Failed... twice... need your contribution!

Moosey wrote:
What I would do. I would start with Q Bank. 1 subject at a time, 30-40 questions. And when you look into the answers go back to the book and read the stuff pertaining that particular thing only. This way you won’t read 20 pages at one sitting, which is probably ineffective, but you learn (rather recapitulate because you should know the stuff already) one certain concept, formula, rule etc.
Good luck!
This. But even more questions. I was smashing through 100 question quizzes. I think I completed about 95% of the Qbank by exam day.
 
gozdekocer wrote:
I heard multiple people passing Level 1 on the third try and still getting their charter. You should ask the question to yourself. No one hear will know (from a three paragraph post) that you have the capacity and willingness to pass it. But this time around (If you register) you should change the method for studying.
I’m going to go ahead and call BS on this. I would imagine that the proportion of people who fail level one three times (God bless them) and go on to earn their charter is massively dwarfed by those that fail thrice (or twice, or once) and do not. You just don’t hear about those unlucky bastards because they don’t post on Analyst Forum calling attention to their failures.
 
^Word up on the survivorship bias. The doctors tend to bury their mistakes.
I’ve never heard anybody claim to fail L1 twice and go on to get their charter. I only know of a couple people who claimed to fail L2 or L3 twice and pass on the third time. (That’s not entirely unexpected, since the tests are vastly different and test different skill sets.)
But keep listening to other L1 candidates and people who just passed L1. I’m sure they have solid advice regarding a test they’ve never taken.
 
OP, what’s your GPA in your degree? Ever thought about doing a masters in Econ? The pay is really good- much better than an entry level analyst position.
 
PalacioHill wrote:
The problem is you get NOTHING for passing level I. Even if you do pass level I, you still have 2 very hard levels to go. You have to ask yourself if you can pass these if you can’t pass the first one relatively easily. Before you decide to give-up though, re-evaluate your study method. You CANNOT pass these exams, as Greenman so accurately stated, by just reading the books as if they were a novel. To pass I recommend: read the material, take light notes in the margins of the books, highlight the hell out of the books, do the blue box examples (In CFA Texts), do the problems (CFA Texts), review your problems, re-read the highlights and notes, do the problems again, then a month before the exam, do the problems again, all of them.
I disagree that you get nothing for passing L1. For some, these exams are challenges, and though they may not get a raise at work, it can be rewarding to pass just a single CFA level for some. There are people I’ve met that are JUST taking L1 and were not even going to pursue a charter if they passed.
As for the magic forumula of how to pass a CFA exam, everyone has their own opinion and there’s lots of different ways to do it based on how smart you are and how your brain works. There is a common notion though in this forum that ‘anyone can get the charter if they just study hard enough’. I don’t think that’s true and I think innate intelligence and problem solving skills plays a HUGE role in CFA success.
That said, I think there are some that could literally never pass L1 no matter what they do (much less L2 or L3). So, in that sense, I wil reluctantly agree w/ Greenman that there are some retaking these exams who will never ever pass (not insinuating that of the OP). But it never hurt to try and you never know how things will turn out so telling all the retakers to quit is bad advice imo.
 
Topperharley wrote:
I disagree that you get nothing for passing L1. For some, these exams are challenges, and though they may not get a raise at work, it can be rewarding to pass just a single CFA level for some. There are people I’ve met that are JUST taking L1 and were not even going to pursue a charter if they passed.
This is just plain nonesense. This is akin to going to law school and never taking your last final or the Bar exam. Sure there is something to personal development, but you can do that in a Library.
 
pecslikecannons wrote:
OP, what’s your GPA in your degree? Ever thought about doing a masters in Econ? The pay is really good- much better than an entry level analyst position.
In my humble opinion, GPA don’t mean Sh!%. I know plenty of people thta went to better schools than me and that I am sure had a better GPA in undergrad, but can’t get past level II. This exam is about having above average intelligence and working your A$$ off to learn the material. You don’t get a chance to suck up to a prof, get extra credit, or get homework points in the CFA.
 
^ I would argue that a large % of Charterholders have above average intelligence. I don’t see any ‘average joes’ walking around with CFA on their business cards.
EDIT: misread your post - thought you said “average intelligence”
 
PalacioHill wrote:
pecslikecannons wrote:
OP, what’s your GPA in your degree? Ever thought about doing a masters in Econ? The pay is really good- much better than an entry level analyst position.
In my humble opinion, GPA don’t mean Sh!%. I know plenty of people thta went to better schools than me and that I am sure had a better GPA in undergrad, but can’t get past level II. This exam is about having above average intelligence and working your A$$ off to learn the material. You don’t get a chance to suck up to a prof, get extra credit, or get homework points in the CFA.
Overwrought. GPA obviously matters, but it’s also clearly not the end-all-be-all. If this guy has a 4.0 in econ from the Zoolander School for Kids Who Want to Do Econ Good, it’s not really that impressive. 3.8ish from a brand-name school actually is impressive and will open doors.
 
Greenman72 wrote:
There’s an old saying that they have in Tennessee. I know it’s Texas, probably in Tennessee. It goes, “Fool me once, shame on….shame on you. Fool me…you can’t get fooled again.”
L2 fooled me once. That is, I underestimated it, but I came back and did well on it, because I recognized my mistake and fixed it. The OP, however, not only failed to fix his mistake, but he actually regressed.
So my question to anybody who fails the test twice–you got fooled once, and you didn’t learn from your mistakes. You got fooled a second time. Why would you correct your mistakes now, if you didn’t do it the first time?
Nice work on the George Dub reference. Classic sound bite.
 
H. P. Flashman wrote:
PalacioHill wrote:
pecslikecannons wrote:
OP, what’s your GPA in your degree? Ever thought about doing a masters in Econ? The pay is really good- much better than an entry level analyst position.
In my humble opinion, GPA don’t mean Sh!%. I know plenty of people thta went to better schools than me and that I am sure had a better GPA in undergrad, but can’t get past level II. This exam is about having above average intelligence and working your A$$ off to learn the material. You don’t get a chance to suck up to a prof, get extra credit, or get homework points in the CFA.
Overwrought. GPA obviously matters, but it’s also clearly not the end-all-be-all. If this guy has a 4.0 in econ from the Zoolander School for Kids Who Want to Do Econ Good, it’s not really that impressive. 3.8ish from a brand-name school actually is impressive and will open doors.
It doesn’t mean you’re smart. I know plent of people with good GPA’s because they did what they needed to do in university. Don’t mean sh%^. Just means you did you’re homework. The CFA is all about you and the F’ing exam. That’s it. No homework to get extra points, no special projects, no visiting the prof during his office hours to act like you really care. Just you, the exam and the material.
 
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