I think I lost the motivation to do this....

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ksCFA

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This was my 3rd time at level 3… and i think i really lost the motivation to do this exam given my band scores actually dropped…
Band 10 in 2014 - Spent the most time studying and actually wrote FRM Part 1 … =.=;
Band 7 in 2015 - Spent less time relative to 2014…
Band 6 in 2016 - Shocked even tho my grid was better and my 40/60/80 was better than 2015???
Anyone failed more than 3 times @ any level (or level 3) and managed to get motivated back?? Or should i just give up at this point… ?
 
If you failed L2 3 times… I would suggest giving up as CFA isn’t life or death by any means.
But you are so close, so i suggest you give it another go. Might help to take a year off to live a little bit and come back the following year. Might just be that you are drained from consecutive years of studying and not having a life after work.
 
If you need motivation, this guy could be one. http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-level-iii-forum/91353325
Just by looking at this guy’s dedication for the CFA, I feel like I am a loser if I give up. Remember that CFA is not just about passing the exam, it is about how you react after you fail. No body judges you by how many times you fail, they judge you on how you stand up from your own failure.
 
Yep, that was my post. I never saw my band scores decline from y/y so to me you probably need to find a way to re-motivate yourself. I don’t know what I would have done if my scores declined y/y but I suppose if you know that you are trying way less then it should be easier to come up with a plan and stick to it finally in some year.
 
Take a year off, come back fresh and with a game plan. 300 hours focused is better then 400 hours half assing.
 
i feel the same and this is my first failure. i would say you need a break, too many methods and solutions may confuse you and resulted in a decline.
take a break, return with a blank mind
 
Actually if i were you since i had failed that many attempts i would keep doing it until i pass cause by now you have figured out and very familiar with the materials.
 
@ksCFA,
It’s easier to advise when you pass and when your bands are improving Y-o-Y(mine did)
But still some advices are in order(see if that helps)
1.As per CFA Institute,your first attempt was the best,I guess you also feel the same way?
2.Taking the exam second time is difficult and boring(telling you from experience)
Digging deeper is easier said than done(I did,painfully)
3.On second and subsequent attempts focus more on learning through questions
(active learning) than on reading,but at least one full reading is in order.Combine some videos
to retain interest.
4.”Your grid was better and 40/60/80 was better” hardly gives you the exact idea of your relative and absolute performance.
we are talking about two different years,with different relative performances,and AM is a black box
(in a 20 mark question, <50 is 0-9,and >70 is 15-20)In Pm <=50 is 1-3 questions.It’s difficult to conclude anything with certainty)
5. To continue in the program should be absolutely your call,depending on multiple personal and professional factors.
It’s not your ability to pass the exam,you most certainly have the ability—–it’s about your motivation to slog through stuff you will now find very boring Would certainly be difficult to quit after L2,but not impossible.
i am available at AF and [email protected] ,should you need any more help
 
Hi kscfa
I failed level 3 in 2008 and 2010 and gave up. Last year my dad encouraged me to register again. I started studying in September and gave myself 2 months just to do past and mock exams. I even made a topic wise grid on excel of all past AM exams going back to 1999 that helped me to revise the morning questions for each topic area. I attended a Nyssa webinar that only focused on how to write AM answers. The guideline answers may lead you to think that you need to write a lot but i wrote very brief answers and got >70% in 6/10 questions.
Basically went all out. Its difficult to overcome the effects of past failures and that affects your current performace Your mind is garbled right now with repeated attempts and most likely you will not be able to change your way of studying if you appear again in 2017 so give yourself a break and come back again in 2018. Treat yourself as a first timer then, do tons and tons and tons of practise, revise past AM over and over again, and you will do very well. Good luck.
 
What I realized last year after my second attempt(this year I passed)…what that a band 10 means nothing, other than u didn’t pass. You can see this in studying past AM exams, and Schweser Mocks. And it’s hard to get a solid understanding of topics when you see questions so infrequently.
I also saw a bunch of people posting last year that have band 9, band8, and band 10 failures consecutively. So this year, after recommendation from s2000magician, I went back and read the full curriculum. and worked all blue box and EOC two times. Did 5 mocks and 4 previous AM exams.
My comment is band 10 is a curve ball, a misleading data point, it means nothing. Approach the test as if you need to learn the material from scratch. I know its hard, and it was for me and I didn’t pass with flying colors. The other challenge is the 12 month lag between tests, its easy to forget material.
Think of an Olympian…how barely missed Gold medal, do they only need train a little bit between Olympics with a 4 year span? No, they have to bust their azz for 4 years.
You can do it…..Best of Luck.
 
