I enrolled for Level 3, knowing well that this was a whole other animal than the first two exams. The goal of the exam would now shift from analysis to application, and the format too would now change. The Level 3 exam has two sections, morning, and evening. The morning section is a written-answers one, where you must write the answers crisply to the point. Even though they call it an ‘Essay exam’, a better name is ‘constructed response’. There are no points for long essays, in fact you stand the risk of losing precious time. The morning exam is famous for being very difficult – if not impossible – to finish fully. The evening exam too is not to be taken lightly, but one can take respite in the fact that it is in a familiar form of a vignette, same as Level 2.

In my last few weeks prior to the Level 2 exam, while being bedridden due to back pain, I realized the importance of having someone to teach you the concepts. After almost two decades, I once again found myself in a classroom in Pune’s teaching institute that taught the CFA curriculum. We started around December for a June exam. The timing was beautiful, I had just received the news of becoming a father, and the baby was due at the end of June. The exam would be over in the first week, giving me enough time to prepare for the hospital, and perhaps I would take the baby to accompany me to the CFA felicitation ceremony, or so I dreamed. We steadily covered the syllabus every weekend in class, and while my leisure time approached zero, the CFA goal was appearing more and more achievable.

I even bought a handwriting improvement book, the type expected to be used by school children. While my handwriting is not bad, in fact in my opinion it is perfectly legible, public opinion varied greatly. Not wanting to torment the reviewers for having to interpret my pictograph handwriting, I hoped to do something I should have done in my childhood – improve my handwriting. But working on the book reminded me why I never did it in the first place, it was too monotonous. So I hoped I would get kind reviewers who would interpret my handwriting.

In March, the world was grappling with the fear of a new virus, Covid 19. Lockdowns were announced, and the June exam was soon shifted to December. The classes too shifted to online mode, and I slowly drifted away from the syllabus, because of the shift in the exam date. The exam was first shifted to December, and then to May next year. Great changes were happening all around.

First, CFA changed its policy of conducting paper based exams to computer based ones. All levels would now be computer based. This was comforting news for me, because I am far more comfortable with a keyboard than with a pen when it comes to writing. Secondly, the exam duration was reduced from 3 hours each to 2.25 hours each. Statistically, they can test the ability of passing the exam in less time than before, but practically this means less margin for errors. The questions one could safely answer wrong and still pass the exam are now less than they were before.

There were changes at the personal level too. I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl on the due date. Covid or not, that date could not be postponed, and thankfully so. The bundle of joy that I had imagined getting after my exam, would now accompany me late at night to prepare for the exam.

For the May 21 exam, I started preparing seriously, with a proper schedule. Meanwhile Covid was having a hay day in the form of Delta variant. Every night, I would see twitter posts urging for beds or oxygen from all over the country, and strangers answering others’ needs out of humanity. It was a numbing period, and inevitably the exam was once again postponed for November 21. Once again, I stopped the studies for a few months, before taking them up for good around August.

I marched steadily completing the exam preparation. I made sure to use as many available resources as possible, the videos of the tutor, the excellent question bank by CFA institute, and whatever other resources I felt were important. The mock tests on the computer were especially helpful to practice crisp answering. 

I have been studying for this Level 3 exam for the third time now. Somehow, it felt as if CFA was owed to me. After investing so many hours into study, I thought the degree is in the pocket easily. In the night prior to the exam, sleep was a formal affair, and I either dreamed of staying awake the whole night, or I actually did stay awake, hard to tell.

Bhargavee – my then 17 month daughter – woke up to wish me luck for the exam, and I headed towards Vishvakarma Institute, Kondhwa, the center of the exam. The experience of this exam was very different from the past. As this was a computer based exam, it was spread over a week, so the number of attendees was nowhere as large as it used to be in the single day exam. 

I had taken ear plugs for masking my ears from the typing noises from neighbors, as I had read in some online tips. But once the timer started, I forgot all about noises and the hard seat, and kept on answering the questions one by one. The break too is now reduced to a maximum of 45 minutes, so the leisurely break of 2 hours in the past is no longer possible. For checking out and back in the computer room, it may take a good amount of time, so you must be really on your toes even in the breaks. 

After the second exam, I was out hunting for a public transport to head back home with the sun still on top of my head. Perhaps it was the preparation, or luck, but the exam felt nowhere as bad as I feared. In fact, my mind felt more like how I felt after Level 1 than my two attempts at Level 2.

The results

It used to take 2 months for Level I and II and 3 months for Level III results. But the shift to computer based testing has reduced the waiting period, so the results are available sooner. There were a number of extrapolations from previous exam patterns about the possible result declaration date. All the estimates were put to rest by an email by the institute, declaring February 3 2022 to be the result day.

For this result, I found myself more eager and curious than tensed. The clock ticked by, and I held my breath when I opened the email by the institute. It contained a needle that would prick the bubble of my confidence, announcing my failure.

Next: https://bhargavee.com/2022/11/02/level-3-redux/