Exam Feedback May 2018 Part 2 Exam Feedback

[jamietay]

Fail with 33321
I had studied better than Level 1 and had a better feeling of passing this one.
Feeling so dejected

Sorry to hear this. Wishing you all the best in the November 2018 sitting.
Btw, in what order is your rating of 33321? Credit, Market, Operational, Risk Mgmt and Current Issues?

 

[Keshav]

hi all. I failed, again: 4,4,4,2,4.
My result has worsened over the 4 attempts so far. For my first two attempts, I tried to read all of Schweser and Bionic and then wasnt left with any time to solve papers. Hence, for my last 2 I changed strategy to solving as many questions as possile, and then referring Bionic notes / videos. My best score has been 4,4,3,2,3.
I don't work in a credit related role and hence most of the terms are still difficult to understand.
Any advice / guidance on how I should approach the Nov 2018 attempt?

 

[schumi_frm]

hi all. I failed, again: 4,4,4,2,4.
My result has worsened over the 4 attempts so far. For my first two attempts, I tried to read all of Schweser and Bionic and then wasnt left with any time to solve papers. Hence, for my last 2 I changed strategy to solving as many questions as possile, and then referring Bionic notes / videos. My best score has been 4,4,3,2,3.
I don't work in a credit related role and hence most of the terms are still difficult to understand.
Any advice / guidance on how I should approach the Nov 2018 attempt?

Sorry to hear that....I guess if you do not understand most of the concepts the only solution is studying them deeply before attempting to solve problems. How did it go with part 1? When did you pass it and how many attempts did it take you?

 

[Keshav]

Sorry to hear that....I guess if you do not understand most of the concepts the only solution is studying them deeply before attempting to solve problems. How did it go with part 1? When did you pass it and how many attempts did it take you?

hi @schumi_frm , I cleared part 1 in 2 attempts, in Nov 2015.

 

[Bilal Ehsan]

Guys the thing which matters is the clarity of the concepts and how you test yourself by solving maximum questions from different sources. Solving same questions again and again won't help you unless you understand concepts.
I appeared for level 1 in nov 2015 and studied for 2.5 months. My result was 2,1,1,1. I totally depend upon on Schweser
I wasn't able to appear for level 2 due to some personal issues. I started preparing in Feb 2018 and cleared on my first attempt.
My result is 1,1,2,2,1. This time I relied on Bionic and Schweser both .
I believe the key is to practice as many questions with concept understanding .
If you don't then there is no advantag3 of solving questions.
Make sure you understand concept whether from Schweser or BT or from Google.
Engage yourself in discussion and ask as many questions as possible
Also for me Garp mock exam is very important . There were many questions on the same concepts .

 

[stephenjohn]

hi all. I failed, again: 4,4,4,2,4.
My result has worsened over the 4 attempts so far. For my first two attempts, I tried to read all of Schweser and Bionic and then wasnt left with any time to solve papers. Hence, for my last 2 I changed strategy to solving as many questions as possile, and then referring Bionic notes / videos. My best score has been 4,4,3,2,3.
I don't work in a credit related role and hence most of the terms are still difficult to understand.
Any advice / guidance on how I should approach the Nov 2018 attempt?

Hi @Keshav - I am sorry to hear that you did not make it this time. What areas are you struggling with?

I found that my biggest issue with both the FRM and CFA programs is being able to recall the sheer volume of material.

You may find the below useful as a strategy (which is what I employed in order to pass part 2).

*Concentrate on doing BT's questions and asking the people on the forum with regards to anything that may not be clear. (I did this all the time). Furthermore, I would make notes of the questions that I found the most difficult. Even though you may know an answer, working through the logic step-by-step is still useful.
*Create your own sheet of formulas for each of the 4 main topics and construct notes around them. This may include the assumptions behind some of the formulas, or model classification such as the model types for the interest rate trees. It may take some time but I found it useful for revising the key points.
*Apologies if it sounds obvious but unless, it’s a new topic I wouldn't bother reading the syllabus again. Having said that don't do what I did and not take the current issues section seriously. I sat the exam in November 2017 questions were not always obvious to me. As a result I got a “3”
*On a lighter note, if you are like me and you are fond of beer, then cut it down to a minimum. I had to do this in the final few weeks leading up to the exam as it was turning my memory into jelly. Seriously I was struggling to remember an awful lot of basic stuff.

