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- Topic: Level II Exam-Thoughts
| Author | Topic: Level II Exam-Thoughts |
|---|---|
| ragingrazz @2005-06-05 11:29:45 |
Switching the format to all MC from its previous essay/MC hybrid seesm like it made some questions easy and others sort of hard to descipher. The questions seemed (and I'm not sure if everyone has the exact same test ot not) like they could be interpreted (or argued, if given the opportunity) differently by people with different backgrounds...I had questions on portfolio liquidity risk and expectations on return that seemed very unclear as to the true point..I always took the view that material covered was the point they were trying to make, but in the real world I think some of these questions would not be so clear cut. Most questions with a quantitative aspect seemed fair, but those focusing on specific wording and subtle semantics seemed more unclear to me (and English is my first language). I guess I'm a little dissappointed that with all the time they had to create questions, those were the best they could come with...anyone else notice any of this? |
| amt0803 @2005-06-05 12:01:55 |
I thought the morning wasn't that bad, I even felt cautiously confident during lunch. I thought the afternoon was way harder. But if most people felt that way I guess it doesn't hurt me since it's curved. |
| insigma @2005-06-05 15:25:26 |
My thoughts exactly. The morning session was pretty reasonable - not too hard and not too easy... but the afternoon one was much harder... the ones which I remember struggling especially was the translation gain for the SEK/USD company... Seemed so easy, but I had no idea how to go about calculating that for all 3. Was also somewhat baffled by a few others.. can't remember what was in those q's though.. seems like i'm leaking fluid out of my ears. |
| edvranic @2005-06-05 23:59:05 |
Yeah that translation gain was a killer. See, I knew how to calculate it to get the WRONG answer so I at least eliminated one choice out of four. Of course using that method only works if you have time at the end. FSA and equity were a lot harder the second time around. Good thing I feel I destroyed those sections on the first test so I'm probably ok on both of them overall. My Achilles heel was the ethics...both questions I knew only 2 out of 6 for sure and the other 4 I got it down to a 50/50 chance. Following probabilities that's still 8 out of 12 in total I suppose. |
| mtantry @2005-06-06 09:06:25 |
I think there is pretty much consensus view that morning session was bit easy while evening session was very tough. And I frankly guess the chances, mind you roughly 20 - 25% of questions were subjective (like the PF management and few ethics) that too with twin questions. So the correct answers for those 20 - 25% questions would be the key to success. |
| Imas @2005-06-07 20:27:03 |
I felt dejected after the afternoon session... I heard from someone in the "know" that the way they grade the CFA is: Take the mean of the top 1% of all candidates for each exam. Then curve the exam according to these results. So if the top 1% of level II candidates got a 95%, then 70% of 95% is 66.5%. To tell you all honostly, I still don't think I passed, but I can always hope. What I am not sure is if you get under a 70% in ethics, do you automatically fail even if you are in that grey area.... Hey does anyone approximately know when the exam results will be in? |
| tonpot @2005-06-08 06:52:35 |
I heard of a similar grading system. They take the top 1% and make the passing grade 70% of what that 1% scored. I think there seems to be a consensus that the morning portion was relatively easier than that of the afternoon. I imagine that there will be a tighter curve since only a handful of questions will separate everyone. I don't know about you guys but I particularly don't think the subject matter was all that bad. What I found difficult, however, was the tricky wording and how they presented the information. Even for those who managed to master all the LOS', these particularities would have been difficult. On the other hand, some would argue that in real life, information presented in the investment world is also not so straight forward. Since there is no hand grading on level 2 now, we should get the results around the time when level 1 results are released - around mid or end of July. Anyway, I wish everyone who took level 2 good luck. |
| ragingrazz @2005-06-21 14:49:24 |
Anyone remember that steepness of the NPV profile compared to amortization question (afternoon section)? I wanted to check my book on the details, but can't remember what they had asked...any thoughts on the questions/subject are appreciated... |
| tolu @2005-06-27 09:09:27 |
I have been taught in English all my life and english language is more or less my first language. i find the questions really confusing. Stmts such as 'not least likely to occur etc' + tension in the exam hall = Recepie for disaster. at times i wonder if it is a TOEFL test of CFA. |
CFA Discussion Topic: Level II Exam-Thoughts
I just wanted to share the good news that I passed CFA Level I!!! Thank you for your help - I think the online question bank helped cut the clutter and made a positive difference.
