Exam Feedback May 2016 Part 2 Exam Feedback

[Nicole Seaman]

Jotted down some thoughts........
First of all I am so relieved to pass with decent quartiles (Credit 1, Market 1, Op 2, Risk Mgmt 1, Current Issues 3).

Preparation time: 5 Months (average weekday run rate of 3 hours, weekend 6 hours per day)
The amount of material is OVERWHELMING. So start ASAP.

Material used
1. BT material
2. David’s Youtube Channel
3. BT Forum
4. Occasional reference to books. I had soft copy of several books – esp. Gregory, Malz, Hull Meisnner, Tuckman came in handy
5. Focused google search
6. Schweser Q bank – was decent for beginning / occasional reference
7. EduPristine videos – not exam/BT quality but good to cover high level understanding

Study Strategy- “Old fashioned hard work; Peak at the right time”

Part 2 was one of the toughest exams I have given. Number of topics and amount of material to read, understand and retain is torturous. Unfortunately you cannot wing it. I had moderate background on finance. Part 1 was the most finance I have studied. So, I read the whole material cover to cover 4 times. BT Questions set at least 2 times.

During the earlier stages of the preparation - Read all the BT material (did not attempt the questions). Kept AIMs on one side always. Read EACH WORD of the AIM, underline “describe” vs “calculate”. I could only grasp 40% or less. In earlier stages, easy material such as Edu pristine / Schweser books is helpful with some basic / foundational stuff. Do not get stuck, park the topics and keep moving ahead. Several times when you re-visit the topic, all falls in place beautifully, aha moment. I didn’t make a lot of notes in early stage prep. I attempted easy questions here – Schweser Q bank.

After 1 or 2 read (at this point there was 2 months to go for exam) when you have reasonable understanding, start cracking BT questions, starting jotting notes/create mind maps. These notes are priceless, you will need them in last two weeks so badly. Even at this stage I only had 60-70% understanding of the subject. But repeat this cycle until last 2 weeks for exam. This stage was only and only BT for me, with occasional read from the book chapter. I did not revise any Part 1 notes.

Take off from work for at least 2 weeks before exam. This really helps. You have to peak at right time. Last 2 weeks also comprises of portions that you need to rote memorize. Yes, there are formulas (e.g. netting factor) that you need to memorize. I ended up revising using all the printouts and revisiting my notes again and again. One cool trick for quick revision is to “Play David’s videos at 1.5x speed ! J”. You would fall in love with David’s voice! Kidding, but really helped to quickly go through the content.

Participate in forum. Topic search in BT is EXTREMELY helpful. It is highly likely that the doubt you have would have been asked by someone else in past.

Physical Environment (this may differ from person to person, but I am just jotting down what worked for me)

· Print all docs – Though I started by reading soft copies, but then I almost ended printing all the BT notes / relevant chapters from book and stacked them section wise (5 stacks)
· KEEP PRINTOUT OF AIMS/Learning Objective list side BY Side ALWAYS ! Read the AIMs, carefully, go back and forth as you are reading the material
· Have some key formulas / bullet points in post-it or stuck up right-in-front-of your eyes.
· Having all the material accessible in physical form around my study table was very conducive study environment.​

About Part 2 2016 exam:
Exam was tough. Several questions were from AIMs that had passing mention of the topic. The trend so far had been that Part 2 is qualitative, but 2016 Part 2 was a good mix of qualitative and quantitative. There were questions from remote corner, hence please don’t leave out any topic. With only 80- questions against 200+ topics, stakes are high. After Part 1 I was confident that I will clear, but for Part 2, I was not so confident. I believe the cutoff would be low.

This exam really tested my patience…put me in frustration zone. Esp. for working professionals. With work pressure and little available time in weekdays and weekends, all goes into prep. I worked really really hard (maybe I am the dumber one), but I was so overwhelmed that it took me a lot of effort to get reasonable grip and control on the syllabus.

