Congrats & Appreciate your inputs.
Hi Nightmare55…
I did, although I’d add that everyone studies differently and what works for some might not work for others. I used Schweser for all levels. A sum of what I did is:
-
Read through all the Schweser notes and made my own detailed notes of each study session. My notes for each study session could be up to twenty pages, but this way I had my own “secret sauce” but slightly more detailed. I made sure that I had finished this by the end of April. I didn’t touch GIPS or ethics here.
-
In the last few weeks before the exam, I started doing questions practise which was:
-
3 days of reading my notes and doing Qbank ie. read a chapter, then do the Qbank questions. I know a lot of people slate it, but I found that it helped get basics in to my head - even if very different to the exam style - and I could build on that.
-
4 days of all the Schweser end of chapter qs after reading my notes for each chapter (as above).
-
2 days reading ethics and GIPS chapters in Schweser and did Qbank and Schweser EOC qs.
-
4 days reading chapter notes and doing CFAI EOC questions.
-
6 days of Schweser mocks (book 1)
-
2 days reading CFAI ethics and GIPS and then doing CFAI EOC q’s. This is the only CFAI material (apart from Q’s) that I properly read. It’s very similar to Schweser with a lot of the same examples.
-
2 days going over my notes and reading through the blue box examples in CFAI.
-
5 days of doing the CFAI exams (I did 4 AM prior year exams and 1 PM mock) in between skimming over my notes.
Obviously, if I got stuck on didn’t understand something, I’d go back to my notes, or schweser. I don’t think I needed to go back to CFAI notes for anything in level 3 (I did in level 2). So, I pretty much used Schweser exclusively - apart from CFAI EOC, blue boxes, exams and ethics/GIPS. I could have definitely felt more confident had I spent another week going over stuff… but, luckily it was enough. Bets of luck!
Yes it is possible to pass with Schweser.
More important than where you get the information from is that you understand it.
My study plan was simple.
I read schweser notes 4 times and did about 2000 qbank.
Yes it is different from the exam but it is excellent to help you retain info.
Thanks Banjee
That was really helpful
I have used Schweser exclusively for all 3 levels and passed all three on my first attempt. In the last exam, I started studying 5 weeks before the exam and dont think I would have even been able to read all the texts had I wanted to.
You can use schweser, but have to really master the material since you will lose a few points (in my experience) when CFA throws in some obscure questions that schweser doesnt really cover. Your threshold for error decreases, but only marginally IMO.
i used schweser exclusively, but did end of chapter questions from BOTH schweser and CFAI books. then re-did all of them in the last 2 weeks before the exam.
i never read a single page of material from the CFAI books, except the end of chapter summaries once over (glanced at them, but dont think i retained anything from them so its as if i didnt read them).
end of chapter questions from CFAI books are important me thinks. dont skip them.
would recommend just shweser for L3.
Schweser for L3 is definitely the weakest, mainly due tot he lack of examples. However, based on the exam I got it, it was sufficient if you read it thoroughly and understood it. I squeaked by because frankly skimmed through the notes.
Yes, it will msis some stuff, but that’s inevitable.
I do suggest EOC and blue box from CFAI, though.
I passed Level III using Schweser, however I regretted it towards the end. I also did all the EOC and blue box examples in the CFA books the last month before the exam. I don’t think I would have passed had I not done that. There is really no easy way out. I about killed myself for both level II and Level III. For level II I used mainly the CFA text books. That was hard as well because it was hard to digest and retain all the info, so Schweser really helped in that regard. I don’t know, I’d say both help and combined is a good mix to see the same info presented differently to help retain the info.
I passed all 3 levels first time using Schweser. I made my own outlines of the Schweser material as I went – like someone else who posted here, my outlines were sometimes 20 pages per study session – and occasionally consulted the CFA books if Schweser was confusing or sparse or I was just interested in the topic. Seeing words on a page is one thing; writing them down in my own words means I know what they mean, and when I re-review it later, it will speak to me because I chose the words. I can also make little handwritten annotations to my outline as I do quizzes/exams and get things wrong. I made flashcards as I went of key formulas/points and quizzed myself on the way to work. Although I had heard that Schweser was “weakest” for Level III, I did not personally find that to be the case. I used QBank a bit, but QBank in my opinion is less relevant for Level III, and I did two Schweser practice exams. Everyone else seems to recommend the CFA book examples, etc., but I did not review those myself. What I did do is spent a LOT of hours on the material, over a long period of time, and I made sure I understood it. I started studying in January and made a schedule, leaving 3 weeks as no-study weeks or catch-up weeks. I keep the CFA books as valuable reference material in my work, but in terms of cramming material in one’s head in a short time for purposes of the exam, I prefer the Schweser summaries. I believe one can pass with CFA books only, or with Schweser books only, but I think it really comes down to discipline, hours, and hard work.
