My Level 3 Tips

Question

Having just got through Level 3, I thought it might be useful to share my tips/experience before I erase everything from memory.

The AM section is crucial. Do not underestimate it.
In the lead up to the exam, I had seen this posted multiple times. I knew it was different to the multiple choice questions that came in levels 1 and 2, however it was only once those 3 hours began that I truly appreciated how I should have been preparing during my revision. I had done roughly 9 practice exams, and therefore assumed I was ready for it, however these are the errors I made:

1) Because of the time it takes to write essay-style questions, when I took practice papers I was concentrating on making sure I got the key concepts down without any regard for presentation/coherency. I was very strict in my marking process, so if I knew that I understood the concept I gave myself the marks accordingly. The problem is that once I was in the exam I had to change my style to ensure that answers where complete, included all relevant workings and assumptions, and were coherent. This obviously takes longer, and as such I had a huge issue with getting all the questions completed in time.

2) It is a much different feeling when you are trying to complete the essay questions under time pressure in exam conditions (especially when you are running behind - see point 1 above!). I found it very difficult to concentrate, and when I needed to be picking up pace I felt like I was floundering as I couldn't take in anything I was reading.

Tip: Make sure you complete at least one mock exam under strict exam conditions.

Use mock exams to your advantage.
It's amazing how many people say "I studied 900 hours, did all the EOC's, and came out with Band 5. I just don't know what went wrong. I didn't do any practice papers, but I'm sure I knew the material inside out. I don't know what else I could do".

I'm sorry, you did no practice papers? Well there's your answer then.

Practice exams are vital for several reasons:
1) you will know what to expect come exam day.
2) you will gain an understanding of what the examiners are looking for in the answers.
3) you see how some concepts are tested year after year, and get an appreciation about what to expect; and
4) you will get experience of how to answer the questions (see the next section for more on this).

The great thing about level 3 is there is an abundance of mock papers for you to get hold of. This is the only level whe the CFAI post the actual AM papers for you to see for the last three years (http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/sample_questions.aspx). If you're smart, you might go in and save these now, so that when they replace the 2009 paper with the 2013 paper, you will actually have 4 mock papers. As I have mentioned previously, even L1 and L2 candidates should start saving the mock papers now. The item set practice paper changes every year, so it is possible to build up a great supply of papers before you reach L3 yourselves.
Schweser also issue 6 mock exams in book format, and there are other sources too (and I think the guys at 300hours.com even negotiate discounts for you on some of these!).

Make sure you know how to answer the essay questions.
Sounds easy, but it's surprising ow many people get this wrong. Some of the questions tell you to write on the lined space provided, however there are some that require you to write in a specific box. If you don't answer where you need to, then you will get 'nil pois'. Yes it's annoying, but if you can't follow a simple instruction do you really think you deserve to pass. People also dissect the exam and wonder if they wrote in the wrong place, butfrommy experience it is obvious to see when there are boxes. Yes you might the answer in the wrong place to begin with, but as soon as you turn the page and see the boxes then the penny should drop.

Be honest when marking your essay questions.
The answers are subjective, and whilst it is a good ego booster to get high marks in the mock exams, you have to remember the end game. When I was going through practice papers I was very harsh on myself. If I didn't think I deserved a mark then I would not give it to myself. Do enough mock papers and you will gain an appreciation for what you need to write.

Anyway, I hope some of you find the above useful!

christine · Answer

I don't know about private tutors, but having a tutor may help, especially if you didn't the last time around. 7city does quite a comprehensive course, or if you're in NYC NYSSA also does something similar.

The essay bit is extremely challenging to understand from our perspective - as far as we know, essay-style questions look for a certain set of key phrase answers, and if you don't bring them up, that's it - no points. Hence you can spend 3 minutes scribbling a few bullet points (but the right ones) and get full marks, or spend ages writing and feel like you've given a great answer, and get nothing.

We will try to reach out to candidates that did well in their AM paper this time around and see if they have insights to share - through multiple experiences we hope to be able to shed more light into this matter.

Sophie Macon · Answer

@veronicacorningstone, I'm sorry to hear that, but your experience is similar to mine. I totally bombed my AM paper too, but was lucky enough to just about scrape through a pass years ago. Again, I did similar practices like you.

What I'd say though, is doing those essay practice exam papers until timed condition, and be STRICT about the timing and marking. I personally didn't take it that seriously for the AM practice sessions since I thought "meh, I'll never get it right since it's subjective anyway" - which I suspect is the cause of my downfall for AM session where I didn't finish 3 whole questions...