FAQ Exam Exam Day

[puneet_]

hi, may i kindly check with experienced people in this forum the exam day related questions

1. what will be provided in exam like will there be any rough sheets for calculations? it is important to know as i need sheets to solve numerical questions.
2. i believe, i should not carry pencil, calculator, passport. then what about wallet? am i expected to go without wallet? that's not good.
3. breaks for water and snacks.. is it allowed? i hope so as it is 4 hour long. just to confirm.


cheers

 

[ShaktiRathore]

1)no the rough sheet/space shall be provided in the exam booklet itself there will be no separate rough sheets.
2)u can keep them in your bag in the separate room provided
please see: https://www.garp.org/#!/frm/frequently-asked-questions
thanks

 

[JNL]

The policy says #2 pencil will be provided, but pencil sharpener is not one of the things listed as being acceptable (neither is eraser) in the exam room. Wouldn't the pencils get incredibly dull after 4 hours of writing...

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Hello @jennL

Please make sure to read through the GARP FAQ page to learn more about what to expect on exam day: https://www.garp.org/#!/frm/frequently-asked-questions.

The GARP FAQ page states:

The following items may be carried in your pockets or placed UNDER your seat, preferably in transparent plastic bag:

• Wallet (money purse).
• Calculator batteries, pencil sharpeners, eye-glasses, earplugs.
• Medicine, tissues, and other medically necessary items.
• Food and drinks. All food and drinks must be consumed outside the testing room.

 

[puneet_]

thanks for replying to this post.
i hope pencil has eraser in backside as if we need to change the answer in answer sheet and better carry sharpeners as pencil will be dull after a while. !!

 

[Siqueue]

The pencils did get incredibly dull after 4 hours - I wish I had brought a sharpener. Also, the lack of loose scratch paper was incredibly frustrating. If they could even have provided those blank pages at the back of the book I could have torn them out to use.

 

[kik92]

Hi,

I would like to take a spare calculator battery to the exam but the only problem is that screw drivers are not allowed in the exam room. Can anyone suggest how I could change the battery of the TA BA II plus professional using an item that is not prohibited? The problem is to remove the battery not slide off the back case...

I am also wondering if I am the only person who finds it "strange" that we have to leave the exam room just to take a sip of water..

@Siqueue would you mind explaining how the blank papers were provided please?

Many thanks!

 

[RaDi7]

Really no blank sheets for calculations????? I just can't believe it :-0

 

[Siqueue]

There were (I think - memory sucks) two pages of scratch paper in the centre of the exam book. So four sides of a4, all told. I ended up not using it as it was too awkward to keep flicking from the questions back to the scratch paper.

Maybe I'm just fussy but when doing a question I like to lay out all the key information in one place - so S_0 = 100, K = 120, r=0.04, etc., then the formula to use and only then do I get out my calculator. When working at home I find I go through a tonne of paper so it was a shock to have to do everything in the margins of the exam book.

 

[RaDi7]

There were (I think - memory sucks) two pages of scratch paper in the centre of the exam book. So four sides of a4, all told. I ended up not using it as it was too awkward to keep flicking from the questions back to the scratch paper.

Maybe I'm just fussy but when doing a question I like to lay out all the key information in one place - so S_0 = 100, K = 120, r=0.04, etc., then the formula to use and only then do I get out my calculator. When working at home I find I go through a tonne of paper so it was a shock to have to do everything in the margins of the exam book.

thank you!

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

I thought you did get blank paper for notes on the exam (?) cc @Nicole Seaman We can check on this ....

 

[S666]

Yeah I dont remember getting any scratch paper....calculations were just to be done within the exam booklet.

 

[kik92]

There were (I think - memory sucks) two pages of scratch paper in the centre of the exam book. So four sides of a4, all told. I ended up not using it as it was too awkward to keep flicking from the questions back to the scratch paper.

Maybe I'm just fussy but when doing a question I like to lay out all the key information in one place - so S_0 = 100, K = 120, r=0.04, etc., then the formula to use and only then do I get out my calculator. When working at home I find I go through a tonne of paper so it was a shock to have to do everything in the margins of the exam book.

Thanks for your reply @Siqueue . That's not good! As I too use a lot of paper for workings. I do hope that we will be given some kind of eraser at least!

 

[Marco.Musci]

Hello @jennL

Please make sure to read through the GARP FAQ page to learn more about what to expect on exam day: https://www.garp.org/#!/frm/frequently-asked-questions.

The GARP FAQ page states:

The following items may be carried in your pockets or placed UNDER your seat, preferably in transparent plastic bag:

• Wallet (money purse).
• Calculator batteries, pencil sharpeners, eye-glasses, earplugs.
• Medicine, tissues, and other medically necessary items.
• Food and drinks. All food and drinks must be consumed outside the testing room.

Sorry, maybe it's not a smart question. Does this mean that I cannot wear eye-glasses?

Thanks.

 

[emilioalzamora1]

You can but they might be checked like they do it at the Pearson Exam centers around the globe.
But the level of security before and during FRM exams can vary a lot depending on the country. Some invigilators are more strict than others.

I do wear glasses as well and no one ever asked me about it except at one exam with Pearson but not during the FRM exam.

 

[Stuart D Moncrieff]

Hi,

I would like to take a spare calculator battery to the exam but the only problem is that screw drivers are not allowed in the exam room. Can anyone suggest how I could change the battery of the TA BA II plus professional using an item that is not prohibited? The problem is to remove the battery not slide off the back case...

I am also wondering if I am the only person who finds it "strange" that we have to leave the exam room just to take a sip of water..

@Siqueue would you mind explaining how the blank papers were provided please?

Many thanks!

It might be too late for you - but in case it helps another candidate who is reading - you could take the screws out before going into the exam and keep the back on. If you have an emergency then it would be possible to pop the back off and slide out the battery. I changed the battery a week or so before the exam in fear of being caught out, maybe that's an option to put minds at rest.

 

[Flashback]

According to GARP, no scratch paper permitted. I asked them. One must do all calculations within the exam booklet. I also found in guideline that spare calculator is permitted (only one spare) but must be kept under the desk.

 

[Karim_B]

Sorry, maybe it's not a smart question. Does this mean that I cannot wear eye-glasses?

Thanks.

Hi @Marco.Musci
You can wear glasses, the proctor just needs to check them to make sure they're not smart glasses with an embedded camera of some kind.

For the FRM part II they just took a quick look at my glasses, confirmed there was nothing suspicious about them, and I wore them during the exam.
Best
Karim

 

[Sixcarbs]

Hi,

I know this sounds like a silly question, but how does scratch paper work during the exam? Sometimes at home I can easily fill up an entire page for one problem. 100 questions, and let's say 50 involve computations, even if I am tight I might use 10 to 20 pages.

What do they give you to work on during the exam? A marker board you have to constantly erase?

Thanks,

Sixcarbs

 

[Detective]

No scratch paper, do calcs in margins of booklet.