behind on time, it is harder to catch up than in L1 because you have to read 2-5 pages just to begin answering the first of six questions where in L1 you might have (at most) a paragraph.

4. THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS: L2 has half the number of questions as L1. On the plus side, you have double the time per question. On the downside, because of the extra reading involved, you will need it. The smaller number of questions means you have a smaller ability to show off what you know i.e. with maybe 6 questions on say quant, you might get them asking 6 questions on a topic you are weak on and that is supposed to be representative of your quant abilities. If they'd asked 12 questions you might get 6 weak areas and 6 strong areas and end up with a pass.

5. FORMULAS - L1 has a lot of formulas but you have a much stronger sense of what formulas are key. Also (and I haven't checked this) but it certainly seemed that there were more LOS's with the dreaded "calculate" or similar phrasing. In L2, the knowledge is more applied than L1 in that you need to know how to USE these formulas much more often than L1. I would highly recommend trying to finish two months in advance at least and just practice, practice, practice - especially for the calculations e.g. derivatives, FRA, fixed income, etc.

6. CALCULATION DIFFICULTY - L2 is harder. Not ridiculously harder but still trickier. Generally, there is some tricky conceptual stuff in there in the qualitative material. The calculations are not harder but they are more complex i.e. in L1, you might have a calculation that is tricky but is only one or two steps. In L2, there is more than one occasion where you are equally tricky material but the calculations take more steps which compounds the difficulty - more room for error at each step.

7. SCHWESER - I used Schweser entirely for the material and found the videos especially helpful to bring the material to life. I'd watch the video and then reinforce with the reading. My study group did the same thing and we all knew the material, however, I was the only one who passed. I think the main difference is that I did most of the end of chapter questions in the CFAI texts (which takes a long time since some of the questions are short essay responses rather than multiple choice but it makes you understand the concepts better). I think this may have made the difference.

I hope this helps. As a fuller description of my experience, I screwed up the morning exam. I got mired down in one item set and got behind. In the second half of the morning, I didn't really have time to do the calculations and I was pretty shocked when I passed.

Wendy01

thanks a lot trimonious2

BelalM

Great insight..Thanks. I was planning to buy schweser, would you say the videos are a must buy or do you think the notes are enough?

eoin

Regarding the videos, I think it depends on how you learn. I found them very worthwhile especially on certain topics that are more opaque when read in a book (I had a problem with currency arb, derivatives, some accounting, etc.). I also found it strangely a little less lonely of an experience having someone (albeit pre-recorded) explain things to you and give you tips and tricks.

On the whole I would say that they are not must buy but definitely a strong recommendation.

Chuckrox

Trimony Trimony Trimo-mo-mo-mo-mo Mony

neil1234

@ trimoni....2 great insight in great detail...i wish if I smone cud hav posted it last year..may be I would hav passed too. I find my background pretty similar to yours..however I failed L2 with band 10..3 months is really a bad plan to kill L2. how much did u study for L2 and how much wud u suggest me to spend on it this year??

jarobi04

very well organized and concisely written.
I have faith in you passing lvl 3 essay sections with flying colors



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Monday, August 8, 2011 at 04:22PM by passme.

adehbone

I completely reject the premise that L2 is absolutely harder than L1. If you were a finance major you will find L1 easy and L2 harder. However L1 is extremely difficult if you have never studied finance/accounting before.

ASSet_MANagemen

I have no background in finance/accounting and I found L2 much harder than L1. As the OP said, "L2 is implementing those tools so there is more "active" content i.e. stuff you need to know how to use rather than just understand." Back in L1, I found the exam easy and felt like I overprepared for it. Never had this feeling in L2.

Zestt

You actually answered the essay questions? I assumed people would just read the question then read the answer then move on until they hit a vignette with multiple choice.