Level 3 Results

I failed band 10.  Shit...This is really shitty.  I am not in the relevant field so I do not think I will retake level 3 in 2013 because it takes too much time and effort for really no tangible benefits. Passing this exam will give me substantial amount of feeling of accomplishment and joy but this isn't enough for me to put in another 500 hours. 

I put in around 550 hours into level 3.  Most candidates study 300-350 hours and with the pass rate of 52%.....my intelligence level must be slightly below 50% of the level 3 takers. 


Good luck

final week

counting monday, we have 6 days until exam day...5 days to study and finalize everything.  Planning on taking my last mock exam within the next 2 days.  I have no problem studying more than 8 hours a day during the last few days of the exam so I will try to get as much done as possible.  Still hitting those weak areas and gotta master the IPS.

70%

Not that I got scored 70% on a mock......70% is what I am going for.  I am still scoring in the low 60s and somteimes in the high 50s which will probably put me in band 8 or 9.  Gotta keep on going and work through the problems and go over my weak areas. 

Mock

This Saturday I took the Boston Mock exam and scored 63%.  I still got lot of work to do but it is an improvement (very small) from the high 50s I have been getting. 

This week, I will continue to knock out EOR questions and focus on going over AM mock exams I took.  I need to perfect return requirement calculations as I mix up between pre tax and after returns inflows and outflows. 

From now on I plan on going over my notes/note cards every morning and keep it fresh in my head...the stack which is getting larger and larger after every mock and EOR questions....

I plan on taking another full mock on Wednesday and doing the CFA sample exam sometime this week.

Mock

Took another AM mock exam and scored 61%.  I did extremely well on performance evaluation and monitoring and rebalancing questions which is why I got over the 60% range.  Other sections such as individual and institutional IPS were around 55% range.  Alternative and Equity were below 50% range. 

This is making me really nervous.  Being stuck on the 55-60% range......this is the same situation I was in when I failed level I....At the time, I was scoring in the low to mid 60s and could not get my scores up for 3 weeks and ended up taking the exam and failing it.  That was super sad..I need to get my scores up to the high 60s on my AM section. 

I am taking a live mock exam on May 12th. I am hoping to score in the high 60s but it seems that the odds of that is stacked against me given that my scores have been hovering around low 60s for about 3 weeks now :(

I really don't know what I need to do so...... I will just take as many mocks as I can and revise, study, and learn from the mocks.  So far I took 7 mock exams although not all were full exams. 

I should also take CFAI's sample mock.  I think it was $20 last year and it was short and to the point. 

Corner Portfolios

One of the many problems I missed in the mock was on corner portfolio.....
When we add risk free asset to corner portfolio, I need to choose the corner portfolio with the highest sharpe ratio.  If the return on the corner portfolio is less than the desired return, we would allocate more than 100% to this corner portfolio and borrow funds at the risk free rate. 

Mock Exam

Schweser Volume II First exam: 59% for AM and 70% for PM. 

It is another dissapointing score :(:(:(
I really need to focus and go over the answer sheet, re-read the corresponding readings, take new notes, and memorize.  I will read the books and memorize concepts, advantages, disadvantages, different methods to doing X, and terminology until my face is blue. 

Mocks

Today, I took my 5th mock exam.  It was only the AM section and I got steamrolled.  I got 51% on it.  This is very dissapointing as it was my 5th mock and I am still hovering between 50-60%. 

My plan is to spend more than 3 hours on going over this exam...go through every single problem and LOS.  I will do this for my other mock exams I previously bombed. 

My problem is that I don't write enough on the essay portion simply because I do not know the material enough. Some questions, I can't even start because I don't even remember ever reading anything remotely close to it. hahaha fifo my lifo.....

With about 6 weeks to go, this is the time to just eat like a pig.  Devour as much information and mocks as I can.  I've been a pig on a diet for the last few months but now it's all over.  Good luck to all of you!

4th mock

Well this was a disater...... My scores have risen steadily on my first three mock exams.  But, on the 4th mock I got around 60%.  It's so weird.  I need to change the way I study.  It seems that I can't just memorize an IPS form because it's different for every problem.  I need to know this stuff as if it's my job.  I can read the books until my face is purple and still score 50% in the mock because there are so many variations and variables. 

Level III must be easy for FAs or IARs as they meet with clients all the time.  I gotta think like an FA and solve as many of the IPS problems as I can. 

3rd Mock

I took the 3rd Schweser mock exam and got 63% for the morning and 63% for the afternoon.  I was somewhat surprised because I was struggling....... I hope this is a sign that I am learning and improving.  I will continue to memorize my notes and revise my notes again and take my 4th exam next monday.  But next week, I will only take CFAI AM section.  Then I will hit all of the end of reading questions and samples next week. 

Live Class

Today in my weekly live class, we went over performance attribution and decomposion.  I have already studied and solved the EOC questions but today in class..... I was little lost.  It was quite discouraging and at the same time I was happy that I was learning something and I have something I MUST do tomorrow. 