storlab wrote:
What I realized last year after my second attempt(this year I passed)…what that a band 10 means nothing, other than u didn’t pass. You can see this in studying past AM exams, and Schweser Mocks. And it’s hard to get a solid understanding of topics when you see questions so infrequently.
I also saw a bunch of people posting last year that have band 9, band8, and band 10 failures consecutively. So this year, after recommendation from s2000magician, I went back and read the full curriculum. and worked all blue box and EOC two times. Did 5 mocks and 4 previous AM exams.
My comment is band 10 is a curve ball, a misleading data point, it means nothing. Approach the test as if you need to learn the material from scratch. I know its hard, and it was for me and I didn’t pass with flying colors. The other challenge is the 12 month lag between tests, its easy to forget material.
Think of an Olympian…how barely missed Gold medal, do they only need train a little bit between Olympics with a 4 year span? No, they have to bust their azz for 4 years.
You can do it…..Best of Luck.
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+1
I was a Band 10er last year and thought I didn’t need to study much this year…so didn’t. Thought the exam went well, and thought I’d passed, nope, Band 10 again! I’ll get it next year…but I realize it will take renewed focus and a lot of studying and mocks (which I didn’t do this year because I thought it was going to be easy retaking).
As many have said before, and as I know all too well, never underestimate L3. It’s a beeeeotch.
 
I failed L3 last year as well and made it this year. There are 3 important things about failing:
1. Like Bob said: Get up stand up - don’t give up the fight! Everybody can fail, only winners stand up and fight again
2. Learn why you failed! It’s crucial to know if you didn’t manage the time, answering questions, etc. In my case I answered not only the question rather the whole curriculum. I watched the video of the cfa exam developer and understood how they grade it and what they expect to answer. Hence I managed this year to improve may am (btw my pm stayed exactly the same like last year) and passed. There are in general 2 ways to pass improve am or be stellar on pm. In any case you have to figure out which part you need to improve…
3. Last but not least if nothing works, change test center to Ghana (buy a ticket), watch out for 2 boxes (2 are better than 1) and look at the end if its a long error message…
 
Hi there. I have read various comments saying that the number of points that you have between a band 7 and a pass is not that much. As you are in Canada and not far from US, I will suggest that you attend Levelup Bootcamp by Marc; he is so good that he will make sure that you understand the major topics well and do not miss on these fine points where marks are left easily. If you have time go for it next year. I read so many positive feedbacks on Marc that I travel a long distance to attend his seminar and it paid off. Had I not attended this year; I could have ended in band 10 same like 2015!
 
Give up if it’s not worth it for you. Time better spent being productive elsewhere. It’s not a ticket to baller street.
 
I would say don’t give up. Treat this as a game, or just take it easy and then you will pass. I failed this year for second time, I was band 9 last year and this year band 4. I studied less, but the failing was because I couldn’t manage stress and nightmares well. I give it a life or death and I collapsed in the PM session in 2016 exam. So I am going to give it another try in 2017 but I am not going to stress about it and I will enjoy life as it is not excited at all.
 
You’ve got to try something different to get different results. Massive action –> a 2017 pass. If you got to level 3 you have all the tools to close it out. Good luck!
 
Hello there,
Level 3- part 1 in 2014, band 9
Relying on schweser, focusing on AM section.
Level 3- part 2 in 2015, band 3
Felt like all kinds of s$$t was thrown at me, both personal and professional life. entering room with only reading 3 Schweser notes once (yep. 2 books left to read).
Level 3 part 3 in 2016, passed
What I did differently this time vs 2014 (2015 was a hopeless case, anyway) was
* still relying on schweser but I did the curriculum blue boxes and EOC for almost all chapters (didnt get the time to do the last book)
* I gave up on GIPS to focus on others
*I try to focus on PM section as AM is a bit confusing (scoring wise)
* Did 5 years of past AM papers, scoring conservatively
* when my two weeks leave was cancelled yet again due to work-related matters, in that last two weeks I did pm mock (schweser & CFA Institute), then the next day learn what I missed. then the next day back to mock again.
In the end I did 5 years AM papers and 9 PM mocks, all timed.
The last two months was really hell. slept at 12 am everyday as I went to Sbux near my apartment to study 7-11 pm then walked home (i always fell asleep whenever I studied at home).
Again, this may not work for everyone, but this worked for me. You’re so close. I nearly gave up after everything felt so bleak last year. I am glad I didn’t. Find what will work for you.

Good luck
 
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