full exam '09?

[haithem]

Hi David,

Although I was a little quiet last year, I thoroughly enjoyed using BT to help with my FRM prep - unfortunately I didn't pass. I think this was primarily due to having only recently begun working in Risk last year (with no background in economics or finance either!) and attempting to cover such a syllabus as broad and deep was tough going. On reflection I didn't perform that badly and I'm definitely up for another go this year.

My real concern is with the new format, particularly in light of the recently expanded syllabus. My understanding is that I'll only get a discount by resitting the entire FRM in one go, I'm disappointed to not get a reduced rate on taking part 1 and 2 separately.

As a resitting candidate, with at least familiarity with much of the topics, should I just go for it and sit the bumper exam in November?

What is the returning member cost for BT this year?



Thanks,
Haithem

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Haithem,

Thanks for sharing your background. Our renewal charge is $299 (i.e., -$100).

It's hard for me to advise on whether to take the exam full bumper (as 2009 will be the last opportunity) vs. piecemeal. For 2009 only, given that the full exam appears to be a clean superset of Level I (i.e., full exam = core/academic Level I + dynamic/practioner Level II), I tend to think the overriding issue (aside from budget implications) is: do you have the time to "front load" the entire exam in 2009 versus distribute your effort over partial 2009 and partial 2010. It seems to me, it is a decision about how you want to spend your time, on the theory that your total prep time is roughly the same.

I want to confirm this with GARP (tomorrow, Monday) but the exam cirriculum, as I understands, will change every November. So, I do have an open question for GARP about the implication of a November change on candidates who sit for Level I on November; e.g., will the cirriculum in fact change as soon as November 2009?

If that is true, it seems to me it's *possible* that sitting for the entire exam has an advantage over the two-step in the sense that you won't be dealing with a fresh Level II as of November. But I am just thinking out loud, I don't know. What I mean is, for a candidate who goes two step, will there be a change on Nov 2009 and, my question is, would that change create a bit of incremental work in the sense that, currently, some texts transome both Levels? Right now, Level I and II are logically distinct (which is very good), however, there are several natural synergies. My question, then, is, could Nov 2009 bring a change to Level II that creates incrementally more work for a candidate who only sits for Level I in November? I actually did ask this question on the conf call w/ GARP a couple of weeks ago but I am not sure i was understood. I'll talk to them tomorrow and post back here when i get more clarity on the Nov 2009 change and it's potential impact on candidates sitting only for Level 1

Thanks, David

 

[syaiful]

Hi David,

I will like to ask (again) the same question from me in the last weeks.

How much the price for purchase BT : candidate that only sit for Level 1 only (must be proven by some evidence maybe) ?


Regards,

*Syaiful

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi Syaiful,

We only received the Study Guide two days ago....technically I am not even setup to receive payment for Level I only. My first instinct is to charge $199 since that is one-half our full product. We will indeed offer "Level I only" help, since it is a clean subset of the full exam. But I need to have our developer create the page, etc so I can't promise exactly when it will be enabled....Let me know your feedback,

Thanks, David

 

[syaiful]

Hi David,

Thank you David for your 'flash' response. ;-)

i realized,for create different pages to 'Full One' & 'Level 1 only' will require Extra Time & Extra Effort for you in the middle of 'curriculum turbulence' (which we never predict it will happen..)..

But, as far as i know the other providers also didn't come up with 'product differentiation' issue.

So, i am glad if BT have already come up with some tought about this... :lol:

Will wait (for sure) until everything already set up...

once again, thank you for your response.

Regards,

*Syaiful

 

[Karthik & Vaidy]

Hello David

If I take the exam Level 1 in November 09 (assuming that I pass this exam) can I take the Level 2 exam in June 2010. Please reply. Also if I opt for the full scale exam (old syllabus) what will be fee that you will be charging me. Please note that I am your existing member.

Also I have a request I shall be thankful to you if you can make the study material developed by you as a one stop shop i.e. containing formulas, key concepts and problems at the end of each chapter.

Kindly acknowledge.

With Regards
M.Karthik

 

[syaiful]

Hi Karthik,

based on GARP FAQ VII. What happens after i take the FRM exam ? (http://www.garp.com/frmexam/faq.aspx)

I have taken and passed the FRM Exam Level I. Am I required to register for the FRM Exam Level II within a certain period of time?

Yes. Once a candidate passes FRM Exam Level I they must pass FRM Exam Level II within 4 years. If a candidate fails to pass the FRM Exam Level II within that timeframe, they must start the program over and re-enroll in the FRM Exam Program.

hope this information useful for you. :lol:


Regards,

*Syaiful

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

@ Syaiful: thanks for your help on that question. I agree with you, of course. Further, it is my understanding (as I asked on the con call) that a candidate who registers for the full 2009 exam can even change his/her mind and sit for only the Level I in November, then the Level II in May 2010 (please note, I had been told May not June)

@M.Karthik:
Hi, how are you!

"Also if I opt for the full scale exam (old syllabus) what will be fee that you will be charging me"
Renewal = -$100 = $299
(unless you made a prior arrangement due to special circumstances)

"Also I have a request I shall be thankful to you if you can make the study material developed by you as a one stop shop i.e. containing formulas, key concepts and problems at the end of each chapter."

The study notes will continue to be outline summaries - the problems will be loaded separately into the state-of-the-art practice quize modules. I will *not* put all of these together into PDFs because they would be distributed on P2P networks and I would have to go out of business. Everything will be dowloadable, as always, but we aren't going to make it really, really easy for pirates. If by "one stop shop" you are asking for me to put everything into PDFs, it is tantamount to asking me to go out of business. I will be glad to do that when people stop stealing them and making them freely available (i.e., never).

Thanks, David