What practice papers are you guys doing and how many?

Hi Maroon5, I am also knee-deep in practice exams. I have 3 from Kaplan Schweser, 1 CFAI, 5 from Analyst Note and 1 from Passed Tense. I did Kaplan Schweser and one from Analyst Notes.

Next i plan to do the CFAI to get used to the format and style of the questions.

In my opinion pactice exam from Kaplan Schweser were not “difficult”, since I got a quite high percentage. Kaplan Schweser gives you the option to compare your results online, there i learned that my score was not an exception.
From Analyst Notes I took the impression that the questions were quite difficult, also you had to read the questions carefully in order to fully grasp what the questions specifically is asking. But i quite like that and i learned a lot from these questions. what are your experiences?

I did half a Fitch practice exam and found it much different than the regular exam, so I’ve decided to skip the second half of it. The questions were worded differently and the answers were a much different format than the CFA answers. Anyone else have this experience with Fitch?

I did seven Kaplan Schweser (six printed and one on-line) and two CFAI. I found KS easier than CFAI, but the real exam was much harder than either.

FWIW, I found the KS format closer to the actual exam, even if the difficulty wasn’t on par.

For L2 I’m using KS again, but will definitely get extra exams from other providers.

good luck!!!

My plan is to tackle three Schweser tests then take a CFAI. I’m going to repeat this process twice. Figure its better to end with a CFAI tests so I am used to the wording.

@Umbereen the real deal is harder than KS and CFAI mock?

I probably won’t get to exam practice stage for another two weeks as I’m not ready yet. I plan to do 5 KS and the CFAI mock in my week off before the exam.

@Maroon5 which did you already use? what are your thoughts?

@Goodyear‌ 
tough call mate…6 exams in 7 days? one exam easily takes one day – 6hours to attempt the paper and a few hours after to review the solutions…cutting it too close…if you do somehow manage that, you will probably find yourself in an exhausted state…

suggestion to all:
i went with KS and CFAI mocks, KS question format is quite different from the exam format…focus of the questions is different too…would advise starting with the CFAI mock and revisiting it towards the end – use it as a sandwich mock exam, with the other provider mocks in between

If anyone wants a free printable mock exam, go ahead and e-mail kelly at passedtense.com. We have one we’re offering free as a “beta test”. We’d especially appreciate feedback from ya’ll who are taking mocks from various providers.

Also, you can use our Adapt Exam Engine for FREE for 7 days, plus 41+ hours of video lessons on all the LOS. There’s over 2,600 questions in Adapt distributed across various difficulty levels from 1-10. Sign up for free, no obligations required, although we’d greatly appreciate your feedback on our survey after you use Adapt. Extending to a full 30 days is just $49.

In Adapt, just click “Start Exam” to begin a 3 hour, 120 question exam. Take 2 to recreate the full morning/afternoon level I experience.

@Goodyear
You may want to start a little earlier so you have study time after your first couple of mocks. 6 exams in 7 days is doable (although I agree with Pranav its a lot), but that doesn’t leave much bandwidth to fill the gaps in any areas you’re lacking in.

@Pranav‌ @paulpassedtense‌ thanks, regrettably may take two weeks off. I am cutting fine, right now as still have to read through Equity/PM again. 

@Goodyear‌ 
I wish you well then! There’s still a month, you can do it.

I did 6 papers for Level 1, including CFAI mock. Was trending about low 80s towards the end so felt reasonably confident. But my first was pretty bad, about 50 % or so. Hope it helps calibrate!

@Maroon5‌ When i took it, i did 6 schweser and both mocks that were available…. only failed FRA and PM. CFA EOC were very helpful for the test as well, I would review those again if you have time.

@jmsatchwell‌ not sure how you are on your time, but take at least 6 exams! Trust me!

6 from KS
2 from CFAI
1 from my seniors (dunno where they got it, but it’s still useful, so….) 😉

I think I overkill it, but better safe than sorry, right? Next week, I plan to take my last CFA practice exam, with the help of my seniors to simulate the test environment (3 hours in the morning + 3 hours in the afternoon). (*)

After that, no more practice exam. I’ll focus on quick review and mental conditioning. Must accomplish Zen-like inner peace on the last week before CFA exam date. o:)

@Ethurial the real deal was WAAAY harder for me than any KS and CFAI mocks. Maybe it was nerves of the day that made it all seem harder. I have no clue how people for whom English is not their native tongue were able to get through it; English is my first language and I was struggling with the questions.

When it comes to time, I finished my mocks with 20-30 mins to spare and review for both AM and PM; on test day I barely put my pencil down when time was called.