Best regards,

Stephen

 

[zhidafrm]

Passed with 11111! Thank you so much BT! Although the practice questions are a little bit harder than the actual exam, it was definitely worth the effort!

 

[schumi_frm]

hi @schumi_frm , I cleared part 1 in 2 attempts, in Nov 2015.

Well, that's pretty good, and if you cleared part 1 in 2 attempts you must be also able to clear part 2. From my personal point of view, I found that for part 2 one needs to read the theory really well and remember a lot of small details for the qualitative questions (and still during the exam I was seriously hesitating between 2-3 possible answers in many of them...). And as others said, doing exercises without understanding the concepts will not help you, since in the exam you will encounter different questions.
The suggestion of stephenjohn of writing your own "formula" sheets also worked very well for me, although I did it not only for formulas but also for theory concepts that I saw in the exercises and I found important to remember.

 

[mssnal]

hi all. I failed, again: 4,4,4,2,4.
My result has worsened over the 4 attempts so far. For my first two attempts, I tried to read all of Schweser and Bionic and then wasnt left with any time to solve papers. Hence, for my last 2 I changed strategy to solving as many questions as possile, and then referring Bionic notes / videos. My best score has been 4,4,3,2,3.
I don't work in a credit related role and hence most of the terms are still difficult to understand.
Any advice / guidance on how I should approach the Nov 2018 attempt?

I started preping for FRM part 1 in August 2017. Totally relied on Schweser. At the time i had not heard of BT. Although the preparation was haphazard and had no defined strategy to tackle the exam. In my opinion i performed poorly in the exam as i marked straight Cs for 12-15 questions. I attempted around 35 correctly IMO . Results 1121. I did well in the hindsight.

Started preparing for part 2 in Feb 2018, this time with a defined strategy. Did on the exam well. Used Schweser and went through three years of candidate feedback in the last 18 days and worked on weaker areas (by this time i had heard about BT). Results 11121

My method, if it works for you....Go through every book in 12-15 days without trying to understand dense/harder parts just to get a sense of what is covered in the LOs. Give a second read. this time give full attention to every concept and do relevant exercises. Reserve the exam month for practice and strengthening harder concepts...Get help from google and youtube if needed. Going through last three years of candidate feedback from BT forums was very helpful (emphasis on very)

If i have a chance to do it all over again and have sufficient time i would use only BT as its coverage is far better than any prep material available. Plus forums are helpful and you prepare as part of a broader potential FRM community. It also provides dedicated help.

I had to manage all this with a full-time job and family commitments.

Hope it helps. Wish you success next time.

 

[SODJAN]

Anybody know how much details is required for the 2 year work experience?

 

[Karim_B]

hi all. I failed, again: 4,4,4,2,4.
My result has worsened over the 4 attempts so far. For my first two attempts, I tried to read all of Schweser and Bionic and then wasnt left with any time to solve papers. Hence, for my last 2 I changed strategy to solving as many questions as possile, and then referring Bionic notes / videos. My best score has been 4,4,3,2,3.
I don't work in a credit related role and hence most of the terms are still difficult to understand.
Any advice / guidance on how I should approach the Nov 2018 attempt?

Hi @Keshav
Sorry to hear that, but impressed by your perseverance

Some things to consider:

1) For the topic where you scored a 2 (Risk Mgmt & Investment Mgmt?), what was different about it for you compared to the other topics?
Maybe you found it more interesting, more relevant; whatever the difference was see if you could possibly apply it to the other areas, or maybe change your perspective on the other topics to incorporate it.

2) "We become what we think about" - Earl Nightingale
I found this quote and the video linked below by Tom Bilyeu very helpful, especially as I passed through particularly tough readings.