I read Schweser notes, made note cards of my own of key concepts, did their EOC questions and 3 or 4 of the practice exams. I used the “special sauce” for a quick brush up on concepts when going through mock exams. Only CFA materials I used was working the previous AM exams and the one free sample/mock PM exam they give you. My CFAI books are still in their box.
Here was my formula for passing LII and LIII:
-Bought and used all Schweser products except for audio CDs and flashcards.
-Read Schweser Notes, did all questions in Schweser books and made my own flash cards
-Used Schweser Q-bank while going through study notes
-Attended the pre-exam 3 day live Schweser study program
-Took every CFA exam available on CFAI website
-Took and reviewed every single Schweser practice exam
-Ran out of time and didn’t even get a good chance to review my flash cards but kept creating new flash cards over and over again on my weakest areas
-Recommend CFA EOC questions but not necessary, logical next step use of time is you have more time after completing above - I never opened the CFA books for LII or LIII
-I found Schweser’s live 3-day pre-exam course to be invaluable for both LII and LIII (there was a lot of strategy which is key to passing)
I consider myself among the world’s worst test takers and if I can pass using this strategy, almost anyone can… It’s all about getting a brief landscape of the material (Schweser Notes are perfect for this), and spending the majority of your time actively learning through answering and reviewing as many questions as possible.
_ LEARNING THE MATERIAL VIA PRACTICING AS MANY QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE IS THE MOST EXACT FORMULA TO PASSING THESE EXAMS!!! _
- 100
I managed to pass 3/3 using pretty much only Schweser. I watched the videos and then did the reading following it and the practice questions. I read CFAI for individual/institutional investor but I’m not sure how much added value I got from it.
The key for L3 is practicing the exam in my opinion to know how to implement your knowledge.
As a side note, Level III was the first level that I did not get the Schweser “class” instruction. I figured my time was better spent working problems than listening to some chucklehead read me what I just read.
Agreed. This is exactly what I did. I’ll admit it–I didn’t really read the Schweser notes for Levels I and II (I did a bit for Level III due to the lack of examples), but I just focused on practice problems.
Someone who passed last year said it well: You can’t master the entire Schweser notes, let alone the CFAI books. But what you CAN master are hundreds of practice problems (i.e., practice exams, past exams, etc.)
At least to me, starting to practice the last 3(up to 10) years of AM questions as soon as possible…then blue-box examples, EOC and etc. Schweser Notes is good for new topics. Good luck.
I used Schweser exclusively for each exam. I was very happy with the Schweser materials although I did not look at any of the other study providers for comparison. Regardless of what I used I studied my ass off, but just think it was more efficient to use those. I also got the secret sauce for level 3 which was a very helpful last minute review.
Could you elaborate on the 3-day pre-exam course? I am thinking about taking this in Chicago. Do you feel you got more out of being there as opposed to the video lectures?
This is a useful discussion. I too would be writing my level-3 next year.
If someone could add:
Despite using Schweser, _ which sections MUST be read from CFAI books _?
I just passed using Schweser and then got absolutely Schwes-ted last night!
I used the same policy for every level – I only read the CFAI ethics section. For all three levels I did every EOC question for every section and for Level 3, I also did every blue box example in the curriculum. I found this method to be spot on.
Hello,
I’ve been reading tons of threads on how to pass L3, including the great post from trimonious2. I get that the exam format is different and needs practice to master. I also get that doing tons of practice questions are essential to passing. I’m pretty sure this will cover it for the PM session, but it seems that a lot less has been said for the AM section. A lot of people who failed yesterday due to a bad AM session claimed having a solid knowledge of the material walking into the exam, and even a feeling of confidence walking out. This indicates to me that it is still unclear what the graders are looking for in the essay/short answer questions. My question is, would “a ton of practice problems (CFAI/Schweser)” also help you better understand and prepare for the essay/short answer responses? Do you guys think Schweser has a good grip of what CFAI is looking for?