CFA Level 1 Exam Experience. December 6th 2014. Chicago.

Saturday, Dec 6 2014 was quite sunny, though cold. It was not depressing and gloomy. This helped keep spirits up.

The exam was held at the Donald E. Stephenson convention center near Chicago's O'Hare. The other event at the convention center was a kennel show. Therefore, the CFA exam candidates passed several folks dressed as dog mascots in the walkway from the hotel to the convention center, with super size, furry, fanged heads, and large paws. It was unsettling. I later learnt via a TV news report that they are called 'furries'.

I was early, @ 720am. Reporting time was 8am. The exam's 1st session was between 9am and 12pm.

The candidates were people of all sizes, colors, shapes, styles...(some of them peculiar styles)...in various zen moments. Some of them were still cramming their notes. I have no idea why. It felt like walking into a hallowed electric exam experience @ Monster's University. I of course was Don Carlton, the old guy. In addition to feeling outdated, I also had a tornado in my stomach.

Then I noticed older candidates, with greying and white hair, in various stages of tension. One seemed apathetic, one was trying to coax epiphanies from the air around him, and this one was the best of all - he lay himself out on the floor immobile while the rest of us trudged towards the exam hall.

There were also perfectly gorgeous specimens who were apparently blessed with both good looks and brains, AND who were taking the CFA level 1. Well, imagine this - a young and muscly Ben Affleck in blue jeans and a red checked shirt who seemed as though he could tackle a tough exam, plough a field, fix a car engine, and fight a bull, with ease. There were several of these specimens who appeared for the CFA level 1. It was baffling and unfair.

We waited in a corridor before they allowed us to proceed towards the doors. I was right in front, facing the fire. At that point, I felt like Aragorn before the Battle of Pelennor Fields. I was praying that the dead (my mother, to be specific) would help me win this battle. I admit that I was hoping for miracles, that the answers would be whispered into my ears.

We were seated at collapsible wooden topped tables, 2 per table. There must've been at least 500 in the hall. Of which 150-200 would pass, as per the historical statistics. We were only allowed to bring in HB2 pencils, an eraser, pencil sharpener, a calculator and some batteries, for emergencies. No pouches allowed. Money and credit cards could be carried on one's person as the exam proctors could not guarantee the safety of one's personal belongings in the storage area outside. The CFA institute forbids guarantees. I remembered an Econ line - "The only certainties in life are death and taxes" ;).

I was seated next to a Chinese junior at UI-Urbana-Champaign who would NOT stop chattering. She was extremely bright but still, a child at only 21. I thought of how I could be her mom, at 39. It was depressing. However, her sunny nature cheered me up and gave me hope. She did not stop talking till the last moment and started up again the second the exam was over! Wow. I was worried that the proctors would pull us up, but they were cool as this Chinese girl was careful not to break the rules. Here's a vague advantage of having a last name that begins with 'A' - you get to sit right in the front.

If one felt thirsty, one could drink at the water table, after handing over one's book to the proctor. Bathroom breaks required the same procedure - one took one's exam ticket along for re-entry.

Session 1 was a breeze. This was the universal opinion, judging from conversations around me, as I hurried from the convention center and back to the hotel room to warm up my lunch. My husband and sons had gone off to IKEA where they were having fun choosing study tables. 

Apparently, one can go easy on the reporting time. This time I checked in @ 130pm for the 2pm-5pm  2nd session. We were assigned the same spots as before. This was convenient because some candidates had forgotten their calculators at their seats! I'm not kidding. Those instruments would have cost $100 each I'll bet. Who forgets expensive stuff at moments like these?!!!

As usual, the green vested proctors handed out the exam books after which the head proctor (in an orange vest) read out the instructions. The microphone sucked. Nobody understood what he was saying and did their own thing, for which some of them were chastened (e.g. - my Chinese friend). My young friend was super sleepy and communicated this fact by spreading herself all over her section of the table, groaning loudly, and sulking at intervals. This was not helping me at all. Thankfully, the gorgeous CFA candidates were sitting at a safe distance so there were no further distractions.

Session 2 was a killer. It was as difficult as Session 1 had been easy. Why did the CFA Institute schedule this tough exam for the afternoon session when everyone would be sleepy? I don't know. It was devious. At the most trying parts of the exam (and there were many such parts), I could hear - not my late mother's voice - but the thick accented drone of my Thunderbird Data Analysis professor (!!!).


There seemed to be not much universal discussion about Session 2 because everyone was in a hurry to get home. Plus they looked struck by the wrecking ball of the CFA level 1.

As I walked back to the hotel room, I thought of my sons and husband. It was fun to see some kennel mascots who looked more like werewolves rather than dogs. They may have been werewolves. I don't know. From the conversations around me, I realized I wasn't alone in this experience. Although there were young investment banking hot shots who were super smug and 'with it', there were also scores of candidates who were doing it because they wanted a step forward, or maybe their companies had some skills requirement, or just for fun (like my brainy Chinese friend who was still doing her bachelor's in Accounting and Finance, no less)...Whatever. I thought of my 1 month's speed reading prep and told myself - "If people with 10 years of investment banking experience can retake the exam with 4-5 months hard work, so can I!"

A gorgeous CFA specimen held the walkway door open for me with a smile. He was a major stud muffin. I saw some shaggy big lovable dogs and their rightfully proud owners. The hotel was playing old time Christmas songs. It was a peaceful twilight. As I entered the room, my husband embraced and kissed me. The kids said they'd missed me. They told me my IKEA Princess Cake was in the fridge. It was a zen moment.