Do I have enough time ?

Anas28

New Member
Hi David,

I'm suppose to do FRM1 in May2013. I'm not a quant person, but I can study between 350 hours to 400 hours in 2 months. Do you think it feasible or should I try the november2013 exam.

Thank you :)
 

ShaktiRathore

Well-Known Member
Subscriber
Hi there,
If you are confident that you can clear than you can try in 2 months. It depend that if you can give these many hours of 350-400 hrs and your easiness with basic math. If you can give these much amount of time then its definitely a try yes you can give the exam this may only. please see thread on time for preparation to see appropriate time require and accordingly prepare study plan.

thanks
 

David Harper CFA FRM

David Harper CFA FRM
Subscriber
Hi Anas28,

With two months to go, it is definitely possible to pass Part 1. The issue is that individuals vary widely. As I've written here a lot, my opinion is that quantitative background/aptitude is the key differentiator.

For example, if you had a quant background and/or taken the CFA (e.g.), then your plan is advisable (or plausible, at least). However, if you are "new" to quant, then IMO, your plan is not advisable. For example, here is today's question http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/p1-t2-307-skew-and-kurtosis-miller.6826/
... this daily question is sourced directly from P1.Miller. Most people can't answer without some reference, so it's okay to need a reference to answer these questions ... but if you have the reference (Miller, wikipedia) and you still cannot solve, then you might need more time to develop quant. Is just an example of how I'd look at it, because I tend to agree with Shakti that it is definitely achievable, however, some candidates simply do not have much quantitative exposure and so it's getting to the point (-2 months) where I start to encourage total "quant newbies" (with all due affection and respect) to defer simply so they can marinate with basic stuff like compound frequency. Good luck!
 

druidkgm

New Member
Hi group,
Have same situation, started reading 1.5 month ago BOTH levels.
The average passing rate in testing is close to 50% for both levels now.
No problems with math and no problems with derivatives (my day to day duties is derivatives).
But quite serious problems with memorizing Credit risks/Operation risks. ((((
Is it enough time to pass L1/L2 in one day in my case? Or better concentrate on the First for “guaranteed” passing.
I've registered for both and will have near 350h for reading before exam.

Regards,
Mike

PS:
1). If I'll answer (not guessing/no memorizing answers) 85-90% of questions that are provided by BT is it enough for pass exam?
2). Anyone have done list with all formulas for exam to get by heart in all free time? Can share?
 

ShaktiRathore

Well-Known Member
Subscriber
hi there,
its better that you concentrate on L1 only. Giving both levels at one go should be cumbersome and not feasible and also to develop your level of understanding better its enough to go with one level at a time. Yes BT notes are enough. David provides i think the list of formulaes necessary for the exam. You can list them down to memorize by heart. Otherwise create your own formula sheet.

thanks
 

druidkgm

New Member
Thanks a lot for reply, Its really large amount of material to study. ((
And on the date I'm not 100% sure in 2 level.
I took a look on all material I was provided to download, and haven't found the list.
Can someone share this data with me?
/Just to economy few hours of time. And not to wright it by myself./
Regards,
Mike
 

NewComer

Member
Hi druidkgm

Taking P1 and P2 in one day:
Pros:
- it's quite feasible
- IMHO P1&P2 are artificially inflated former full frm (course providers, sorry...)
- you are doing all this "current issuers" once at all (if you are in you know all this stuff much better than outdated examples like NL (ING), MG, Irish Bank, etc)
Cons:
- it's really challenge to sit for 8 hours; of course it depends on your physical conditions...

P.S. I personally saw a guy from Iran; he sat for both parts; each one he finished for 2,5 hours, and ...
PASS both! Unfortunately, because of personal circumstances I could not do it; but I wish to try...

PhD, CFA, FRM
 

druidkgm

New Member
Thanks for reply,
I'm not genius to pass 8 hours exam in 5 hours. But wanna take the challenge.
Just few days before exam I wait for childbirth.
And there is 99.9% probability that it will not have another chance to pass exam in next 12-18 months,another kind of duties wait for me in this period. )))
Plan to take 30 days of vacation before exam and pass 8h/daily testing.
Good luck to all of us !

PS: question about list of formulas for exam is still open.
 

ShaktiRathore

Well-Known Member
Subscriber
Thanks for reply,
I'm not genius to pass 8 hours exam in 5 hours. But wanna take the challenge.
Just few days before exam I wait for childbirth.
And there is 99.9% probability that it will not have another chance to pass exam in next 12-18 months,another kind of duties wait for me in this period. )))
Plan to take 30 days of vacation before exam and pass 8h/daily testing.
Good luck to all of us !

PS: question about list of formulas for exam is still open.
please visit link:
http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/formulas-and-equations.6709/
 

Ravi Krishna

New Member
Dear all, I am a new student and I have completed one round of all four books in FRM 1. I am still not confident for the May 2013 exam. I have enrolled today and I would like to have some tips to go about. Kindly help as I am tensed.Regards. Ravi
 

chiyui

Member
P.S. I personally saw a guy from Iran; he sat for both parts; each one he finished for 2,5 hours, and ...
PASS both! Unfortunately, because of personal circumstances I could not do it; but I wish to try...
I am a Macau citizen. I also got both passed simultaneously in November 2012. But I could tell you that luck plays the role at least 50% if you really want to hit two birds in one shot. I don't have the same confidence to get it succeeded if I'm asked to redo the exam again.

I will say, part 1 is okay because nearly 80% of the questions are about probability, statistics, and derivatives hedging. Except for those introductory knowledge of stochastics and MC simulations, all these topics are all covered in a standard course/curriculum in undergrad level of finance. If one is not major in finance, he/she can peruse John Hull's or Don Chance's derivatives textbooks, and a standard probability and statistics textbooks, and do those textbook exercises one by one. Although this approach takes double time to go through, it does work for passing FRM part 1.

But part 2 I will suggest buying GARP's official study books. I haven't taken a look at them but I believe they should work.
 

chiyui

Member
Just for everyone's information, for part 1 candidate, try to train yourself such that you can do a probability/statistics question within 30 seconds. If you can do this, you can finish part 1 within 3 hours very likely (including rechecking your susceptible answers). Believe me or not.

The self-training key is,
1. choose a standard probability/statistics textbook, do all the exercises by your hand (with handheld calculator). Never use computer, just use your hand.
2. train your familiarity in using your handheld calculator, especially the memory function (both BA2 Plus or HP should equip this function).

One tips BTW. When you encounter a question in part 1 asking you to solve the option price by using binomial tree, DON'T round any figures within your calcuation process. Use the whole number. Utilize the memory function of your calculator. Otherwise you'll be frustrated by the 4 answer choices, and then you'll get yourself looping in rechecking your calculation many times.
 

chiyui

Member
To Anas28,

Certainly you can achieve this from now on. Just try hard to do probaility/statistics exercises in 1 month. It works for part 1.
 
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