But amongst all a HUGE THANK YOU TO DAVID. We have all bought services but this is different….this is much more than transactional…. Very rarely we come across people who are so humble, balanced and giving. Sir, your commitment towards your profession has touched my soul, has inspired me. I wish I can sometime meet you in person and express my gratitude. You are best teacher ever…….. @David Harper CFA FRM

@Delo

First, on behalf of BT, I want to thank you for the kind words you have spoken about David. He is truly an amazing educator and puts his heart and soul into Bionic Turtle! Also, thank you for writing such a detailed study strategy! This is so helpful to those who are looking for tips on how to best study for the exam. I am going to copy your study plan over to a thread in the forum where other members have written detailed study plans because this is so helpful!

Thank you!
Nicole

 

[brian.field]

Well done Delo!

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

I just wanted to share that I posted some updated pass rate information on the P1 thread at https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/may-2016-part-1-exam-feedback.9609/page-13#post-43490

FYI, GARP tweeted the pass rates (see https://twitter.com/GARP_Risk/status/748237107982802944):

• May 2016 P1 = 44.5% and
  
• May 2016 P2 = 50.1%.

See my updated graph below. Two immediate observations:

• May 2016 Part 1 (P1) pass rate of 44.5% is 2.7% below its (prior) long-run average of 47.2%. May 2016 Part 2 (P2) pass rate is fully 7.4% below its (prior) long-run average of 57.5%
  
• The recent seasonal trend continues; i.e., we are recently observing lower pass rates in May and higher pass rates in November. Especially, consider the Part 1 swings. Since its second-highest-of-all-time pass rate of 50.9% on Nov 2013, it has swung by ~ 5% (+/-) seasonally.
  • From 50.9% of Nov 2013, -8.4% to 42.5% of May 2014
  • + 6.3% to 48.8% of Nov 2014
  • - 5.8% to 43.0% of May 2015
  • +6.2% to 49.2% of Nov 2015
  • -4.7% to 44.5% of May 2016; although interestingly, this brings the complete long-run averages (i.e., starting from May 2010 when the exam split and including May 2016) right back to the same ~47.0% for P1 and ~57.0% for P2 (which are already published on our home page, but were slightly understated previously).

 

[brian.field]

Considering I passed Part I in May 2014 and Part II in May 2016, I feel even better - and it is all thanks to BT!

 

[farahm]

Considering I passed Part I in May 2014 and Part II in May 2016, I feel even better - and it is all thanks to BT!

Congrats !!

 

[Kenji]

Now an error message appears in my test result, so I cannot see it. What happened?

 

[maxvision]

I can clearly see my result

 

[KATIESHAO]

5 month study plan seems too much? I studied 6 weeks in total(I have full time job and other commitments in the evening, so I studied 3 nights in weekdays and whole Saturday. Sunday I went to church so no study on Sunday. )

1 book each week(I combined current issues with investment management). So in 4 weeks I finished all the readings. I only used the BT notes. I tend to read questions first and then read notes. For some of the topics, I only read questions and answers and skipped notes. - also noted down important formulas and concepts using mind maps! (very helpful in the end)

In 5th week, I did purely exercise. Finished the mock exams and other questions I found online. I did mock exams twice to help me remember.

The last week, I just memorised all the formulas in formula sheet (run though it 4 times) and revised my own notes(mind maps).

However, after the exam day I thought I was going to fail...because I had so many questions unsure. But surprisingly I got 11122 in the end. Even better results than level 1. I used purely schewster notes in level 1 and I studied about 2 month. So glad I chose BT for level 2. yeah

 

[Siqueue]

5 month study plan seems too much? I studied 6 weeks in total(I have full time job and other commitments in the evening, so I studied 3 nights in weekdays and whole Saturday. Sunday I went to church so no study on Sunday. )

1 book each week(I combined current issues with investment management). So in 4 weeks I finished all the readings. I only used the BT notes. I tend to read questions first and then read notes. For some of the topics, I only read questions and answers and skipped notes. - also noted down important formulas and concepts using mind maps! (very helpful in the end)

In 5th week, I did purely exercise. Finished the mock exams and other questions I found online. I did mock exams twice to help me remember.

The last week, I just memorised all the formulas in formula sheet (run though it 4 times) and revised my own notes(mind maps).

However, after the exam day I thought I was going to fail...because I had so many questions unsure. But surprisingly I got 11122 in the end. Even better results than level 1. I used purely schewster notes in level 1 and I studied about 2 month. So glad I chose BT for level 2. yeah

How does the time you spent on Level 2 compare to the time spent on Level 1? What you describe is pretty similar to what I did for level 1 - about 6 weeks in total, just worked from BT - so I'd be interested in hearing the comparison.

