re: The butthurt is Strong: CFA L1 Failure is Super Salty

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However, the passage rates of the Step 1, 2, and 3 are in the mid to high 90s for MD programs,

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Seems like great odds on paper, until you factor in the fact that passing isn't the only objective.

Someone applying for an ultra-competitive residency very well may be devastated if his or her score comes back simply above average.

As far as the OP is concerned, he may very well be correct in stating that the CFA exams are the worst around (I can't agree or disagree simply because I don't know much about those exams). I just disagree with the notion that the USMLEs, specialty boards, and the bar exam can be taken multiple times with few repercussions.

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That's fair. I suppose if we're stacking up exams, we would need to include the MPRE with is the required ethics exam

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MPRE is such a joke though.

Each level is different.

L1 is all standalone multiple choice and 240 questions given over 2, 3 hour, sessions. It focuses on mastery of basic concepts by pushing volume. You don't have much time to sit around and think about any single question, so you have to know the material well.

L2 is 120 questions, given in 6 question vignettes over 2, 3 hour sessions. The concepts become more abstract and complicated, but since there are only half as many questions, you have less time pressure.

L3 is 9 to 11 questions that require short answer/essay responses in the three hour morning session. The test (as all levels are) is only given in English and must be answered in English, which is an added degree of difficulty for ESL test takers. The afternoon section is 60 multiple choice. The morning session is difficult to finish, but the afternoon session is easy to finish. The concepts become very abstract and the essay questions make you band together knowledge from several parts of the curriculum to get the right answer.

I took L3 with a guy that also took the LA Bar and he said that L3 by itself was significantly harder than the LA Bar, for reference. I dated a girl that went through law school and passed the MPRE and Bar on the first try. The MPRE is a joke. More comparable to the series 7. The bar was a lot of work, but you spent the 3 years of your life before that prepping for it and then studied full time for a couple of months right before the test. The colume of the Bar prep books was about the same volume as each level of the CFA. The difference here is that most people studying for the CFA are employed full time and studying in the evenings.

The exams are offered once a year, the first weekend in June. They recently added a December test for L1 only, but that was after I started the process.

You have 5 years between passes. It doesn't matter if you attempt the exam or not.

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The overall Bar passage rate for July 2013 was about 70%.

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That number is LSU only. Overall rate was terribad, historically speaking

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The bar was a lot of work, but you spent the 3 years of your life before that prepping for it and then studied full time for a couple of months right before the test. The colume of the Bar prep books was about the same volume as each level of the CFA. The difference here is that most people studying for the CFA are employed full time and studying in the evenings.

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I'm not sure if that's a valid criticism. I mean, you're welcome to take time away from work and rack up $100k in student loan debt if you want to prep for the CFA like we prep for the Bar

And for the record, I didn't consider either the MPRE or the Bar to be particularly difficult. I passed both on my first try. With that said, I would take umbrage with anyone who tries to minimize the experience. 7-8 hours of testing per day, Monday/Wednesday/Friday for a total of 21.5 hours of testing in a single week, the overwhelming majority of which is essay, is nothing to scoff at.

No slight to the bar. It is the hardest exam that is well known and taken by a large number of people. The reason I use it as a benchmark is because of how insane it is.