Shweser Practice Exams Harder Than CFAI Mocks?

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wpd83

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Just curious everyone’s thoughts. They just seemed harder to me than the CFAI Mocks.
Debating on how much to put into them.
 
I say no. To me, all of the CFAI material is more in-depth and therefore more difficult. That said, at this point any practice is good practice. I’ll still be grinding through another Schweser exam this week.
 
I also disagree. Seem to be mid 60s on schweser but just scored a disapointing 58 on the free CFA mock from the website.
From those I’ve talked to that seems to be common and apparently the real thing is easier than both….hoping thats the case!
I feel like it’s essentially a coin toss for me right now. Definately on the pass or fail line.
 
I’m a retaker definitely did *not* find the actual exam easier than Schweser practice exams. I’d say it’s a shade easier than the mock. Or maybe not easier, just more straightforward?
 
Interesting. So do you think the real thing is as difficult as the schweser exams or more difficult?
nycag04 wrote:
I’m a retaker definitely did *not* find the actual exam easier than Schweser practice exams. I’d say it’s a shade easier than the mock. Or maybe not easier, just more straightforward?
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NO, CFAI were much much harder. Actual exam based off last year was similar to CFAI.
 
So the exam we take in 4 days will be similar to the mock… and Schweser is ez mode?
 
Hi guys,
Not long now until the big day. I wish you all the best.
I actually took the exam in Dec and just missed out. Fingers crossed this time around.
My experience on this subject is this; I find the CFAI mocks much more like the real thing than Schweser. Schweser tend to be much wordier, thus tending to allow yourself to second guess. This isn’t a bad thing, but I would say if you are scoring in the high 60’s with Schweser, you are doing very well. The real exam I found was much more direct in the questioning.
Just an indication. I have tried 4 CFAI mocks this time around (2 from this round and 2 from last…). On average I score 75%. I am yet to pass a Schweser exam, where I’ve also done 4! Always in the 60’s.
That’s my 2 cents….
 
I thought more difficult than the Schweser exams for sure. And Kingpin, yes - that’s how I would describe it. This is in no way meant to scare anyone, because everyone prepares differently, but I won’t be using anything but CFAI from now on. Using Schweser for the bulk of my studies last year left me feeling very unprepared. Confidence is key, and I just wasn’t used to digging as deep (sorry for being Shaun T, I’m mid Insanity right now in addition to CFA studies) as the CFAI EOC questions/mocks/actual exam required.
Best of luck to everyone. I know we’ve all worked hard!
 
I think even the CFA mocks are relative. I took the 2011 CFA Mock AM session and did not find it too bad. I did better on that than I had on Schweser (although as I am doing an intensive review I am more prepared than I was a few days ago). From what I am hearing the 2012 CFA Mock is very hard so I am assuming it is a lot harder than 2011. With the mention of all the obscure topics, I have stayed away from it as I believe my limited time is best used reviewing subjects I do not know as well.
 
y u scare me… i can still pass it at mock exam difficulty, but it’s a really close call… if it’s a shade easier then perhaps i’ll be in mid to high 70’s, but that’s still a bit too close for comfort! stress+sleep deprivation+distractions can throw me off, which is why it’s too close for comfort.
 
If you’re able to hang in there with the CFAI material I definitely wouldn’t worry. I knew as soon as I switched over from Schweser to CFAI that I was in trouble. And the real problem was that I didn’t do that soon enough to fill in all the gaps. You should feel good about mid to high 70 potential!
 
yeah, sorry wayne but you get no sympathy from me. so you didn’t score 88 on the cfa mock the way you did on the schwesers. whatever. that was one test. i remember you saying you averaged like 85 over 4 mocks. what percentage of people taking schweser mocks got over 80? i say 10%, tops. what percentage of people taking got above 75 on cfa mock? exactly. you’re starting to sound like that guy in high school who swore he’d failed the test, only to score A+ and then feign surprise! so buck up, chill out and don’t worry so much!
 
Thought I throw my 2cents in. I’m a retaker, scored band 9 last year after 6 months studying(shade under 300hrs). I’ve done 5 scwesher mocks so far(all of 2012 vol 1 and exam 1&2 on vol II) and I’ve done the 2012 CFAI. I went hardcore this year and have been studying since October. I’ve been consistently breaking 70% on the schweser’s(after the 1st exam) and actually did 75% on the morning CFAI 2012 mock. I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that CFAI mocks are the hardest by far due to their obvious randomness and possible scare tactics.
Schweser’s practice exams may have slightly shorter vignette’s, but I do feel they mimic the real exam with regards to difficulty. And this is what I feel compared to last’s years real exam I took. However don’t be surprise if one session AM or PM is much more difficult then the other come exam day. In fact the less difficult session last year was slighty easier than Schweser’s mocks imo. I’m praying that the tougher session comes in the morning cause I want to get it out of the way first and coast the afternoon session into the weekend.
 
8eezbaby, if you don’t mind me asking (i know it’s meaningless info, but at this point, indulge me!) what were you scoring on schweser mocks prior to getting band 9?
 
I never did a schweser mock last year because I didn’t even know it existed. Let’s just say I’m a student of the free filesharing arts and was unable to obtain a copy of that exam bock. I did attempt the the 2011 CFAI mock in that final week last year. I half heartedly did it, untimed, and peak for one or two formulas and got a 65 on the AM session. Didn’t have time to do the PM session, I was too busy on that Qbank.
If anyone broke 65% overall on the 2012 mock under exam style conditions I think that’s a good chance of a pass for exam day. That MPS is no where near 70% after some of the pass reports I’ve seen. I almost think if CFAI released it we would all be shock on how low it is. People who are breaking 75% and even 80% in the mocks closed book need to seriously chillout.
 
lemimam I know you didn’t ask me, but I failed band 10 last year, and I scored a 62.5 on the 2011 mock the weekend before the actual exam. Comparing my results to some of the passes I saw on here, it had to be painfully close.
 
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