Test Time Issue

GBC

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Im curious as to how many people had trouble finishing the morning session of L1? I thought I was right on pace and then a couple FSA questions bogged me down and I ended up losing track of time. I ended up guessing on about 10-12 questions just to get an answer on the paper. However, the afternoon session, I finished with about a minute to spare. A couple of my friends also had timing troubles in the morning session but finished on time in the afternoon. I was wondering how everyone else did regarding the time?
 
I think saving time in ethics problems is the key as the exam starts with it.
60 seconds for each ethics problem would help you. Do not wonder to much here. Practice Handbook would help you a lot.

Then speed up with quanz and econ.

However, more than 90 seconds each would be required in FSA and asset valuation as they involves a lot of calculations like CF/DDM stuff.

Those who can end up practice exam in 2:30 would probably be able to finish the real exam with 10-20 min spare time to review/go back to uncertain problems.

More practice exam, more spare time on the exam.



Moomin
 
The AM session was much more challenging than the PM. I felt time pressure until the end of the exam! The fact that the exam is so time pressured really stresses the importance of not doing the shorter sections first. Heading right for the Asset Val and FSA will help you get through the heavy parts of the test so that as you approach the last hour of each test you can move more quickly through the "lighter" sections such as portfolio management, ethics, econ, and quants. I worked until the last minute of each test.
 
I am the only person who took the test that felt the am was easier, maybe because I got a blistering headache in the second part. I finished both parts with a half hour to spare. The key is not getting caught up in one problem.
 
I'm in the same boat with you, dbc. But it turns out we were likely tricked into answering the "obvious" answer that was incorrect.

Guess we'll find out in a month, won't we?
 
I doubt it, I picked up on many of the tricks.
 
I disagree with the strategy of getting through the hard stuff first, such as, FSA and D&E Valuations. This is how I approached it, get the easy answers that you know by heart first, that way at least you have some points on the board. I believe this is a more logical approach, in that you don't put aside easy points, while wasting precious time on questions you cannot answer within 1.5 min. By the way, each question shouldn't take more than 1.5 min. if it did, then you would have missed the trick of answering it.
 
I finished the AM with about 10 min to spare, and the PM with 25 min. I do the port mngmt first. I don't skip questions--if I'm having trouble, I'll circle the question, put down my best guess, and move on.
 
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