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HarryBuffowitz

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It seems like a lot of the posts have been extremely positive with regard to how people think they did on the exam. Has everyone been honest, or is it safe to assume that only the people who feel they did well are posting? I was very confident as I walked out of the exam, but I have gotten a little worried after reading all of the posts here. My concerns are:
1. I fell for all of the CFA Institute's tricks.
2. Everyone is telling the truth, and the passing score will be a lot higher than I expected.
Any thoughts?
 
I was actually reading and article written by the institute after the 2004 exam, with a comment on the passing rate. In summary it's stated:
-- The pass rate is determined from the top 1%, which is used because historically it has been very stable over time.
The passrates have decreased over time because:
A) The CBOK has become more comprehensive and detailed over time as the investment industry has expanded in the last several decades, in terms of the amount of accademic focus and "break throughs" there in.
B) People are simply not studying at a minimum of 250 hours as required.

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I felt the exam was straight forward, but I also feel there were some twists in questions that you needed to work through and be aware of. Basically the most common question twist was one you needed to identitfy before formulating the answer. I don't think they made their questions unanswerable or very tricky, there were a couple tricks here and there. They were not as tricky or convoluted as I've seen some really difficult Schweser questions.

Harry, you have to also realize that people on this board only represent a small % of the people who wrote the exam, also the people who would take the time to come on and discuss the exam and questions pertaining there in, would probibly be more likely to put in at least the minimum study time of 250 hours and by actively discussing the material, they are applying it on another level.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 01:44PM by jamespucyk.
 
"also the people who would take the time to come on and discuss the exam and questions pertaining there in, would probibly be more likely to put in at least the minimum study time of 250 hours and by actively discussing the material, they are applying it on another level."

This all makes sense and seems like it ought to be true but from past experience I don't think it is. When results come out you will be amazed (I'm betting big that James passed, though).
 
I think there is validity to what James said though. Nothing is absolute, but I think someone who would take time to discuss the exam on a regular basis is more likely to put the appropriate amount of study time in than someone who does not. I am probably just thinking about it too much.
 
Thanks for the vote of confidence Joe, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I would agree with both of you, never say never. After talking to people I know who are in level 2 and 3 (written), I have come to the tenative conclusion that it's more about A) putting in enough time and B) knowing the material well. Olbviously there is alot of material and you need to master the material, that implies being able to look at most problems from various angles, because they won't ask you a question that goes from A-->B, sometimes it will go from A-->C and they will ask you B, or State B and C and then ask A. Bottomline, you need to learn you stuff.

I think the best quote I've heard is from Bob Johnson from the CFAI when he said something to the effect, 'spending 250 hours is not a sufficient condition to pass a CFA exam, but is a necessary condition', implying you gotta do the work and "have it" to pass.
 
One thing sticks out to me after the first exam, I was sitting back thinking I managed the exam pretty well when I overheard another candidate mention to his neighbor, after they collected the booklets "It's like every question had 2 right answers", I mean even if you get over 50% for the majority of questions, you probibly won't score close to 70% if 2 answered appeared correct on the exam.
 
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