You Will Become What You Think | Impact Quotes

So instead of talking about "the Nov 2018 attempt" picture yourself passing and remember why you signed up for the FRM and what you're planning to achieve when you get certified. This will hopefully get you fired up and ready to do what it takes to pass this time

3) Try to find linkages between topics and formulae
GARP love to mess with us on exam day by giving us pieces of information which aren't sufficient to directly get the answer, but combined with other tangentially related information can be used to back out the answer. For example the formulae for Beta and Correlation use almost the same inputs, so you might need to use the result of one of them to back out the value of the other.

As others have mentioned in the posts above, making a formula sheet and/or mind map of key topics and how they're related can help give you a big picture overview.

4) Understand the why behind formulae to remember them more easily
I find it much easier to remember a formula when I understand the intuition behind it. I realize this isn't always possible for those with complex derivations, but where possible it helps a lot.

5) Time management on exam day
I like to do the easy questions first, then come back to the hard ones so you can bank as many points as you can on the 1st pass. It also helps you build confidence since you start with easier questions, and by the time you get back to those you skipped, later questions may have prompted your memory to better tackle those tough questions you skipped.

It can get tricky if you end up mis-marking the answer sheet, so you have to be careful. I just fill in my letter of the day for the questions I skip, then make corrections on the 2nd pass to avoid the mis-marking issue, but it can be a pain (and it does involve going back through the test to the questions you guessed which takes some time).

6) Often GARP questions are filled with useless fluff or irrelevant info to misdirect you.
Try reading the last part of the question first - often it just asks you to identify correct/incorrect options below which are independent of the previous info. If you did need info from the earlier paragraphs, having the question in mind can help you select the relevant info (which is often camouflaged amongst other irrelevant details) & find the answer more easily. See if these tips work for you when doing practice questions.

I hope some of this helps, and look forward to you kicking some butt in November
Best
Karim

 

[mssnal]

Does anyone know how much time GARP takes to review two years experience?

 

[Karim_B]

Does anyone know how much time GARP takes to review two years experience?

Hi @mssnal
I think on average it takes about 2 weeks based on some previous BT posts, and the time frame in the results letter:

"If you submit this information by September 15, 2018, your certificate will be included in the September 28, 2018
distribution."

Best
Karim

 

[Suraj Ravi]

I passed. That's all I want to say. Thanks David. Thank You Bionic Turtle. Thank you fate.That's all that matters.

 

[kaval]

Fail with 33321
I had studied better than Level 1 and had a better feeling of passing this one.
Feeling so dejected

Ru sure about your score 33321 (total 12). people with this scrore has passed. you can check on past formus too. i doubt on this score and not passing

 

[Karim_B]

Hi @mssnal
I think on average it takes about 2 weeks based on some previous BT posts, and the time frame in the results letter:

"If you submit this information by September 15, 2018, your certificate will be included in the September 28, 2018
distribution."

Best
Karim

Hi @mssnal
Actually I just heard from a friend who passed part II in November that it took a month for his experience to get approved.

Fingers crossed!
Karim

 

[Karim_B]

Ru sure about your score 33321 (total 12). people with this scrore has passed. you can check on past formus too. i doubt on this score and not passing

Hi @kaval
The quartiles represent 25% each, so to take an extreme example the same 3,3,3,2,1 could represent a very different score if you're at the top or bottom of the range for all of them.

Top of the range:
50%,50%,50%,75%,100%

Bottom of the range:
26%,26%,26%,51%,76%

I think it's the overall score that matters, and the quartiles are just to give you a sense of how you performed on the various topics relative to your peers.

Best
Karim

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

@Karim_B is exactly right about the quartile outcomes that are reported with the results: they are meant to inform, but it's only the total score that counts. In a previous thread (see https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/quartiles-and-weights-exam-results.9883/#post-45570 ), I illustrated this with a working spreadsheet (which you can retrieve here at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikhbkm0571fdchh/1019-garp-frm-scoring-exam.xlsx?dl=0 ).

It demonstrates exactly what Karim says about the width of the quartiles, by showing how it is possible in extremis for ....

