Is level III more difficult than level II ?

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I know that the common answer would be to say that they are simply different… but my objective is just to collect some impression from you guys (level III candidates) in terms of efforts and feeling during the exam.
Thanks a lot for your inputs !
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^yup that seems to be the general consensus..L2 material is the greater hurdle but L3 exams are more annoying not least because of the mini essay AM section, the more qualitative nature of questions asked, and the cross pollination of issues across examined topics.
 
Alladin wrote:
^yup that seems to be the general consensus..L2 material is the greater hurdle but L3 exams are more annoying not least because of the mini essay AM section, the more qualitative nature of questions asked, and the cross pollination of issues across examined topics.
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+1. The L2 material is more quantitative in nature and much easy to pass for guys with good memory, especially if you have accounting background. Nothing difficult, but too “roomy”. The L3 is less “roomy”, but requires your attention to details and it is more qualitative. It is difficult to pass for laymen. No free lunch.
 
Thanks guys for your comment…
trimonious2, your thougths are really helpful… thanks for sharing and taking the time !
 
Thanks guys…especially Trimonious. This thread has helped me a great deal as I was about to post the same thing. Barely passed L2 so I’m pulling my socks up for this one.
 
Here is a contrarian view:

Which level you find more difficult depends on your background. Most folks with accounting/auditing background are likely to find level 2 easier due to the large weight given to FRA. On the other hand, candidates with private wealth management background will likely find level 3 to be easier.
I don’t agree that Level 3 is necessarily the more difficult test, I will concede that it is different in that it is essay based. Does that make it more difficult? In my opinion, that depends on the candidate. At least you can score partial points with essay questions, which is not possible with multiple choice.
One consensus view that I will agree with however is that the volume of the level 2 syllabus is significantly larger than that of level 3. A larger syllabus does not necessarily translate into a more difficult test.
 
I agree with the general sentiment that the level of difficulty depends to a large extend on candidate background. However, while the L2 material can be grasped and executed on exam day with effort, the L3 material is dangerous. You can know the material and still fail. How it is presented is not necessarily how it is tested. It’s just not as straightforward as L2. More “synthesis” is involved compared to L2.
 
the pass rate is 50%
decide for yourself
enough of the silly questions
 
mcap11 wrote:
the pass rate is 50%
decide for yourself
enough of the silly questions
Click to expand...
50% from a pool of probably better and more committed candidates than those on L1 and L2…so I would say harder…
 
mcap11 wrote:
the pass rate is 50%
decide for yourself
enough of the silly questions
Click to expand...
I think this is probably sarcasm. Level 3 is much worse, IMO. The hardest exam, to me, by far. People say “not the material”, but the material is far more interpretative, open ended, and detail oriented.
 
rolo550 wrote:
mcap11 wrote:
the pass rate is 50%
decide for yourself
enough of the silly questions
Click to expand...
I think this is probably sarcasm. Level 3 is much worse, IMO. The hardest exam, to me, by far. People say “not the material”, but the material is far more interpretative, open ended, and detail oriented.
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- You can make tiny mistakes on L2 like using 365 for LIBOR derivative calcs instead of 360 and still get the right answer in a multiple choice test. You can’t do that in L3. You have to know all the material perfectly. Perfectly. Leave off a $ or Euro symbol in a currency problem in L3? It’s wrong. Answers must be perfect.
- The amount of subjective and qualitative material that exists is large and the answers given by CFA are often very narrow in their thought and unless you can regurgitate the exact material that is written in their books, you risk getting partial credit at best on essays. On one practice essay I wrote a response that is very thoughtful about option pricing and none of my response was in the CFA guideline response. Their response looked like the response of a 5 year old, but they are right and I am wrong. 0 credit awarded.
- You will be time constrained on the AM exam because a good part of the time will be spent trying to interpret or understand how the question is presented to you. They will show you one way to do a problem in the book material, and then present the problem in an entirely different format that you have not seen before on the test. Therefore, you have to know the material cold, because if you spend any time trying to understand what they are asking, then spend time trying to remember how this type of problem is done, you will run out of time. You should never even come close to running out of time on L1 or L2. L3 it will happen to a substantial # of the test takers.
- I think L3 is more time consuming and thus harder, even tho the material seems softer. With hard formulas in L2 you know how to do a problem step by step. In L3 if they ask you an open ended question about whether or not this is too much risk for a pension fund, there is no formula. It’s CFA Institute’s interpretation of what is appropriate for that kind of pension fund.
 
L3 is hardest definitely..
in the AM session if you dunno how to answer a question you’ll get 0 marks. Unlike L2 or L1 u have a 33.3% chance of getting a guess correct, higher at 50% if you have eliminated an abvious wrong answer.
in the PM session, most of the topic areas have only 18 points i.e. 1 vignette. That means if you get 2 out of 6 questions wrong u are already in the middle band of >50-70%. 3 wrong you are in the lowest band already. To get above 70% u need to basically get only 1 out of 6 wrong which means u need to be CFA god.
Having said that, the greatest tip that was handed down to me was that make sure you really score in the PM paper to pass L3. If you screw the AM paper, u still stand a good chance of passing if you do well in the PM paper.
 
I used Schweser practice tests, local CFA society mock exams and CFA mock exams for both Level 2 and Level 3. Actual Level 2 exam was much harder than any mock exams that I had used. On the other hand, actual CFA Level 3 exam was as hard as the mock exams. My conclusion, both Level 2 and Level 3 was hard as hell. But Schweser practice tests and other third party mock exams (including that of CFA) provide a reliable benchmark on how the actual exam is going to be. And I used more time studying for Level 3 compared to Level 2. My advise, start using practice exams for Level 3 early in your studying. It will provide a good guidance for your further studies.
 
maggot wrote:
Having said that, the greatest tip that was handed down to me was that make sure you really score in the PM paper to pass L3. If you screw the AM paper, u still stand a good chance of passing if you do well in the PM paper.
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I’m affraid it is not the case. Having said that you assert CFAI applies no weighting scheme to the AM and PM sessions. However, my experience tells me that some weighting scheme is applied - i think it is 0.5 for each session. For example, if you would gain 70% in AM, then in the total mark its contribution is just 0.35. So, for you to pass each session paper should be awarded at least 70% - or any combination of these to get at least the CFAI pass threshold. I might be wrong.
 
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