If you fail...

JoeyDVivre

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God forbid, but there sure is lots of worrying about it here.

- The world will not end and nothing bad will happen to you.
Nobody will lose respect for you, even those people who are sure you passed because you're so smart and studied so hard (do people think they're helping when they say that?). When you tell family and friends they will just say 'Wow - pretty hard test. You'll get it next time'. You might want to do something nice for your significant other who has to put up with your studying again.....

- You will join a very distinguished list of people who failed the exam.
There are unsubstantiated rumors of every major figure in finance failing one of these exams. It's probably not true that Alan Greenspan failed LI, but it's a good story. There are lots of very smart people who have failed one or more of these exams and I know many of them. If it was easy to get a charter, it wouldn't be worth getting.

- You will have an easier time studying for the December exam and you will gain all kinds of rich insights.
The CFA material is pretty deep. If you failed the exam, it means you missed some of the deep and interesting stuff. CFAI would just be sending you a letter telling you that there is enough stuff there that you didn't get that you need to check it out again.

- You can pass the exam.
There aren't many people on AF who I think cannot pass these exams with perseverance and hard work. None of this material is near the edge of the envelope of human learning and most people feel that there isn't any individual topic that is terribly difficult; it's just that there are a ton of topics.

- It doesn't matter that other people passed the exam.
I started studying for level I on May 6 for June and passed easily. I did that because in some sense I had studied for LI for years beforehand. When people ask how much time I put into studying for LI, I say "somewhere between 1 month and 20 years". If you are new to finance there is an unbelievable amount of material. If you passed with 5 months of studying, you did 19 years and 7 months less studying than I did. If you failed with 5 months of studying, you need to recognize that in that group of people who passed are some who studied for the exam for 20 years.

-You can still get your charter at the same time you originally planned.
Passing LI doesn't really do much for you anyway. Sorry. It's only the charter that makes a career difference for most people.

Anyway, lots and lots of you passed. Stop worrying and enjoy your lives. Most of you are young, well-educated, smart, moneyed and have great lives. Get those biceps back and reintroduce yourself to your wife.
 
my wife will leave me. my daughter will hate me. my pug won't go for walks with me. OH GOD!! I HAVE TO PASS!!!! yeah, joey, i see it is getting all too insane. words of wisdom.
 
JoeyDVivre Wrote:
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> If it was easy to
> get a charter, it wouldn't be worth getting.
>



That pretty much sums it up for me. Thanks!
 
if you fail, you should quit - hang up the hp12c or sell it on ebay because your the weakest link
 
he's a newbie, trying to stir things up with an asinine comment. don't take the bait.
 
If I fail, I won't study the way I did again. I'll probably take two weeks and review Schweser material. Most of the exam is very easy. I made the mistake of information overload.
 
... call me weird Joey, it's ok, but I am seriously considering contacting the CFAI and asking them to cancel my June L1 exam, if their rules would allow for that.

I don't feel I know the material well enough, indeed I skipped many sections altogether. If I pass I know I wouldn't be able to review L1 again, and I would be heading to L2 on shaky grounds.

Would they cancel my exam if I ask them to?
Guy
 
June07...

You have a free option that is likely worth very little, but which may be worth very much. And you are willing to throw it away?

What is your point, exactly? I have no idea what your plan intends to accomplish.

If you fail, you take it again in December. If you pass, you start studying immediately for level II, including any necessary review of level 1 material you glossed over. If you feel you lack the self - motivation to perform the necessary reviewing, then maybe the CFA program isn't for you.

Buck up, man!

(I have no idea if they would cancel your exam -- I just know that it is foolish to even ask).
 
I agree 100% with plyon. I left the exam last December knowing I didn't do well. Seeing poor scores on something that I should have done well on was motivation to buck up and learn the material. Cancelling your scores accomplishes nothing.
 
june07 - plyon is spot on, if a bit harsh. There is just no advantage to you in canceling the exam. This is not like GRE's where they report all scores and there might be some sense in canceling (little, IMHO).
 
Joey and Plyon, even though you two are a bit more senior than the most, let me tell you a secret that you may not know ...me being more senior than both of you :-).

There is a big difference between passing an exam and knowing the material. I have come across many people who have passed an exam by a bit of luck, by cheating, or worse by forgery altogether, and even though they had the right certification (or whole degree in some other cases), they were always shaky in their knowledge, no self confidence, very shallow knowledge, and always worried someone will ask them a basic question and not be able to answer.

They would do anything to avoid having to write about their subject, or speak about it. This did not have to happen to them if they really understood their material very well, and separated the issue of earning a certification from knowing what it is all about. I know both of you are quite knowledgeable and confident about your subjects, I am only surprised that you don't think it is necessary to know L1 very well before advancing further.

Cheers
Guy
 
wow... you are nuts, i think. thats the only conclusion here. plyon and joey are right on... whats wrong with you? leave your academic altruistic beliefs at home, if you passed, great, you didnt cheat.... start reviewing for level 2 and move on. cover the stuff you aren't sure of... THE CFAI MAKES THE CALL IF YOU KNOW ENOUGH OR NOT TO MOVE ON... NOT YOU. haha.
 
Wow. I wonder how old I would have to get, or how many tests I would have to grade, or how many tests I would have to pass before I no longer got condescending remarks about "secrets of tests"?

Anyway, guy, nobody is saying that it is not valuable to learn level I thoroughly. If you want to pass LI and then spend the summer reviewing LI so that you can get >90% on book 7 tests, you have my complete support. I will be here to explain whatever I can. As mrabiner (is he lil abiner's father?) explained, CFAI does a pretty thorough job of weeding out candidates who don't know enough for LII and LIII.
 
Nothing prevents you from going back and learning the necessary material. If you do so, then the scores you get on level II will give you that confidence (I agree there is nothing worse than feeling like you've "faked" it).

What you would lack, if you pass level I, is the swift kick in the pants that a FAIL would give you to get you motivated to really learn that stuff.

Don't worry, we here will all be happy to kick you in the pants on the level II forum should you happen to squeak by level I!
 
I'm with plyon and most of the others here. If you passed, you passed. Shaky or not, it is a pass and you will have deserved it. By all means strengthen yourself in the level 1 content prior to tackling level 2. The only thing you give up is the opportunity to sit through another level 1 exam. If you have reviewed level 1, did some more practice exams and feel good about it, you would have achieved what you want anyway.

The feedback from the grading may be valuable (i.e. some topics you may have done worse or better than you are expecting right now). That is valuable knowledge, I would be loathe for forego it.
 
countryboy Wrote:
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> if you fail, you should quit - hang up the hp12c
> or sell it on ebay because your the weakest link


princess do you want a hug?
 
countryboy Wrote:
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> countryboy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > if you fail, you should quit - hang up the
> hp12c
> > or sell it on ebay because your the weakest
> link
>
>
> princess do you want a hug?


Does anyone else think it's funny that countryboy responded to his own rediculous comment? Multiple personality disorder, anyone?
 
Danteshek Wrote:
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> countryboy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > countryboy Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > if you fail, you should quit - hang up the
> > hp12c
> > > or sell it on ebay because your the weakest
> > link
> >
> >
> > princess do you want a hug?
>
>
> Does anyone else think it's funny that countryboy
> responded to his own rediculous comment? Multiple
> personality disorder, anyone?



learn how to spell anyone? ridiculous, r-e-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s.

i agree w/ June 07guy - the whole point here is not to pass the exam, the point is to master the material and become a superior analyst.
 
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