L2 retakers, your thoughts?

C

CFAbeatmeup

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Hey guys –
As a L2 retaker, I think we have some insight unique to others. Specifically as it relates to year-on-year changes on difficulty. Remember to not give exam specifics, but how do you feel this year as opposed to last?
As far as I’m concerned, I found this year much easier. Of course, that’s probably more of a reflection on me and my study habits than the actual material. Your thoughts?
 
CFAbeatmeup wrote:
Hey guys –
As a L2 retaker, I think we have some insight unique to others. Specifically as it relates to year-on-year changes on difficulty. Remember to not give exam specifics, but how do you feel this year as opposed to last?
As far as I’m concerned, I found this year much easier. Of course, that’s probably more of a reflection on me and my study habits than the actual material. Your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Damn…I was hoping retakers would say it was as hard as last year. I found it t be quite a bit easier than I expected.
 
I thought it was significantly easier than last year, expect the MPS for this year to be at least 72%.
 
iamMichael wrote:
I thought it was significantly easier than last year, expect the MPS for this year to be at least 72%.
Click to expand...
Can the MPS be over 70%? But I agree, it seemed easier. Balancing that is I think there were a lot of new takers that may assume L2 is the same as L1 like I did last year.
 
I thought the 2013 exam was quite straightforward, the 2014 one was ok but a few obscure questions and this year was also straightforward like last year’s. However,it was, the way they worded the questions and structure of the questions that was straightforward but acknowledge some of the ‘trick’ wording which you had to be careful of. Mocks were probably slightly harder.
 
iamMichael wrote:
I thought it was significantly easier than last year, expect the MPS for this year to be at least 72%.
Click to expand...
My limited understanding of how they set the MPS is that it is impossible for an MPS of 72%. I find it extremely unlikely the MPS is that high.
 
That Candidate wrote:
I thought the 2013 exam was quite straightforward, the 2014 one was ok but a few obscure questions and this year was also straightforward like last year’s. However,it was, the way they worded the questions and structure of the questions that was straightforward but acknowledge some of the ‘trick’ wording which you had to be careful of. Mocks were probably slightly harder.
Click to expand...
You’ve taken L2 3 times?
 
I thought 2015 was harder than 2014, and I was better prepared this year. There were so many multistep calcs, I was thinking, does this really make me a better analyst to know to do this trivial last step?
 
I thought the difficulty was the same but I found the topic weighting to be better suited to my stronger areas than last year.
 
I thought this year was harder, especially Equity and FRA. Last year I plowed right through Equity and FRA (bombed other things obv), but this year, even though I was more prepared, I found them tougher. Since the pass rate was high last year, it wouldn’t surprise me if they made a concerted effort to toughen up topics that candidates did especially well in last year that inflated scores.
 
I was a band 7 last year and I think that this year is easier than the last one (even the amount of time I invested in is less)
 
This year’s exam seemed more straightforward to me than the 2014 exam, although this may have more to do with me being a retaker and having been through this before. I also used CFAI materials exclusively this year. I got totally stumped by a couple of the item sets in 2014 but did not have the same issue this time around. I was also better prepared going in to the exam this year – in 2014, my study time at the end of May was ruined because of moving house. I feel better about my chances this year but think I am on the borderline. A few misread questions/silly mistakes this year could be make or break.
 
Imperfect hedge said:
This year’s exam seemed more straightforward to me than the 2014 exam, although this may have more to do with me being a retaker and having been through this before. I also used CFAI materials exclusively this year. I got totally stumped by a couple of the item sets in 2014 but did not have the same issue this time around. I was also better prepared going in to the exam this year – in 2014, my study time at the end of May was ruined because of moving house. I feel better about my chances this year but think I am on the borderline. A few misread questions/silly mistakes this year could be make or break.
[/quote
That’s a good point, last year I used Kaplan Schweser notes exclusively and wasn’t happy with the result. I did mostly CFAI stuff (still used Qbank and Elan’s 11th hour guide) and felt better prepared. I think I passed, but who knows.
Click to expand...
 
i thought schweser was more than sufficient both years. if you knew 85% of Schweser than you were all set either year
also thought this year was easier than last years
 
I also used Q Bank this year – I ended up doing just under 2,000 of the questions from mid April onwards. Those definitely helped in conjunction with the CFAI readings.
 
When you subtract out the end of chapter questions and answers and optional sections from the CFAI readings, the page count is less intimidating.
 
Mel Clark wrote:
i thought schweser was more than sufficient both years. if you knew 85% of Schweser than you were all set either year
also thought this year was easier than last years
Click to expand...
Mel, I totally conceed that last year it could have been my fault and not Kaplan’s. I had less time and a harder outside schedule then, those are my problems – not Kaplan’s. Still, I feel the things as addressed in the CFAI were more comprehensive than Kaplan’s. But you are probably right that you can pass with both. : )
I wonder if the test was easier or we were just more prepared because we sat last time.
 
Imperfect hedge wrote:
This year’s exam seemed more straightforward to me than the 2014 exam, although this may have more to do with me being a retaker and having been through this before. I also used CFAI materials exclusively this year. I got totally stumped by a couple of the item sets in 2014 but did not have the same issue this time around. I was also better prepared going in to the exam this year – in 2014, my study time at the end of May was ruined because of moving house. I feel better about my chances this year but think I am on the borderline. A few misread questions/silly mistakes this year could be make or break.
Click to expand...
I feel the exact same way! During the exam I skipped seriously 10 questions in a row! I was like what the bananas are they talking about here. Somehow later in the hour, I went back and just killed them. But, I can imagine making mistakes because I read too fast, assumed too much, assumed too little.
 
i failed band 9 last year. i didnt think this year was particularly easier than last year. i thought they were about the same. i think many of us who are retaking have a better command of the material and a better understanding of the curves they throw on the exam. i remember last year having this sinking feeling as i read post-exam forums about “tricks” observed in certain sections. i knew right away i had missed them. that probably contributed to my downfall. this year i made it a point to study those tricks…the CFAI mock and practice sets were really good for this. while i was taking the exam i caught a couple of things that i knew an unaware test taker would miss. otherwise, i think the exam material tested was in the norm - a relatively wide sampling of both headline topics and certain more niche areas/formulas. its crazy though, no matter how long you study for this test there are still items that show up that make your confidence waver. all in all, i am hopeful for a positive result.
 
permabear wrote:
i failed band 9 last year. i didnt think this year was particularly easier than last year. i thought they were about the same. i think many of us who are retaking have a better command of the material and a better understanding of the curves they throw on the exam. i remember last year having this sinking feeling as i read post-exam forums about “tricks” observed in certain sections. i knew right away i had missed them. that probably contributed to my downfall. this year i made it a point to study those tricks…the CFAI mock and practice sets were really good for this. while i was taking the exam i caught a couple of things that i knew an unaware test taker would miss. otherwise, i think the exam material tested was in the norm - a relatively wide sampling of both headline topics and certain more niche areas/formulas. its crazy though, no matter how long you study for this test there are still items that show up that make your confidence waver. all in all, i am hopeful for a positive result.
Click to expand...
Best of luck! If you pass, do you plan to change your forum name to permabull?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top