Hi Anil,

I did not have an answer to this, but Dan Manzo of GARP was kind enough to provide the following answer:

David,

There is no defined minimum score in order to pass the exam.  The exam is graded based on an aggregate score of all the students.  Nor is the score broken down by sections.  After the completion of the exam, we do provide the students a score in relation to what sections they did better on for future reference and how they did in comparison to their peers.

You can provide them with the FRM history link, http://garp.com/frmexam/frmhistory.asp, for candidate passing rates.

Or

The historical pass rate is noted below:
1997: 37.0%
1998: 42.9%
1999: 53.0%
2000: 53.3%
2001: 62.7%
2002: 58.9%
2003: 53.8%
2004: 52%
2005: 44%
2006: 44.75%
2007: 44.35%
I hope this helps.

Daniel Manzo
FRM Administrator
Global Association of Risk Professionals

Hi Nikhil,

GARP says that will set the pass as a ratio of the top 5% ... venkat was told by a competitor that will be 75% of top 5%
http://www.bionicturtle.com/forum/viewthread/2058/

... which i do not believe. But either way, it amount to the same utility going into the exam: I don’t think the passing ratio can be known going into the exam. The new format has no precedents, GARP can’t precisely calibrate ex ante

David

Hi Nikhil,

How can that be, are we not the leading institute?

curious, what is the “leading institute’s” reply to this question?

last 15 days: easy. Nothing but practice questions ... and using the questions as a guide to refer/refresh material

.... (and for my valued customers, our kick arse review tutorial)

David

Nikhil

Thanks, I will take whatever i can get…your plan is interesting…I believe successful styles vary and therefore I hesitate to suggest one method is better than another, but my *opinion* is:
The “con” of the approach is simply you may spend less time working practice questions ... I feel strongly you should work questions….reading and memorizing formulas can seem suddenly passive when you go to answer a question under the pressure of the exam…working questions will give you an “excuse” to peruse details anyway…

re: formulas: they are hard to memorize in a vacuum without practice… and GARP does not test esp well to formula memorizers

....I do like the handbook revision, that is a fine idea!
...but rather than details (there are too many details), I would prefer a focus on “themes” ...themes are adaptable and help you guess more effectively

David

Hi Nikhil,

I think it’s good, sorry to stomp on my horse, if you don’t short practice questions as you do this..

re: “I am pursuing my MBA currently, so I am pretty well versed with the Market Risk part and the Quants section”
The FRM has de-railed many MBAs due to over-confidence (I’m not saying that’s you)...some MBA programs don’t go to the same depth of quant ... I would be careful about making any assumptions…the quant and market risk probably will play a huge role (quant + market risk are disproportionately quizzed on the 2009 FRM samples) ... your MBA study may be excellent but it doesn’t mean it’s highly *relevant* to the exam ... because market & quant are such a big part, i would personally not given these areas any less b/c i was in an MBA (unless you have specific reason to map MBA to FRM, of course)...you still want familiarity with Jorion, Hull, Gujarati and Tuckman (as core)

David

Hi Nikhil,

I thought GARP sold sample exams…my paid customers have corrected, super-annotated versions .... David

Hi David,
Does the Handbook covers all the required topics? Found a few variances between the Handbook and the material I am using.

Thanks,
Nikhil

David,
Can you give me an indicative list of topics that the Handbook does not cover properly.
This question might have been asked previously but could not locate it

Thanks,
Nikhil