• Candidate #1 earns 3/3/2/2 and passes, however
• Candidate #2 earns 2/2/3/3 but fails. These are P1 but similar scenario could be input for P2. I hope that's interesting,

@hellohi

Okay I built this small spreadsheet (because trying to talk about this soon becomes a word soup imo), please see https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikhbkm0571fdchh/1019-garp-frm-scoring-exam.xlsx?dl=0
... and below is a snapshot. This is just for P1 and you only input (change) the yellow cells, the rest is calculated.

Notice how I input an extreme version of the one you referenced in your email; i.e., Student #1 earns 3/3/2/2 and passes while Student #2 earns 2/2/3/3 but fails. I was deliberately provocative: notice how the seemingly subtle difference can lead to a difference between a final score of 62 and 36 (wow!). Caveat: I'm not sure my quantiles are exactly calibrated, but they can't be too far off. I hope that clarifies!

 

[[email protected]]

Just wanted to say I passed both with BT only (and YouTube). I started part 1 with the books, got as far as CAPM and was lost. I am an accountant by background, but have more and more risk mgmt exposure in the job. In the early days I sat on mathsisfun to redo basic algebra and learn what e was! My stats and econometrics was abysmal or zero. It can be done! Determination, organisation and hard work. Don’t be afraid to ask what you might think are silly questions. Feed your curiosity. Be kind to yourself and ensure you have family support.

 

[Keshav]

Hi @Keshav
Sorry to hear that, but impressed by your perseverance

Some things to consider:

1) For the topic where you scored a 2 (Risk Mgmt & Investment Mgmt?), what was different about it for you compared to the other topics?
Maybe you found it more interesting, more relevant; whatever the difference was see if you could possibly apply it to the other areas, or maybe change your perspective on the other topics to incorporate it.

2) "We become what we think about" - Earl Nightingale
I found this quote and the video linked below by Tom Bilyeu very helpful, especially as I passed through particularly tough readings.

You Will Become What You Think | Impact Quotes

So instead of talking about "the Nov 2018 attempt" picture yourself passing and remember why you signed up for the FRM and what you're planning to achieve when you get certified. This will hopefully get you fired up and ready to do what it takes to pass this time

3) Try to find linkages between topics and formulae
GARP love to mess with us on exam day by giving us pieces of information which aren't sufficient to directly get the answer, but combined with other tangentially related information can be used to back out the answer. For example the formulae for Beta and Correlation use almost the same inputs, so you might need to use the result of one of them to back out the value of the other.

As others have mentioned in the posts above, making a formula sheet and/or mind map of key topics and how they're related can help give you a big picture overview.

4) Understand the why behind formulae to remember them more easily
I find it much easier to remember a formula when I understand the intuition behind it. I realize this isn't always possible for those with complex derivations, but where possible it helps a lot.

5) Time management on exam day
I like to do the easy questions first, then come back to the hard ones so you can bank as many points as you can on the 1st pass. It also helps you build confidence since you start with easier questions, and by the time you get back to those you skipped, later questions may have prompted your memory to better tackle those tough questions you skipped.

It can get tricky if you end up mis-marking the answer sheet, so you have to be careful. I just fill in my letter of the day for the questions I skip, then make corrections on the 2nd pass to avoid the mis-marking issue, but it can be a pain (and it does involve going back through the test to the questions you guessed which takes some time).

6) Often GARP questions are filled with useless fluff or irrelevant info to misdirect you.
Try reading the last part of the question first - often it just asks you to identify correct/incorrect options below which are independent of the previous info. If you did need info from the earlier paragraphs, having the question in mind can help you select the relevant info (which is often camouflaged amongst other irrelevant details) & find the answer more easily. See if these tips work for you when doing practice questions.

I hope some of this helps, and look forward to you kicking some butt in November
Best
Karim

sorry for the delayed response. was drifting, trying to figure out a study plan...
But thanks a ton, Karim, for the well thought out reply! really appreciate. your message has re-ignited hope! thanks again