We went over security selection, market selection, currency selection followed by security allocation effect, market allocation effect....I learned a lot today in class.  The differences in the equations between selection and allocation effect can throw a lot of candidates off. 

For the rest of the week I will be focusing on book 3 EOC and sample questions as well as performance attribution and my notes.  Monday will be another mock exam day for me.

Second practice

I took my second practice exam and got 58%.  This is a fail for sure.  I got 70% on the PM section but absolutely buthchered the AM section scoring a phenomenal 46% (same as the first mock).  The problem is... I don't know enough of the material to solve some of the AM problems.  I just leave some problems blank and end up losing all 10 points or 8 points... etc.  The PM section is much like level II with a story followed by 6 multiple choice questions.  All you need to do is understand the concept and recognize the answers.

For the AM on the other hand, I write down the answer and also write down a justification for it.  A double whamy.  If I can't remember the answer in the first place.... well.. good game.

I am not sure what the best way to study is but one thing I know is if I put in quality effort and time it will payoff.  So for the rest of the week I will review and go over the readings of the AM section problems I missed and memorize them.  I will memorize my notes and those reading until my face is blue then I'll take my third mock next monday. 

practice exam

I took the practivc exam.  The good news is..... that I took it and the bad news is I got 50% on the PM section and around 40% (if that) in the morning section.  Taking the practice exam was actually fun although I guessed on roughly half of them.  I need to re-read the sections where I got it wrong, write new notes and memorize and take in the new knowledge.  This will probably take all week and my goal is to take another mock exam next monday.  For the second mock, I am shooting for 60% combined. 

Practice exam

I am planning on taking my first practice exam using Schweser book on Monday morning.  I will do both the am and pm.  I have a feeling I won't do so hot and may be a frustrating and helpless 6 hours.  But I'd rather be helpless now then later.  Wish me luck! 

This weekend will be spent watching lecture videos and revising my notes and solving some EOC questions for the second time.  I will target IPS EOC questions because due to the lack of work experience with clients I can't seem to grasp IPS designed for clients.

3 monrhs to go

Well it's that time again.  I have been pretty lazy just chugging along very slowly.  But now that it is March, I need to focus and study hard.  I need get through the EOC and sample questions again and re-read some of the readings that are giving me hard time.

The live classes I attend for the level III is extremely helpful.  Since I read through the curriculum once the class helps me reinforce key concepts and the instructor is amazing at giving us exam taking tips and techniques.

Live Classes

I am enrolled in level III live program through NYSSA.  It's expensive but I think it is well worth the money.  The class meets once a week for three hours for I believe 17 weeks. 

My plan was to finish with the 1st round of EOC and sample questions by the end of this week but that is not going to happen.  I am not even half way through.  As with the level II, the first round through the questions is painful and demoralizing.  I get around 50% right on these questions and it takes forrrrreverrrrr to solve them.  Just gotta chug along slowly and steadily.

Good Game

Well studying has been very slow.  10 hours a day was my goal but it was more like 10 hours a week.  So bad.  I have almost no motivation to study.  I actually don't even know what I am doing right now.  I have been watching movies and just working out. 

There are things we want and desire.  Those of you who what what that is knows to a certain degree what it takes to get there.  I always thought that I knew where I wanted to go and how to get there.  But now, I am not sure if I will get there even if I do the things I believe is necessary to get there.  This is the reason why I have no motivation.

I have been thinking really hard the last couple weeks about this issue.  Passing the CFA exams is something I started so I will finish this.  Even if I work in an unrelated field such as retail banking or even in the food industry, I will pass this exam. 

NYSSA

Last night I took a sample level III class at NYSSA in NY.  I had planned to take the Creighton Boot Camp to help me reinforce the important concepts and most importantly for test taking tips.  Level III is different from the other levels in that is is less calculative and that we have it in essay format in the AM session.  I want to to learn and practice the test taking techniques for the AM session.  Last night at NYSSA, that is exactly what the instructor did, teach us on how to tackle the morning session.  The cost for the weekly class is quite steep but I signed up and will start this week.  We are starting off with FI in the class and I plan on reviewing my notes and solving sample and EOC questions of study session 9.

Way Behind

I looked at my 2011 calendar and it seems like I studied more than 200 hours by this time of the year on level II.  I am only at 60 hours this year.  I am just finishing up my first round of notes and last year I was already solving EOC questions.  This worries me greatly.  I have been too lazy and yes, I did lose some motivation. 

My goal is to study 10 hours a day for the next 30 days.  My goal is to study 60 hours a week.  This is my job... for now.

Hello! Back to studying again

As for the level III, I am almost done writing my first round of notes.  Readings 37 and 38 will be pain the butt later on but we will get to that a month later.  By the end of the week, I should wrap this up and start reading my notes and highlighting important parts.  At the same time I will solve all of the examples and EOC questions in the CFAI books.  I am planning on going over the problems at least twice before solving the essay questions.  The essay part is where a lot of people seem to get steam rolled so I want to start with the essay questions at the beginning of March.