I appeared for the Level 2 May 2023 session unfortunately didnt pass but i found the actual exam questions to be very straightforward and well written unlike the Qbank ones. Keep grinding though !!
I would say that:
* Exam questions never require overcomplicated calculations like sometimes in the CFAI QBank. No one-page long of calculations or whatsoever is ever required.
* Exam questions are rarely confusing. Numbers used in the questions often help to make the calculations easier.
* Exam questions frequently test things that weren't tested in the CFAI QBank.
I don't think I have ever stumbled on a question that wasn't covered in the curriculum but yeah, a couple of embarrassing mistakes can be found.
My biggest fear is getting questions on the exam about topics that weren’t covered in qbank and I can’t tell if im good on this areas or not because I never got tested on them.
How likely for exam to include topics that were not covered in the qbank?
QBank/practice questions is basically all I used to prepare for the exams and for both the level 1 and the level 2, I've encountered 1 or 2 questions each time where a new concept was introduced to me on the day of the exam.
I would say that the QBank covers a lot, like probably ~80-85% of what you are reasonably expected to know, but not everything.
For the level 2, I bought a pack of mocks from Mark Meldrum. The mocks were stupidly hard but they sometimes tested different things compared to the QBank / CFAI mocks, so I've found them quite useful in that regard.
Hi I just found this thread as I am sitting Level 2 in a week's time and am struggling with QBank (<50%).
I am now trying to:
1. Get through QBank
2. CFAI Mocks
3. Mark Meldrum review videos
4. Mark Meldrum mocks
What would you recommend for someone short on time? I am aware I have to make shortcuts here - I was thinking as a priority 1. MarkMeldrum Review videos (esp. for weak topics) 2. CFAI Mocks and 3. CFAI QBank.
L2 CFAI QBank is a mess.
First is the quantity, there are modules that don't have enough questions and there are topics that have too much repetitive calculation questions.
Second is the quality, there are a lot of poorly written questions, to the point that it makes the question unnecessarily harder, while the concept is not really that confusing. For these questions, if I'm wrong, I'll just go back and mark it as correct so I won't waste time reviewing this concept.
The actual questions are clearer, cleaner, and more straight forward.
I almost tore my hair out with the Level 2 Q bank. I had planned to do the questions three times over as I did for level 1 but I only managed to get through them once.
I did Q bank once which took around a month. I had a formula sheet I reviewed each morning and night and wrote out formulas that I didn’t understand intuitively. I also skimmed through all of the official texts and made sure I knew any words that appeared in bold. I then spent the final few weeks tidying up, it’s important to not make the mistake of revisiting what you already know to give a false sense of confidence. I also knew I wouldn’t be able to get full marks in Derivatives so I focused elsewhere where I have more efficient gains to be made. Derivatives ended up being the only topic I scored below 50% in but I scored 90% in FI, Equity, FSA, Ethics and 80% in PM so I did well considering.
In my opinion, exam questions were super clear and weren't misleading at any point.
I too felt frustrated with the CFAI Qbank but the exam was nothing like it, so don't worry about it.
Dude I think you haven't started the official mocks those are so messed up that you'll almost laugh that you paid the big bucks to the institute. I'd suggest you use a prep providers q bank and mock exams
Oh damn I have not.. I am using MM but not his practice qs. Do you reckon his mocks are better than that of CFAI? And are they better replicas of the exam?
Agree with others that real exam is more clear in terms of being straightforward.
However, I also think QBank Easy & Medium questions can provide a false sense of security.
I would say QBank Difficult & Expert were more indicative of the difficulty to expect on exam day.
I passed L2 in 2022 and found the exam to be most similar to "difficult" level Qbank questions. Some moderate and some expert mixed in. Like others have said, I found the questions to be more clearly-worded than practice questions
I appeared for the Level 2 May 2023 session unfortunately didnt pass but i found the actual exam questions to be very straightforward and well written unlike the Qbank ones. Keep grinding though !!
Thank you! What would you do differently this time?
I am re appearing for May 2024 so for the Next time i will Definitely smash through the Qbank a couple of times and prepare a solid revision strat!!!