 

[KATIESHAO]

How does the time you spent on Level 2 compare to the time spent on Level 1? What you describe is pretty similar to what I did for level 1 - about 6 weeks in total, just worked from BT - so I'd be interested in hearing the comparison.

I actually spent less time compared to level 1 because I used Schewster notes. I just read all the notes and I COULDNT remember anything. So I tend to do all the questions in BT and read the answers. The answer actually covers a lot from the notes. When I felt I couldn't finish that week's plan, I just skipped notes....

 

[Numerical Wizard]

any news on pass rates?

@dwheats

GARP has twittered the pass rates of the May Exams yesterday:
May 2016 #GARPFRM Exam pass rates -- Part I: 44.5% | Part II: 50.1%
May 2016 #GARPERP Exam pass rates -- Part I: 57.0% | Part II: 57.4%

Link: https://twitter.com/garp_risk

 

[Sima]

I passed..
Nov Part 1: 1,1,2,2
May Part 2: 4,2,1,2,2

 

[Numerical Wizard]

I passed Part II after passing Part I in Nov 15.

Market Risk: 1
Credit Risk: 2
Operational Risk: 1
Investment Risk: 1
Current Issues: 1

Congratulations to everyone else who passed!

 

[Nicole Seaman]

5 month study plan seems too much? I studied 6 weeks in total(I have full time job and other commitments in the evening, so I studied 3 nights in weekdays and whole Saturday. Sunday I went to church so no study on Sunday. )

1 book each week(I combined current issues with investment management). So in 4 weeks I finished all the readings. I only used the BT notes. I tend to read questions first and then read notes. For some of the topics, I only read questions and answers and skipped notes. - also noted down important formulas and concepts using mind maps! (very helpful in the end)

In 5th week, I did purely exercise. Finished the mock exams and other questions I found online. I did mock exams twice to help me remember.

The last week, I just memorised all the formulas in formula sheet (run though it 4 times) and revised my own notes(mind maps).

However, after the exam day I thought I was going to fail...because I had so many questions unsure. But surprisingly I got 11122 in the end. Even better results than level 1. I used purely schewster notes in level 1 and I studied about 2 month. So glad I chose BT for level 2. yeah

@KATIESHAO

Thank you for sharing your study plan, and congratulations on passing! A 5-month study plan may sound like too much to some, but everyone studies differently, and each individual person may require more or less time than others to learn the concepts. I have found over the years, that a good number of our subscribers start studying at least 4 months before the exam. It is always interesting to hear about the different study plans that people use

Nicole

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Now an error message appears in my test result, so I cannot see it. What happened?

Hello @Kenji

I know that GARP was having some issues with their website on the day that the results were released. I would suggest contacting GARP if you are unable to see your results, as I recall that you were able to see that you had passed on the 28th.

Nicole

 

[FRM_Part2_Candidate]

Hi guys. I've been looking through the forums, Analyst Forum, and google to find out how long it takes for GARP to verify your work experience. GARP's official response is anywhere from 6-8 weeks, but it depends on your place in the queue; however, old forum posts (circa 2013-2014) say it could take only a week. Do we have any recent information to this point? I submitted my work experience on 6/28 right after the results were released. Thanks!

 

[brian.field]

Hi guys. I've been looking through the forums, Analyst Forum, and google to find out how long it takes for GARP to verify your work experience. GARP's official response is anywhere from 6-8 weeks, but it depends on your place in the queue; however, old forum posts (circa 2013-2014) say it could take only a week. Do we have any recent information to this point? I submitted my work experience on 6/28 right after the results were released. Thanks!

Super Curious! Great question!

 

[rvepra]

I submitted the CV today and received an email mentioning that the certificate will be mailed on September 30, 2016. I wasn't aware that they send a separate email prior to that. Good to know. Thanks

 

[brian.field]

Everyone keeps mentioning emails from GARP. I've received none. At any rate, I am not worried - still in celebration mode!

 

[Mkaim]

Everyone keeps mentioning emails from GARP. I've received none. At any rate, I am not worried - still in celebration mode!

did you check your junk mail? I think they were sent around 5 PM your time on the 28th.