Newbie to L3 Looking up to the Big Brothers

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ABAL

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Hi All,
I know it may sound too early, but I am taking my l3 2015. Needed advice on the folliwing :
1. Core Difference in approaching L2 and L3
2. How to manage time and still be hard on oneself while grading essay type question.
3. Any particular secret in nailing this final animal
4. Is 55-60% in essay type qs. and 67-70% in the mcq sufficient to pass
(I am not going into the stupid comparision regarding the difficulty of l2 and l3)
I would be taking my FRM Part 2 in Nov. 2014 and would only start studying December 01st week. Is the timeline sufficient
 
1. L3 material itself is less extensive and I think much easier than L2, but you need to understand better and be able to explain it in the morning session instead of just picking the right answer. It all depends on the test taker. Most find the morning essay portion harder than the afternoon item sets. Non-native English speakers have a disadvantage here because it may take an additional mental effort to translate and write down what you need to say.
2. Just practice. I did well in L1 and L2 without too much effort, and relaxed too much this time. I ran out of time in the morning, and fear that I’ll need to re-take L3 next year.
Grading oneself is pretty easy, they usually have very clear guidelines like 2 points for the correct result, 1 point for mentioning this, 2 for that etc.
4. Maybe, but the essay difficulty is not uniform, CFAI most likely cannot accurately predict this and make adjustments until they see the approximate distribution of results. Don’t think too much of these estimates. A lot of people could have improved their score and lowered their blood pressure by not wasting time on forecasting the minimum scores and pass rates.
 
1. The difference between level 2 and 3 is for level 3 you are going to have to ** **** more while studying.
2. It’s a tradeoff but I usually find it’s like dating, you **** ** ** ** **** or else it won’t work
3. The secret to the level 3 animal is figureing out what food it likes and feed it often.
4. You might find the essays easier as I did. but no that doesn’t sound high enough.
 
Thanks Mushinsky and Secret Sauce. Just one last bit..
Is December 01st week good time to start (or it may be late)?
Will FRM Part 2 help in any fashion?
Would be grateful for your sincere advice.
Regards,
Abhishek Bal
 
Core is Study Sessions 4 through 6 in new curriculum (4 and 5 for us “Seniors”). This is the crutch of the Essay morning session. While there are other questions for the essay, they are more short answer like in other sessions.
Somebody told me that you needed the 4 & 5 study sessions to understand the remaining study sessions. That is not true. If I had to do it over again, I would leave 4 and 5 toward the end of my prep. I would study everything before GIPS, Ethics and Study Sessions 4 and 5. Do these last four study sessions 3 months before the test and make sure to attempt Essay questions on 4 & 5. Practice essay questions on the other chapters don’t do you much good if you are a good test taker.
However, I didn’t do any practice tests this round (just studied them). If I fail it will be because of my morning essay and not practicing writing 4 & 5 questions.
 
Yeah, December is probably sufficient. I started in October, but I spread it out more than most. A lot less material, but like someone mentioned, you have to know it much better. I studied about the same number of hours for both 2 and 3 (somewhere around 350).
And no idea on FRM; I haven’t taken that and don’t know the curriculum.
 
Yeah, December is probably sufficient. I started in October, but I spread it out more than most. A lot less material, but like someone mentioned, you have to know it much better. I studied about the same number of hours for both 2 and 3 (somewhere around 350).
And no idea on FRM; I haven’t taken that and don’t know the curriculum.
 
I’ll be starting soonish, depending on when I get my books, but my issue is that I’m doing my MBA, and I have an exchange program in India in the fall at ISB, so I’m probably not going to have alot of focused time.
 
The only true tip is to study for the test, not the material, which is comprehensive.
Best advice: study all the material 2 times before May (timing of which depends on your schedule), then only do old exams, Qbanks and surgical review until the test day.
Also, I bet this didnt even cross you mind at all, but your title should say “Big Brothers & Sisters”. Kind of implies you dont care what the woman have to say.
 
charmander87 wrote:
Also, I bet this didnt even cross you mind at all, but your title should say “Big Brothers & Sisters”. Kind of implies you dont care what the woman have to say.
Click to expand...
Trying… hard… not to… point to.. OPs nationality… aaand I failed
 
charmander87 wrote:
Also, I bet this didnt even cross you mind at all, but your title should say “Big Brothers & Sisters”. Kind of implies you dont care what the woman have to say.
Click to expand...
Thank you charmander!
- a “Sister”
 
how early would you recommend getting started on the level 3 curriculum?
 
As soon As possible on the starting. I postponed my stat till March as I was taking a bunch of FINRA exams. Bad idea as I was also working full time. I felt I could have studied more. While the curriculum is less expensive than L2, it is not easier. Essays are a whole different animal. Also, don’t underestimate the fact that on L3 you draw from pretty much anywhere in the whole CFA curriculum–a comprehensive and all-inclusive final exam.
 
Go the Marc Lefebvre review session in Omaha in May. It won’t help if you are seriously behind, but it will organize everything in a coherent way to yields points. Marc reads almost every word of the CFAI text every year and organizes all the AM questions brilliantly – indeed, it is a “boot camp,” but like any good boot camp, you will come out in good shape and with a plan.
 
^+1
Marc is fantastic. I flew from L.A. to attend his Bootcamp in Omaha, NE. Paid airfare plus hotel stay plus missed work – and it was worth every penny. His AM strategy is fantastic , and actually helped me score better in the morning session than PM.
 
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