Exam I vs Exam III seeking for advice/feedback

[Anonymous]

Hi folks!

I am looking for some feedback regarding exam III and to compare it with exam I which I actually have alredy passed so I can give some advice in this one…

My apretiation is that exam I has been quite tough, do anybody think exam III is even tougher? have anyone any recomendations for preparation of exam III?

For exam I, I spent A LOT OF TIME squeezing in the handbook material, I think too much and I realized when I failed the exam I in June that may be I had to focus more in doing more mock exams rather that going through the material on and on, so for exam III do you recomend me to focus more in mock exams like kesdee or riskprep? (riskprep I found it much better explained the answers than the kesdee mock examns).

Is exam III more quantitative that exam I? Or does it focus more in topics/understanding the theoric concepts? (like does the exam I)

Exam I, I found hard because you had to be very confident in the topics, the understanding concepts rather than doing complex maths (which is my strength as an engineer), what is your feedback for exam III?

The suplementary papers are important or can I “throw” them away?

I look forward your comments.

Kind regards.

[Anonymous]

I just needed to do Exams III and IV, so I cannot answer the original question. But do read the suppl. papers. I think I had 3 or 4 questions based on the papers

[Anonymous]

Hi!

Have you taken the exam III (2011 handbook edition) recently? Were the questions with a more quantitative approach or do they focus in conceptual/understanting the topics (more theory rather than practice exercises?)

How much time do you think I have to commit in order to prepare exam III for 19th December 2015? 10 hours per week will be enough? Do you think will be enough to go through the book reading it twice?

Is the handbook exam III well explained or is it hard to understand?

Which part do you think is the harder one? Cerdit, Risk or Operational part?

I look forward your comments.

Kind regards.

[Anonymous]

I took the 2011 Edition earlier this year. 10 hours per week should be more than sufficient. Here is how I prepared:

1.I read the book and took notes.
2. I did the questions on this page. They come quite close to the exam questions. By doing the questions you will become familar with the the type of questions and know which topics you have to reread.
3. After I was done with 2, I reread selected paragraphs which I felt questions could be asked upon.
4.Shortly before the exam, I ran through all questions again.

Some questions are quantitative but the exam is more focussed on the understanding of concepts. Whether Market, Credit or OP-Risk is the hardest part depends on your background. For me it was OP-Risk as it involves the least amount of math…

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I wrote Exam 3 two weeks ago, however, it was the 2015 syllabus & not 2011 so my advice will be based on that.

Exam 3 is definitely much less quantitative. I did not get even one quantitative question in my exam. I do think that you need to focus on understanding the material & you need to understand it well. In terms of which part is harder, I think it depends on your background. I know it sounds its cliche but it really is the truth. I am in the ERM space so I spent very little time on Operational risk & a lot more time on Credit& Market risk. and again…there is more to go through in the 2015 syllabus than in the 2011 one.

I think the handbook is all you need to go through. Google is always a great option to clarify concepts you might be unsure of. I also think that practicing using the riskprep question is a must. These questions will help you easily identify your weak points.

What I found most challenging about Exam3 2015 were the questions with 6 statements and your four options are a combination of those statements. That’s where they drilled into the details.

Hope that helps.

All the best for your exam.

[Anonymous]

I just started preparing for the Level 3 exam with the 2015 material a few weeks ago. However, I have come across untold errors in the book and complained about this to PRMIA. After a long delay, they admitted that there is a problem with the material they are sending out and that it will take a long time to get this sorted. The errors are such that it is not really possible to study effectively from the material. I’ve since got a full refund and will now consider doing a similar qualification with other professional organisations that actually bother to have their study material proof read and edited prior to publication! Not impressed at all – very unprofessional of PRMIA do be in this situation.

I suspect the books will need to be edited properly and republished. How embarrassing. I have also alerted CFA Institute to this given the exemptions PRMIA gives to CFA Charterholders.

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