NickQAnalyst

[NickQAnalyst]

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I’m running out of steam : /
Feeling psychologically weak.

After 470 hours of studying, 2,700 QBank questions (averaging 85% without notes), 3 Schweser Mock Exams (scoring in the low 80s), and nearly every question/example completed from Schweser and CBOK, I’m simply burned out.

I need a fire under my ass to keep this stuff fresh!

Last note:  I still haven’t taken the CFAI Mock Exam and I am terrified that it’ll make me panic.  I’m planning on taking it this Saturday.  Very, very anxious.

Any encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

[NickQAnalyst]

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I’ve heard that there is a notable difference in the difficulty of Schweser Exams to the CFAI Mock Exam, but I’m hoping it isn’t too terribly much! 

My first Schwester “morning” 120Q/180min exam was a tough pill to swallow, as I score a 72.5% (and created a thread based on the anxiety from that).  Since then, I’ve scored an “afternoon” of 83%, a “morning” of 84% and an “afternoon” of 84%.

At this point, I’m honestly scared shitless about taking the CFAI-distributed mock exam and bombing it… but we’ll see how it goes when I take it next weekend!  Anyone else transitioning from Schweser to CFAI exams?

@DigitalWizard – sounds like you did some Schwester mocks and they were significantly different from the CFAI mock?
@simply-complex2 – I think this damned exam has taken years off of all of our lives…

[NickQAnalyst]

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@jessmat – Thanks for the kind words.  Just to clarify, I had been scoring 85s on the QBank and scoring high 70s / low 80s on the Schweser Practice Exams.  Just took a Schweser exam (morning session) and scored a 73 : / Hopefully the afternoon session goes smoother…

As much as I don’t want to, I’m going to take your advice and knock out the CFAI Mock tomorrow (this shit is gonna be rough!)

I don’t know about all of you, but I’m cursing everything that has to do with the CFA at this point.

Good luck to all!

[NickQAnalyst]

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I really appreciate the reassurance and the words of wisdom! The Derivatives section is seriously no joke, and will definitely require periodical revisiting.  Mastering this stuff seems to be all about just chipping away at a giant wood block.  Slowly, but surely.

Derivs back in the fall?  Looks like you’re in really good shape on the study schedule. How are you feeling about your studying progress so far?  Given that I’m on the slower side in grasping these concepts, I’m shooting for about 450 hrs or so by the time June rolls around, but it’s going to be a sprint for the last 4-5 months.

I really appreciate your taking the time to respond to my anxious plea, and I wish you best of luck!

[NickQAnalyst]

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Everyone,

I’m genuinely humbled by your willingness to take the time out of your busy lives to advise, counsel, and reassure a complete stranger.  I thank you all for your time and valued feedback.

@googs1484 (is this how you tag somebody? … we’ll see):  I appreciate the context that you have provided me.  I’m not yet “in the clear”, but I have realized that I’m closer to where I need to be then I had originally though.  Quality insight about Kaplan.  Thanks!

@wm247 :  Hit the nail on the head with the “mental and inner peace” insight.  It’s a constant struggle, but thank you for your reassurace.  Needed it.

@RoyD :  Really appreciate your straight talk.  You’re 100% right.  I haven’t dedicated much time to memorizing formulas, but largely know the concepts.

@Sophie :  Really really really appreciated this post.  I’m not giving up, of course, but I was admittedly pretty down in the dumps.  Thank you for being my temporary-online-CFA-panic-mode-oh-shit-this-is-hard therapist!

All in all, thank you all so very much.  I still can’t believe you guys took the time to reach out to a complete stranger!  Your words are valued and will be taken to heart.

I took the afternoon session last night and scored an 82.5%.  I’ve still got a long way to go, as I was SHAKY on many of these questions and, averaged in with the morning score, scored an average of 77.5% on my first timed KS exam.  With 19 days remaining, I think I should be able to hone in on the troublesome areas and hopefully put myself in a decent position to pass this son of a gun!

Thank you all so very much,

Nick

[NickQAnalyst]

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I feel you on that.  I took a 6-hr KS mock yesterday and scored an 86.  I don’t think I would be able to handle a poor score on another mock.  I’m going to follow @jessmat ‘s lead and just review everything without taking another full mock.

I can’t wait for this to all be over!

[NickQAnalyst]

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Thanks @simply_complex2 !

I rebounded with an 82 on the afternoon session, so feeling a tad better again… What a roller coaster!  There won’t be enough beer in Washington, DC for me when this thing is all said and done…

I’m truly grateful for yall’s continued support and advice.  I’m absolutely humbled. 
I’ll be sure to pay it forward! Thanks to @jessmat as well!

[NickQAnalyst]

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Thanks everyone for the support!

[NickQAnalyst]

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@RoyD 

I’m right there with you.  I’m scoring in the low 80s on the KS Practice Exams (done with 3.5 exams with the second half of the 3rd one commencing in about 5 minutes.. haha).

I will spend most of the week doing an “honest appraisal” of the topics that continually trip me up and dedicating troublesome formulas to memory, while still browsing over the topics that I feel that I know pretty well.  Like you, I’m nervous that I’ll forget certain things unless I keep them in reaching distance.

I haven’t taken the CFAI Mock yet, due to some technical difficulty with the website, but I’m glad to see that your CFAI Mock score wasn’t, like, 15 pts below KS exams.  That kind of discrepancy would make me freak out even more than usual…

Best of luck!

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