Exam Feedback November 2016 Part 2 Exam Feedback

[Inwmakmak]

Submitted: Jan 5th
Approved: Jan 19th

 

[chouchouc]

thanks
Wandrille Gaultier

 

[emilioalzamora1]

Um, no. I don't know how many books there are in total (I never looked at any originals) but I'm pretty sure there were quite a few with a single chapter, maybe two, referenced. Buying them all would be very expensive, particularly as you'd have build an extension on your house to fit them all in.

If there are topics you are particularly interested in then picking up the source text might be an investment but I can't imagine that anyone is interested in any book from topic 3... No offence to the operational risk people out there .

Before you buy anything though take a look at the Resource section that BT have put together for us (I found this only about three weeks before the exam, annoyingly): https://forum.bionicturtle.com/resources/

In order to pass the exam I really don't think any material other than ONE of FRM books or BT are required - though in my experience following the BT notes is a much easier path to passing than the official books.

I do disprove this view! Someone who brings such a minimalistic view to the table (simply aiming to pass the exam and not seeing the bigger picture; put differently, relying simply on FRM books or BT), will not make it in the long run.
The original books are always way better than other any other summarised reading. In particular, as has also been noted by David several times, the Grinold reading for Part II requires a more detailed background understanding to better grasp the compulsory reading. Just based on this, I do recommend everyone to get the original books (either hard or soft copy) - you will need them again and again (in case you are striving for a career in Finance), even after the exams they will be a constant companion throughout your career; these referenced books (at minimum) deserve some space in your room.

 

[Arnaudc]

Submitted: Jan 5th
Approved: Jan 18th
This is done!

 

[fjc120]

just got the email!!! CERTIFIED 01/19/2017!!! submitted 01/05/17

Thanks again BT for allowing me to achieve my goal!!! What an unforgettable 2016!!!

 

[berrymucho]

Certified! Submitted 1/4, approved certification 1/17. For the anecdote, I only found out I had received the email one day later on 1/18 as Outlook decided to filter the message as junk e-mail ... Do keep an eye on your junk e-mail inbox just in case...

 

[FRM_12]

Submitted 01/06, still waiting

 

[Siqueue]

I do disprove this view! Someone who brings such a minimalistic view to the table (simply aiming to pass the exam and not seeing the bigger picture; put differently, relying simply on FRM books or BT), will not make it in the long run.

I find this a bit offensive to be honest. The original question was:

To all successful Nov 2016 Part 2 passers and David Harper--is it worth it to purchase all original textbooks (instead of GARP books, which are simply an anthology) for 1) better understanding of the curriculum and 2) end-of-chapter questions for more practice?

While more books and more studying does lead to a "better understanding of the curriculum" this is trivially so - you are hardly going to decrease your understanding by reading more - and not helpful to answer the sense of the question which was: will it help you pass. And I stand by my answer: to pass you need to understand the curriculum, to understand the curriculum one of the BT notes or FRM books is sufficient. I know this is true as I just did it.

I'll give you that the Grinold book might be helpful as the extract from that book was abstruse on its own, but I don't really think that applies to the rest of the material. As I said, there may be some topics you are particularly interested in for which picking up the original book is valuable. But suggesting that picking up all the books, or even a majority, is necessary is misleading. This isn't pokemon. You don't have to collect them all.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

 

[emilioalzamora1]

It's like at university and many people still embody the view that passing a particular exam is everything they need - everything else is irrelevant.
In short, it's not just about passing the exam; it is all about what you get out of it in the long run. One should do this exam for your professional development to broaden/deepen your own horizon and not just to tick the boxes saying I passed the exam. Fullstop.

 

[Siqueue]

not just to tick the boxes saying I passed the exam. Fullstop.

An excellent mischaracterisation of what I said.

Well I wish you will on your mission to read ever more books as, using your logic, even reading every book referenced on the FRM curriculum is "minimalist." What about all the material which wasn't included? I trust you'll be buying and reading those?

 

[MM360]

Certified!
Submitted on 7th certified on 20th

Thanks again to David and Nicole!!!

 

[Hermz29]

For persons who have passed, your advice please...I did not clear last time around and I am trying to change my strategy somewhat. I would have read all the material twice and think that I do not have sufficient time to read all the material for a third time, but would prefer to focus on questions and understanding the concepts as opposed to going back and read all the material. What is your advice? What strategy can I can use?????

 

[MM360]

I read the material once but did all the BT questions at least twice - plus I was exposed to CCR as it my current job but there were only 2-3 questions on that in exam which I personally found very frustrating.

I did the same for part 1 and 2 - passed both first time.

 

[Inwmakmak]

I just kept cycling through the materials until the exam date for both Part 1 and 2. I knew it was boring but I felt really confident going through the actual exam because I was sure I read more than most candidates.

 

[Hermz29]

I read the material once but did all the BT questions at least twice - plus I was exposed to CCR as it my current job but there were only 2-3 questions on that in exam which I personally found very frustrating.

I did the same for part 1 and 2 - passed both first time.

Thanks much for your feedback! What material did you use?

 

[Meadem2]

I do disprove this view! Someone who brings such a minimalistic view to the table (simply aiming to pass the exam and not seeing the bigger picture; put differently, relying simply on FRM books or BT), will not make it in the long run.
The original books are always way better than other any other summarised reading. In particular, as has also been noted by David several times, the Grinold reading for Part II requires a more detailed background understanding to better grasp the compulsory reading. Just based on this, I do recommend everyone to get the original books (either hard or soft copy) - you will need them again and again (in case you are striving for a career in Finance), even after the exams they will be a constant companion throughout your career; these referenced books (at minimum) deserve some space in your room.

I think it's a little unfair to criticise a fellow candidate / peer. Siqueue contributed a lot to this forum so I am guessing he's a very thorough Risk Manager / Quant and diligent in his work. Here he was just trying to advise everyone how best to pass the exam. That's the main goal afterall. Everyone's careers will vary following the exam.

 

[FRM@IQ]

Hi. so does it mean after you get certified you will get your certficate, 6-10 weeks from the nexr certificate mailing date, in this case 15 April 2016??

 

[emilioalzamora1]

I think it's a little unfair to criticise a fellow candidate / peer. Siqueue contributed a lot to this forum so I am guessing he's a very thorough Risk Manager / Quant and diligent in his work. Here he was just trying to advise everyone how best to pass the exam. That's the main goal afterall. Everyone's careers will vary following the exam.

I did neither criticise him in person (it was a general comment saying 'someone who brings such a minimalistic view') nor does it matter how often someone has contributed to the forum! And what is more, we are talking about exam preparation and how useful the original books are and not whether you are 'guessing' that someone is a diligent Risk Manager you never met before or whatsoever. You simply did not get the context.

 

[emilioalzamora1]

Did anyone submit around before the 20th of January and got certified in the meantime? Just curious because I submitted it two weeks back and received no update so far.

 

[frmfrm]

Did anyone submit around before the 20th of January and got certified in the meantime? Just curious because I submitted it two weeks back and received no update so far.

Me too. It has not been updated yet