And Now I Wait

Well the test is over and behind me.  Despite the fact that I studied more hours for this level than any other level, I walked out of the exam feeling worse than I did for any other level.  In fact, I cried.  And they were not tears of joy.  They were tears of frustration and uncertainty.  And exhaustion, too.

So if you ask me how I think I did, my response is:  I just don't know.  Could I have passed?  Yes.  Could I have failed?  Yes.  The morning part of the exam was pretty bad.  I had no trouble finishing any of my practice tests within 3 hours, but I was furiously scribbling to finish on Saturday morning.  My heart my racing and my hands were shaking as I tried as hard as I could to get my thoughts down on the paper.  The afternoon went better.  It was tough and there were some questions that I had to completely guess on, but I could have pulled off a 70 (which is the alleged passing score).  I do find some comfort in the fact that the other people I talked to (including Phil) thought the morning was very difficult, and it is graded on a curve (to some extent) so it helps that others struggled as well.

And now I wait.  Results come out in about 10 weeks - so even slower than levels 1 and 2 since they have to hand grade all the essays.  I laid awake in bed on Saturday night until 3:30 am, running through some of the questions in my mind, over and over.  I am hoping that as the days pass, I analyze less and am able to just let it go.  After all, worrying and obsessing over it won't change anything.

On a positive note, it is so wonderful to get my free time back.  It was so great to get to the airport and not sit at the gate and study.  And I read for pleasure on the flight home.  I won't take those little things for granted.

Testing aside, it was really great to be home.  I saw friends, family, and Phil, and soaked up some time downtown on Friday afternoon.  Being home definitely affirmed the fact that I really need to get back to the Midwest.  There were definitely a lot of tears when I said good byes throughout the weekend, even though they are see you laters.  But I will be home for a week in just under 2 months.  I don't like to wish away time, but I am hoping that trip home comes fast.

I know the tone of this post is pretty down and defeated, but it's my reality.  It's really hard to put your heart and soul into something and walk away feeling so uncertain about the outcome.  I am trying to remind myself that pass or fail, life will go on.

Oh Happy Day!!

I have wonderful news to share - I found out this morning that I passed my level II CFA exam!! 42% of those who took it passed - so I feel really good about being in that group! :)

The wait for the results was excruciating and, in my opinion, cruel. Others got their results emails over an hour before mine. I get that they are sending out 85,000 emails, but seriously. Take part of the $600 exam fee and buy a better server.

But all that matters is that I passed! We are celebrating with steak sandwiches (sans the bread for me) and I am relishing the feeling of sweet relief. You all know how hard I worked for this; it's such a relief to know that hard work payed off!

Thanks to all of you for the support, encouragement, and 'you can do it' comments.

Stick a Fork in Me...

I'M DONE!

It feels so so good to say that.  Exam day went fairly well.  I had some test day jitters, which is to be expected, but felt relatively calm.  Having a fun outfit to put on really helped!

I feel most confident when wearing dresses!  (disregard the dirty mirror - housekeeping was LOW on my priority list last week)

 The exam started at 9 am, after a very drawn out check-in and instruction reading process.  Thank goodness I don't struggle with test anxiety - the whole process is just a hot bed for anxiety!  The morning session felt very hard.  The CFA threw a lot of curve balls at us, and on one problem set, my calculations were not resulting in one of the possible answers.  That is an AWFUL feeling.  I kept track of the ones I was unsure of, though, and I think there is a chance I got around a 70 in the morning.  Maybe.

My lunch break didn't quite go as planned...  The restaurant took the nicoise salad off of their menu (how dare they!!).  So I went with the next best option (mussels and fries - yum!) and tried not to let it shake me.  Yes, I have my rituals, but I wasn't going to let a change in menus shake me.

Luckily the afternoon session went much better.  I felt pretty confident about most of my answers and think I may have scored close to an 80.  So hopefully when they average the 2, I will pass.  I talked to others who took the exam and they agreed that the morning was brutal and the afternoon went better...  So now I just hope I did a little better than they did in the am.

I felt really good when I walked out of the test center.  Not as good as last year when I was completely confident I had passed - but I left knowing I had done my best and work as hard as I could have (my study hours came to the total of 368.5!!).

I got to my aunt & uncle's and was greeted with chips, salsa, guac, and wine!  When my parents and brother arrived, we had a champagne toast.  I definitely felt VERY loved!  Then it was off the the restaurant for some yummy mexican food!  I had such a fun night - I got to sit by my nephews, who provided endless entertainment.  I watched in wonder as my 4 year old nephew consumed about 3 times as many chips as I did and then proclaimed, "It's a good day for chips!"  Yes, Matthew, I think that is the case everyday.  ;)

Here are a couple of iPhone photos that I snapped!

Andrew and Matthew practicing their balancing skills with the place mats!

It was Andrew's birthday on Friday so he got to wear a sombrero and we sang to him!

All in all, it was a really fun night.  I laughed a lot, had a ton of fun, and barely thought about the CFA.

I had a pretty fitful night of sleep on Saturday night as I kept thinking about exam questions and how I answered them, but hopefully I can put the over-analysis behind me.  It does no good for me to think about it - what's done is done.  I can't go back and change anything so I just have to accept that it was enough.

Pass or fail - I am ready for a break!!  And I intend to FULLY enjoy my summer!  I've got so much to look forward to between weekends at the cabin, workouts with my run club, my sister Abby's visit home, and Amber's wedding in July!

How was your weekend?

It's Go Time!

