For L3 passers only - How many practice exams?

O

OpenSource

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
If you passed level 3 this year, how many practice exams did you do? Which prep exams did you use?
 
As many as you can (AM especially) - I was a mock whore this spring and it’s brought shame upon my family.
I used Schweser and CFAI.
 
8 or 9 full exams, under exam like conditions. I did break them up (AM vs PM), but I’d sit for 3 hours, take an entire section, and grade it later - don’t go question by question, checking along the way. The CFAI mocks are critical, but Schweser does a good job as well. The thing to remember about the Schweser exams is that they tend to cover more material than will actually be covered on the exam.
These are absolutely critical, as they will get you used to writing answers down and managing time. Schweser’s mock AM answer grading guides are also very helpful, and actually better than CFAI’s guideline answers for prior exams.
 
Only did 3 from Schweser but if you can, definitely do more. I completely underestimated the time factor. For the practice exams I only wrote down key words and never actually simulated the real deal by writing full answers. Obviously, on exam day I didn’t quite finish. Luckily I did well in PM and passed. Speed is key.
 
I did 2 PM and 2 AM from CFAI and 1 AM from Schweser, all of them the week of the exam.
 
I think definitely as many as you can… and if you have finished all the mock tests you can find, then repeat them until two days before the exams.
 
I did just 3 in exam like setting but went through every possible practice exam I could find as study material.
 
I really don’t understand the point of these threads.
Fine, I did 290 practice exams. Good luck!!!!
 
Where did you guys find the PM exams? I know AM are from CFAI but I don’t know where you find the PM ones.
 
Dont be obsessed with the number of practice exams. Key to passing is learning the material well. Weak grasp of material can not be overcome no matter how many practice exam one takes and whatever prep provider one uses. In my opinion, 2 or 3 practice exams will do the job. Every year we see many people pass the exam despite leaving a ton in AM session. Why? they were spot on! on the flip side, also many people fail despite finishing AM with some time to review. why? they didnot write what was asked for. A person with a good grasp of CFAI text can cut a reasonable score in AM even with 25% of the 180 left on the table. So solving practice papers is only 20% of the job done. Believe me! i myself passed all 3 levels on my first attempts without taking any practice exam. My results are as under:
Level-1: all above 70
Level-2: all but one above 70
Level-3:12/19 above 70
 
These are not mutually exclusive strategies… the practice exams are meant to not only teach you the material, but work on your timing, as well as present many different angles of the same topic. Do as many practice exams/problems as possible and thoroughly review your answers.
 
All six Schweser, all three CFA morning, and one CFA afternoon. Schweser morning are good for material coverage but obviously the old tests are much more realistic.
 
2008-2013 Past CFA morning sessions
all 6 Schweser exams
practice exams from FinQuiz
 
Only 2 AM and 3 PM mocks. Huge mistake on my part. I still passed but just barely, thanks to a decent performance on the PM section. Didn’t plan accordingly and therefore didn’t have time for practice. Because I didn’t practice the short answer enough my time management during the AM portion sucked. I left 30 points unanswered.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top