Exam Feedback November 2016 Part 2 Exam Feedback
- Thread starter Nicole Seaman
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Passed with 111122 despite feeling that the exam was really tough. This was my 2nd attempt and despite being better prepared it felt harder than the 1st time. Maybe some of the answers I guessed I got lucky.
The FRM has become so much harder since it split into a 2 part exam. I did part I in 2013 and it was easier then I believe. The FRM part II this year was harder than any of my Actuarial exams in University.
Good luck to all others who still have to become certified. It's not easy. Good luck for the next sitting.
The FRM has become so much harder since it split into a 2 part exam. I did part I in 2013 and it was easier then I believe. The FRM part II this year was harder than any of my Actuarial exams in University.
Good luck to all others who still have to become certified. It's not easy. Good luck for the next sitting.
Hi @Meadem2 , can you share any tips for returning candidates. what did you do differently the second time around? I did not pass part 2 in nov 2016 - it was definitely a time issue for me.
I passed the exam on my first attempt even though I felt destroyed after it. I guess, there is no secret behind passing it. Just put in more time. I guess my input was around 350 hours or even more. I was extremely tiered before the exam as I did not take even one day off at work to study or to have a rest before the exam. I dont recommend it to others as I had rest after, I realized that I understand material much better after the exam than just before. It took me three days to recover after the exam. I literally felt pain everywhere in my body and left work after half a day on Monday just to get back home and to sleep. I should have done it before the exam. I have no idea, how people pass it with 150 hours, should be really efficient learning. I did the same as you, went through material, through all BT questions, through all mock-ups. Focused on the questions which I got wrong and tried to understand and memorize the theory behind. I would say I really focused on the questions I got wrong when revising the material.
It seems GARP really now you to understand the material deeply. And even after passing it, I still think the exam crossed the difficulty line.
Best of luck. Sleep. Study. Repeat.
berrymucho
Member
I failed P1 in Nov'15 and then passed P1 and P2 in May and Nov 2016 with Q1 scores across. Time was definitely a factor in my first attempt at P1, I had to force-guess over 20 questions at the end. For 2016, after a thorough initial read of the materials (primarily Schweser, with occasional reference to the GARP readings) I started timing every practice question set I would do (daily), a good month before the exam. It doesn't need to be 4 hours, 1 or 2 hours at a time with the objective to complete 20 (25) or 40 (50) questions eventually got me used to the right pace. Most importantly, I'd practice with all books closed, no "cheating" allowed, that's where I realized how well/poorly I knew my formulas... Also, working under time constraint allowed me to practice these other skills you need the day of the exam: learn not to panic if you're stuck on a question, learn when to skip some questions (in particular how to let go when you realize the calculation is not going anywhere), pay attention to the wording (e.g. "most/least likely", "which one is NOT", period vs continuous compounding type of questions), and also manage some dips in energy over 4 hours (after the initial adrenaline rush when you start the exam, I'd experience a lull in the middle part with a feeling that this was never going to end, then you get another adrenaline rush at the end). In the end I felt that knowing the materials is definitely one thing but developing the right "test taking skills" required for these exams is a large component as well.
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Hello Farahm
I would focus more on questions & practice , then only read the sections of notes where you did not answer correctly. There's 1000's pages of notes so it's time consuming. maybe the notes from BionicTurtle are more focused than GARP & are an easier read with more explanations & examples
Focus on the more complicated questions , skip the easier ones.
In the exam itself spend the 1st 5 minutes trying to identify the questions you understand the most , attempt these 1st. That way if you run out of time at the end & have to guess then you are not missing out on any questions which you had a good chance to get correct
Don't bother wasting your time on practice questions from prior to 2014. It was a lot easier back then
Try to spend an hour per day studying , start early. I did one hour each night before bed & that was enough then I did practice exams at weekends & took 2 days holiday from work to study before the exam
Good luck
fjc120
Member
Any charterholders here? After completing both FRMs part 1 and part 2 on the first try this year (heavy thanks to BT), I am hungry to revisit CFA (still have not cleared level 2).
Any recommendations? There is no BT service out there and scheweser has failed to get me over the hump. Should I just stick to the real books? To fair I have never tried them, I was always looking for shortcuts....
I owe FRM success to reading the full books and BT.
Any recommendations? There is no BT service out there and scheweser has failed to get me over the hump. Should I just stick to the real books? To fair I have never tried them, I was always looking for shortcuts....
I owe FRM success to reading the full books and BT.
I have been a CFA charterholder since 2012 and passed FRM 1 in May this year and 2 in November. I have to say that if you have the time, read the real books because I found Schweser books didn't help me understand the full concept and scope of the materials. Also the CFA books were by far much better organized and edited than the FRM books and I really felt that it helped me to fully understand the materials. I felt like I had no idea what I just read when I was reading the FRM books a lot of times which was the reason I signed up for bionic turtle.
Best of luck to you!
Damil4real
Member
I'm a CFA Charterholder (and just passed FRM part 1..., taking part 2 in May) as well..., and I agree with kaidi3447 that it's better to read the CFA curriculum for both L2 and L3. Although, I used Schweser for both L1 and 2. Read the CFAI curriculum for L3.
On garp's LinkedIn page
Thanks for your input - you described exactly my experience with this part 2 exam. i scored decent on the mocks - i was also physically in pain - by the time i got to the exam i was exhausted. i think that's what happened really. i'm not an expert in all the concepts but i did put in the hours. i just have to do it all over again. ahhh
Thanks @Meadem2 !! my thoughts exactly. just practice over and over again. I like the way you scheduled your studying. I feel ok with most concepts except for a couple - but yes questions and notes it is !
Im also a CFA Charterholder and can agree with those comments above that the CFAI materials are great for all levels...especially 2 and 3. I studied mainly from the official books and supplemented here an there with some videos from Irfanhulla and some study notes from GoStudy for L3
Also just got certified for FRM so officially S666, CFA, FRM 
I submitted very shortly after the results were first released...so about 4am GMT on the 3rd Jan. i ws working nightshift rather than randomly being awake all night 
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