Supersadface just said it, ‘it’s given once per year’. That statement would seem completely retarded to virtually anyone one the planet, and rightly so. I may take 1 day off, just to relax a bit. I’ve heard stories of people who prepare for 9 months, and they don’t work the whole time, and they fail. I’ve heard stories of people who take not time off, not even one day, and they only study for 2 weeks, and they pass. So, does it make sense to take time off for this. Who knows!!?? Personally, I think the whole thing is pure luck. I don’t think studying really has anything to do with the outcome on the test. It certainly doesn’t have anything to do with a successful outcome in life. In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter. For LI I didn’t study at all, and I got over 70% on every section. For L2, I studied my ass off for several months, and I failed every single section, and at the same time I got a couple of promotions and raises in the same year, all for outstanding achievement on the job. I think doers so, and studiers study. If you don’t believe me, ask Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg, or Larry Ellison. None of those guys have the CFA, and look what they have done. I think every hour spent studying is 1 less hour devoted to doing something entrepreneurial. Of course, the CFA Institute wants to tell everyone exactly what to do, and how to feel, and what to think. Ever since the CFA Institute has gained critical mass, we’ve been having a lot of financial crises…
I disagree with this as well.
Do you know Reverse Polish Notation? If not, then get the TI. Don’t bother trying to learn RPN for the exam.
And once you’re done with the exam, you’ll probably use Excel or some other software for a lot of your analysis. Nobody is going to say, “Wow! This guy is a dummy because he uses the TI. All the cool kids use HP!”
This is very true. I have never met anybody who changed calculators after Level 1.