You passed Level 1. What do you wish you knew?

@lulu123 I disagree. The 10 Commandments are exactly what every candidate should know, but not many candidates realise this (or only realise its importance of each individual rule after the exams). The 10 Commandments are put together by charterholders so we have been through the exams 🙂

For example:

Starting early. Plenty of candidates make the mistake of leaving their studies till too late as the (wrongly) assume they might be able to compensate with their work or educational background.

Practice exams. This exam, especially Level I, is a function of how well you practice, and that itself is a function of how many practice exams you get through before the exam.

Time. At 120 questions in 180-minute sessions, there is a serious time threat here. It applies to some candidates, it doesn’t to others. But you need to make sure, or else it will catch you unawares during exam day.

If you’re looking for things like topics to focus on etc, the only reliable source is the CFA topic weightings, which by level are:

Hope that helps!

@MattJuniper I went into the exam not knowing a lot of things

1) I didn’t know you could fail a section and still pass the exam, I was under the impression you had to get a 70% in each section and if you fail even one you failed the exam – such was believed on my campus
2) Schweser practice exams are much harder than the actual CFA exam (in my opinion)
3) I failed to realize I was entitled to one CFAI mock exam for free

After the morning session I was like damn, that was easy.

After the morning session I was like damn, that was easy.

I was always afraid thinking like that was going to jinx myself…

No I don’t think that’s the case @lulu123. Everyone takes the same paper at the same time.

Is it true also that for some people the exams will be reversed? As in some people get part “one” in the morning session and some get part “one” in the afternoon? So not everybody is writing the same thing at the same time technically speaking?

No chance. They would have to print different papers, and there would be a massive risk that people could collude to tip each other off as to what was in the other half of the exam!

There is no other CFA forum!!! 😉

+1 on the toilet thing. I found it much easier to go DURING the exam rather than in between sessions because there is a crazy-long line in between exams, but no line when the exam is going on (obviously).

@MattJuniper speaks the truth!

@greenem what I’ve found very useful from a ‘zen’ perspective is to boost your own confidence up artificially. I’d redo practice exams that I knew were easy, and if I didn’t know an answer I would make it an open book question, and the (artificially) high score, although you know you ‘assisted’ it, boosts your confidence and helps with your state of mind going into the exam.

Hi @lulu123

Not sure if you read our blog, but there is a ton of advice there especially for Level I. Best to start from our 10 Commandments!

I’m actually very embarrassed to admit this but when I walked into the exam center I almost burst into tears cause I could feel the anxiety and stress in the room, its like I have to beat 67% of the people I see! But I calmed down and stuck to my principles.

A few things I did that I found helped was:
1) I stopped studying a couple of days before the exam
2) Didn’t bring any study material with me to the test center
(This was to avoid causing last minute panic)
3) Ensure you are aware of all the examination rules and location (there was a huge traffic jam around the test center so my parents (there’re awesome) couldn’t drop me off at the door and I had to walk the last leg)
4) Don’t talk about the exam during the session break – laugh/joke with your friends and unwind so you have a somewhat rested and refreshed mind for the afternoon session.

Hope this helps ^.^

4) Don’t talk about the exam during the session break – laugh/joke with your friends and unwind so you have a somewhat rested and refreshed mind for the afternoon session.

+1 . Totally avoid discussing the exam or the exam questions, especially in between the sessions. I tend to not discuss much even after the exam. It just adds to the stress. Plus you can’t really change the outcome of an exam after its over, so theres no point getting into “forensic” details.

Just concentrate on your efforts and hope for the best 🙂

I wish I knew how different the paper was from Schweser practice exams (shorter and deadlier).

@lulu123, @diya

I found it harder/deadlier (for some) because they would have questions that go: What is X? And I would have absolutely no idea, having never seen this X in my revision. Instant kill.

@lulu123 we can’t discuss the questions we saw on the exam.
It is part of the CFA code.

@lulu123 can’t really blame the provider. I am sure there are a many people that would say they used Schweser and passed.

Hi.
As I’m “diving” into this “sea” of discussions,the Schweser’s term is used someplaces.
– Is it something I/newbie have to consider?
– Is the LARGE material from CFA not enough?(I received today my shipment, counting the pages will take almost a day…) #:-S

I’m actually very embarrassed to admit this but when I walked into the exam center I almost burst into tears cause I could feel the anxiety and stress in the room, its like I have to beat 67% of the people I see! But I calmed down and stuck to my principles.

A few things I did that I found helped was:
1) I stopped studying a couple of days before the exam
2) Didn’t bring any study material with me to the test center
(This was to avoid causing last minute panic)
3) Ensure you are aware of all the examination rules and location (there was a huge traffic jam around the test center so my parents (there’re awesome) couldn’t drop me off at the door and I had to walk the last leg)
4) Don’t talk about the exam during the session break – laugh/joke with your friends and unwind so you have a somewhat rested and refreshed mind for the afternoon session.

Hope this helps ^.^

I wish I was one of those people who can force themselves to shut off and zen out before an exam but I’ll always be pouring over notes up until go time, even thought I know none of it sticks.

4 points from me (which kinda go hand-in-hand with the commandments anyway):

1) I wish I had started practice exams earlier.
2) I wish I had learnt more formulas off by heart.
3) I wish I had finished reading the Schweser notes earlier.
4) I wish I had anticipated just how hectic/chaotic/rushed the exam day was going to be. Even things like going to the toilet take much longer than you would expect, as for everything you need to do there are thousands of other candidates all looking to do the same thing at the same time!

Obviously these relate to me. Others will feel different.

@fabian interesting you say that the Schweser practice exams are easier and longer. I found the actual exam shorter – yes but also easier.

I think if you have a clear understanding of the calculations and what drives the theory that lead to a particular formula you won’t have trouble with the qualitative questions @lulu123

I second what @Diya said.

its like I have to beat 67% of the people I see!

I just thought “I only have to beat 67% of the people sat around me” 😀

Arrogant? Maybe, but I knew I had done more work than 67% in that room so it was justified I think.

@lulu123 @diya well, the general way it works is that Schweser isn’t exactly complete. They do selective editing by leaving out some stuff that they think won’t matter. So there is always a chance where you’ll have something you’ve never seen, but it’s done so that you don’t have to read so much! Pros and cons.

@lulu123 I don’t think you can say it is Schweser’s “fault” all prep providers cut out xyz and tell you to focus on abc because they think it is more important. You can’t condense the material and still have all the tiny details.

@fabian yes there are pros and cons and since we are all operating under time constraints we have to pick what works for you. So little time so many choices >.<

Schweser is a prep provider that offers prep material to help pass the CFA exams. For level one I used Schweser’s study notes and practice exams to prepare.
But it is totally your choice you will also hear people that prefer the CFAI material.

OK.
Thanks @Diya. I wasn’t aware of options.