Exam details

[TTouqan]

Hi,
1st Q: Do the practice questions provided by Bionic Turtle match the exam level?

2nd Q: I have relied on Bionic Turtle material for FRM P1 [Notes, questions, and videos(not all)] is it enough to clear the exam?
Note: I have cleared CFA LVL 1 June 2012

3rd Q: There are more than 200 equation in FRM P1, should I memorize them all?

4th Q: Any idea how many questions one must get right in order to pass the exam?
I know each topic has a different weight, but like 60 correct questions would be enough?

Thank you in advance

 

[ShaktiRathore]

Hello there,
I cant comment on BT products, but i do think they have great videos.
Regarding 3rd Q, Yes you need to understand and memorise the equations. Most of the major equations are not that large and you need to know them very well like the Binomial distribution,probability formulae, VaR, ES etc.They should not be be more than 100. And yeah if at all you encounter some formulae which you think are not that important or are not that main aim focus than you just read it and try to understand it and just not memorise or mug it up. You dont need to memorise all the equations but only a part of the eqautions that are main AIM topics should be well understood and memorised. If you are experiencing difficulties in memorising all the equations than i would adivese you to prepare a formulae sheet that would contain all the formulae of all the topics and keep it with you and seee it daily like pasting in wall of your room and seeing it, it would help you to get familiarised woth the formulae and become confidemce or you can have a short notebook dedicated esp. to fromulae so that whenever time permits you go thru it whenever and wherever.
Regarding 4th Q, Yo need o answer atleast 70% Qs i think to pass the exam. Anyone who crossed this mark i dont think has failed. And yeah it depends on the preformance of other candidates in the paper, the passing markks can be as low as 58%. however its difficult to know the actual performance of allcandidiates and the passing percent.You just aim for min. 70% and rest will fall inorder.

thanks

 

[vallerano]

On memorizing the formulas: some say that you do not memorize formulas, you understand them and if need to use them, you recall the logic and "rebuild" the formulas....

Well, my method is to stick post its with formulas on them at home, eg. on the bathroom mirror or on the fridge door. It also has a side benefit if you have kids: mine started to respect me more

 

[Suzanne Evans]

Hi,
1st Q: Do the practice questions provided by Bionic Turtle match the exam level?

2nd Q: I have relied on Bionic Turtle material for FRM P1 [Notes, questions, and videos(not all)] is it enough to clear the exam?
Note: I have cleared CFA LVL 1 June 2012

3rd Q: There are more than 200 equation in FRM P1, should I memorize them all?

4th Q: Any idea how many questions one must get right in order to pass the exam?
I know each topic has a different weight, but like 60 correct questions would be enough?

Thank you in advance

1) Our practice questions are known to be a notch (or two) harder than the exam.
2) http://www.bionicturtle.com/faqs/ca...nt_to_just_take_the_course_from_bionic_turtle
3) Already answered above.
4) See here for a similar question: http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/exam-details.6475/#post-20877

Thanks and Good luck!
Suzanne

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Suzanne Evans did you notice LuDuBa already took your mock exam C? http://www.bionicturtle.com/how-to/question/p1.-mock-exam-c
Scored 48% and is "worried." But as our questions are one or two notches harder, I think that is nearly, approximately a passing score (hard to really say, but my hunch is that roughly corresponds to barely passing on the actual exam. Total hunch)

 

[MSWILKISON]

David/Suzanne, would it be fair to say that the sample questions at the end of the GARP books are representative of the difficulty found on the exam?

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi MSWILKISON, as I don't own the GARP sold pre-bundle (I own each of the individual texts), I am unsure to what questions you refer?

I *think* they must be either:

• GARP questions from prior exams (similar to FRM handbook questions) in which case, if they are actual FRM questions, difficulty should be approximately similar (yes, representative)
• If they are the source end-of-chapter questions that accompany each textbook (e.g., in most cases are without multiple choice answers), then: no, they will not be representative

 

[MSWILKISON]

Thanks David. They are at the very end of the GARP materials and don't appear to be associated with any of the sourced readings. They're also titled 'Sample Exam Questions--[Foundations of Risk/Valuation and Risk Management/etc.] so I suspect they are the former.

 

[Quant_Noob]

I should have asked this question some time back but what exactly is "FRM Handbook"? Not sure if this is another name for a book that GARP sends along with the reading material (in which case I did not receive it) or something that BT publishes (and if paid members have access to it).

 

[LEO04]

Can we initially mark the answers or do the rough work in the question booklet itself or we will get some blank sheets for the same in the exam..?

 

[ShaktiRathore]

LEO04 Yes you have to do the rough work in the question booklet itself and as per my experience there are no blank sheets given for the same in the exam. There is ample space in the booklet itself to do the rough work. I dont think the space provided in the Q booklet itself is not enough but is just enough for you.You have to return the booklet back and they might not allow you to mark answers(i dont know exactly).

thanks

 

[LuDuBa]

I should have asked this question some time back but what exactly is "FRM Handbook"? Not sure if this is another name for a book that GARP sends along with the reading material (in which case I did not receive it) or something that BT publishes (and if paid members have access to it).

Jorion's book

http://www.garpdigitallibrary.org/display/frmhandbook.asp

 

[Turtle King]

Hi BT,

Does GARP use the same set of questions across all test locations? If yes, doesn't it potentially present someone with an unfair advantage??! For eg. test candidate in the west vs one in the east .

 

[Suzanne Evans]

Turtle King, Based on my understanding they do use the same test. Most of our customers will begin to report back after they sit for the exam but they do take into consideration that others may not have taken and/or finished the exam yet therefore refrain from commenting on specific questions. We do our best to monitor it as well on the exam day to keep it fair for all across the world. Good luck this Saturday!

Thanks,
Suzanne

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

My understanding is also that the exact same question set is employed globally. The FRM exam is not alone with respect to the issue created by asynchronous finish times and the internet. However, first, I think there is some very specific language warning candidates to wait at least 24 hours (or along those line) before posting any comments.

Second, I would think there is an incentive against doing so: a candidate who shares specific exam information would only be helping to raise the bar upon which the candidate is judged. As the exam grades on a curve (effectively), I can't see the motivation for acting against one's own interest!? Good luck Saturday, please report back your experience ... I mean, not immediately