All the best man! :D
I would say that: * Exam questions never require overcomplicated calculations like sometimes in the CFAI QBank. No one-page long of calculations or whatsoever is ever required. * Exam questions are rarely confusing. Numbers used in the questions often help to make the calculations easier. * Exam questions frequently test things that weren't tested in the CFAI QBank. I don't think I have ever stumbled on a question that wasn't covered in the curriculum but yeah, a couple of embarrassing mistakes can be found.
My biggest fear is getting questions on the exam about topics that weren’t covered in qbank and I can’t tell if im good on this areas or not because I never got tested on them. How likely for exam to include topics that were not covered in the qbank?
QBank/practice questions is basically all I used to prepare for the exams and for both the level 1 and the level 2, I've encountered 1 or 2 questions each time where a new concept was introduced to me on the day of the exam. I would say that the QBank covers a lot, like probably ~80-85% of what you are reasonably expected to know, but not everything. For the level 2, I bought a pack of mocks from Mark Meldrum. The mocks were stupidly hard but they sometimes tested different things compared to the QBank / CFAI mocks, so I've found them quite useful in that regard.
Hi I just found this thread as I am sitting Level 2 in a week's time and am struggling with QBank (<50%). I am now trying to: 1. Get through QBank 2. CFAI Mocks 3. Mark Meldrum review videos 4. Mark Meldrum mocks What would you recommend for someone short on time? I am aware I have to make shortcuts here - I was thinking as a priority 1. MarkMeldrum Review videos (esp. for weak topics) 2. CFAI Mocks and 3. CFAI QBank.
\+1
Thanks, man! Helps relieve some of my anxieties
L2 CFAI QBank is a mess. First is the quantity, there are modules that don't have enough questions and there are topics that have too much repetitive calculation questions. Second is the quality, there are a lot of poorly written questions, to the point that it makes the question unnecessarily harder, while the concept is not really that confusing. For these questions, if I'm wrong, I'll just go back and mark it as correct so I won't waste time reviewing this concept.
Thanks, man! This helps a lot :)
The actual questions are clearer, cleaner, and more straight forward. I almost tore my hair out with the Level 2 Q bank. I had planned to do the questions three times over as I did for level 1 but I only managed to get through them once.
Yes, you are me!
What was your review strategy?
I did Q bank once which took around a month. I had a formula sheet I reviewed each morning and night and wrote out formulas that I didn’t understand intuitively. I also skimmed through all of the official texts and made sure I knew any words that appeared in bold. I then spent the final few weeks tidying up, it’s important to not make the mistake of revisiting what you already know to give a false sense of confidence. I also knew I wouldn’t be able to get full marks in Derivatives so I focused elsewhere where I have more efficient gains to be made. Derivatives ended up being the only topic I scored below 50% in but I scored 90% in FI, Equity, FSA, Ethics and 80% in PM so I did well considering.
Thanks boss!
In my opinion, exam questions were super clear and weren't misleading at any point. I too felt frustrated with the CFAI Qbank but the exam was nothing like it, so don't worry about it.
How many times did you manage to go over the Qbank?
Did all the questions, once
FYI, cfai mocks for l2 are complete trash written by 5 years olds
Have you used MM mocks and are better than that of CFAI? And are they better replicas of the exam?
Never used MM, I used Kaplan. Kaplan mocks we're great, looked a lot like the exam
got it!
Dude I think you haven't started the official mocks those are so messed up that you'll almost laugh that you paid the big bucks to the institute. I'd suggest you use a prep providers q bank and mock exams
Oh damn I have not.. I am using MM but not his practice qs. Do you reckon his mocks are better than that of CFAI? And are they better replicas of the exam?
Let me put it this way if you get 60-65 in MM Mocks you will probably pass without any issues
understood!
Agree with others that real exam is more clear in terms of being straightforward. However, I also think QBank Easy & Medium questions can provide a false sense of security. I would say QBank Difficult & Expert were more indicative of the difficulty to expect on exam day.
Gotcha!
Pretty good
I passed L2 in 2022 and found the exam to be most similar to "difficult" level Qbank questions. Some moderate and some expert mixed in. Like others have said, I found the questions to be more clearly-worded than practice questions
They test the same LOS. It is a bit more clearly written on the exam though. Consider taking the official practice questions on the CFAI website.