And just like that, it's the day before the exam.  You've all read along and heard me moan and complain, feel anxiety, and moments of confidence over the last 5+ months.  It's been a long 5 months, but at the same time, the last 5 months have flown by and it's kind of crazy to think I'll be sitting for this exam tomorrow.

There are so many parallels between marathon training and studying for the CFA.  Well, except the whole taper thing.  I so didn't get to taper going into this test, instead I increased my study hours in the final weeks.  But the main thing these 2 challenges have in common is that you have to trust your training.  You have to show up on test day or race day knowing that you did everything you could to prepare yourself.

The element that I am trying not to let bother me so much is the fact that this test is basically graded on a curve.  There is no 'passing score' - it's determined every year, and they usually pass about 36-40% of those who take the exam.  That was the case last year, but I knew there would be some who wouldn't adequately prepare for the exam.  This year I am up against people who passed level I, so they know what they are getting themselves into...  So approximately 40% of those who passed level I last year will pass Level II - which equals about 16%...  That's a low number.  But I can't control how prepared they are - I can only control how prepared I am.  And I couldn't be more prepared than I am, so I am trying to trust that it's enough.

The process of studying for this exam has been long and hard.  But it really will all be worth it when I do eventually earn the CFA designation.  It will do wonders for my career and my financial stability, which are important for a person in an single income household...

So here is hoping that the 7 practice tests and 350+ hours of studying I did over the last 5+ months is enough.  There are a total of 20 case studies on the exam, so they can't test you on EVERYTHING.  The cases are very tricky, though, and they definitely throw some curve balls at you.  My hope is that there are lots of intense computational problems as that is what I excel at.  And I really hope I walk out feeling as confident as I did when I left the exam last year.  But I don't know if that will happen as this level is SO much harder than the first level. Either way, I am going to try my best to put it out of my mind. 

Luckily, I'll have some help in that regards as I've got a fun Mexican meal with family to look forward to afterwards which will definitely distract me.  11 of us will be eating out, including my parents who are driving down just to join us for the post-CFA celebration!  And then I have a massage the following day!  And I'll spend the next 8 weeks catching up with all the friends and family I've neglected for the last 5 months!

Say a little prayer for me tomorrow!  I should be a free woman around 4:30 tomorrow afternoon!  Can't wait!

And PS - it's my nephew Andrew's 7th birthday today!  Doesn't seem like that long ago that he was born!!

Andrew and I! (wow, I look young)

Success Part Deux

Guess who passed another licensing exam yesterday? 

Woo hoo, it was me.  Or I should say, "Woo hip" which is my new phase as that is what my iPhone auto-corrects "woo hoo" to, so I just go with it. 

So woo hip.  Stick a fork in me, I am done. 

Can I just say I am SO freaking sick of studying and answering multiple questions about finance concepts and regulation.

The awesome thing is that on Wednesday night, I had a vivid dream that I passed the CFA!  I hope that was prophetic.  Still waiting on those results.  I don't want to wish the summer away, but I sure am anxious for the end of July/early August to roll around so I can know if I passed or not...

That's all from my neck of the woods.  I am basking in the fact that I DONE with finance exams.  And to celebrate, I am heading to the cabin this morning where I will rendezvous with my parents and 3 of my 4 siblings, and 4 of my 5 nephews!  Eeks, can't wait!

What are you up to this weekend?  Have you had to take any exams for your job?

Success

I am very happy to report that I passed the Series 7 exam yesterday!  It feels wonderful to have that monkey off my back.  This was my first experience of HAVING to pass a test for a job.  Sure, I've taken important tests in the past, like the ACT in high school and the GMAT to get into an MBA program.  But this test was a little different because not passing meant my job could potentially be in jeopardy.

So phew.  It's behind me.

Taking this standardized test was an interesting experience.  I went to a testing center where they were administering a plethora of exams.  When I checked in, the receptionist say, which a look of dismay on her face, "Oh my, you are the lucky girl taking the series 7..." 

Odd, right? 

Then when I went to see another person to get seated for the exam, she said, "Oh honey, you are taking the 7?  Oh my.  We are going to put you in your own room, because you are going to be with us for quite awhile."

She seated me in my own little room, gave me a look of sympathy, and wished me luck.

Bizarre.  Luckily I am a pretty good test taker.  Yes, I was nervous, but I don't really get test anxiety, thank God.  But sheesh - imagine if I was a nervous test taker!  I think my anxiety would have gone through the roof.

So the 7 is over and done with.  I celebrated by buying some new running shoes and then I treated myself to tacos + guac + wine from my favorite Mexican restaurant, Barrio.

Yes, I drank at noon on a Wednesday.  Don't judge.  ;)  It was my first alcoholic beverage in 2.5 weeks!!

Did I spend the rest of the day reveling in my success?  Not really.  After my leisurely lunch, I went to a coffee shop and resumed my studying for the CFA, which I will take in June.  I mean, that is the beast of all the finance exams I will take this year, as the pass rate is 35-40%.  I figured I better not waste any time and better get back to studying.  The good news is that I am almost done with the 16th section... out of 18 total.  The end is in sight and the reviewing can commence soon!   

I did end the day with a massage, which was glorious and a wonderful way to reward myself for all the studying I've done! 

So tell me, do you consider yourself a good test taker?  Or do you struggle with testing anxiety?  I am VERY thankful for the fact that I am a good test taker.  My challenge is that I tend to get test ADD - meaning, I can't bear to sit there very long, so I tend to read through the questions uber fast (it took me 2.5 hours to complete the exam...  they give you 6...), which means I can skip over key words and make stupid mistakes.  And I don't go back and check over my answers because I just want to be freaking done with it.  So those are my test taking weaknesses.