What happened:

The exam last Sunday was tough. I would go as far to say it was tougher than the mock exam, and since I only got 61% on that I have probably failed.

There’s a slight chance I could pass. I found ethics very easy. If I do pass, it’s because I got very lucky with my guesses and aced ethics.

I found that two questions in each section were gimmies, while most of the others were tougher. For the FSA sections, I could usually knock off one of the answers but choosing between the other two was just a guessing game.

I think FSA will be my downfall. It’s one of the most important sections, and it was definitely my weakest.

I wont be disheartened too much. If I don’t pass, I will have plenty of time to study for it next year. I will understand all the concepts a lot better and ace it.

How did you find it? We have a long wait until we find out the results, so relax and enjoy the break from studying. We definitely deserve it.

354 days until the June 2010 exams.

Exam Preparations

Over the past two days I did the mock exam. I scored 58% for the first half and 63% for the second half. FSA was my weakest point which it has been throughout my revision. I will probably focus on revising this tonight. Ethics was also very tricky in the first section. I only got 2/6 which was disappointing.

Overall I think the mock exam will be quite representative of tomorrow’s exam. If you passed well, you are in a very strong position to replicate that result tomorrow. If you scored under 70% like me, do not despair! You would have learnt from the mistakes you made, and reiterated your strong areas. You will more than likely get higher mark tomorrow rather than a lower mark. And the pass mark is likely to be lower than 70%. We have a good chance to pass!

So tomorrow, four months (or more depending on when you started) of hard study and devotion to improving your financial knowledge will be put to the test. If you are ever in doubt between two answers, go with the first answer you thought was correct. If you want to change your answer, prove to yourself without a doubt that you are changing it to the correct answer.

I wish you all the best for tomorrow. Take it easy tonight and try to get a good night’s sleep. I posted this before I sat level 1 in December. It has some links that were good to read before the exam. If you have some time, take a look.

GOOD LUCK!

1 day until 7th June 2009

Sample Exam #3

This afternoon I finished reviewing my notes and did the third sample exam. I got 70% which is a great moral booster.

Ethics 3/6

FSA 4/6

Fixed Income 4/6

Derivatives 5/6

Portfolio Management 5/6

I was disappointed with ethics but surprised with derivatives. I still make silly errors from not reading the question properly. Since time is not an issue for this exam, silly errors shouldn’t happen. I need to slow down and take my time.

Tomorrow morning I’ll do the AM Mock exam. Tonight I’ll just go over my notes.

3 days until the level 2 exam.