for the curious

[cre_analyst]

Bleron, Saying you passed the cfa is not bragging. But it seems you just signed up on this website to tell people it only took you 2 weeks to study for the exam. Just seems pointless in my opinion. “Hey everyone, I know you guys are studying your a$$e$ off for a few months, I don’t need to. Welp, see ya later!” While, I am jealous of your ability to pass L2 w/ 8 days of studying, most people need to put in a little more work. In my opinion, hard work and perseverance is not a waste of time.

[bleron]

i signed up back in dec 06 because i needed help to pass with just 7 days of study. it helped me a lot, especially in areas brand new to me, i.e. fsa. it also helped me learn terms like schwesser, notes, mock exams etc. Back in the day i used something called prosomething, that was cheap and effective, but i dedicate 30% of my result to cfa forum, in l1. in l2 that went down to zero, mainly because i didnt want to waste the posting time and didnt feel like entertaining when market was taking an ecstasy pill.

[system]

YES BLERON!!! YEEESSSSS -Your biggest fan, Storko

[Analti_Calte_Equity]

@bleron

to answer the question how: 1. I am probably more exposed to the material than the average person, but say you add 1 week of study to catch up with me, for the least exposed person (provided you know enough algebra required which i assume everyone does who registered, otherwise why bother.) 2. I read the entire schwesser notes, every single page, but very fast. at the end i took the practice questions, when i didnt know an answer I would go back to the material before answering it, so my practice answers were about 65% + add 25% after “cheating” 3. You must do this on a computer screen, i.e. purchase scan notes or scan them, not on paper. You will go faster and be more disciplined. 4. Reading notes and practice questions took me 5 days. The next day I did 2 full length exam, did some qbank questions (total time on qbank 8 hours, I would have needed 36 hours of qbank to nail the exam. 5. The 8th day, friday, I did 2 more exams, I reviewed my answers, right and wrong ones (this I would do on paper not on screen btw.) At around 7pm I started taking the online sample paid exams. Those are an absolute must. I took the exams and reviewed the answers quite carefully. My scores were 83, 70 and 65ish if I remember correctly. I went to sleep at 330AM (would not advise it, but I fell behind the schedule a bit so had to push it.) Here are two more things i want to add: 1. Studying intensely as opposed to over many months increases your efficiency dramatically because of the tricky nature of the exam. Often in exam I would know the topic but answering the question required more, and having fresh questions reviewed on mind I would know the trick. 2. I did it with 8 days, 2 weeks I think I would have gotten 70+ in everything or close to it in my mind, but let’s say you want to be safe, then give yourself 25 full days of doing nothing but CFA in the methods described, adding time for qbank, taking more practice exams, and reading notes slighlty more slowly, and I will be damned if your result will not be better than studying for 8 months. With regard to ma-newr dude above, you can always only chose what you like to believe. And do not take my post as a hit on your low self esteem and insecurity. I assure you, try my method and you will be surprised how much more efficient even your brain can become when you add so much pressure that it doesnt have time to worry about the pressure but only struggle to “survive”, in the sense of the task it faces.

possible?

[lxl1929]

That is real efficiency. But still people wouldn’t take that risk, and most importantly they don’t have to!

I admire your reading speed…all notes finished page by page in one digit number of days…mesmerizing. wanna have a try…

[buybuybuy]

Who knows what one “needs” to pass? The reason most people spend so much time on it is because they don’t want to risk failure. I don’t know a single person in real life who went into the test with the objective of studying the fewest number of hours necessary to pass. You only find these people online. Most people care about the embarassment they will face at their workplace after failing, being forced to spend even more time studying instead of living life, and having to repay the fees.

The other reason people don’t spend 1 or 2 weeks studying is because they have lives that get in the way. I have a job, a supportive girlfriend, and no kids. I was pissed that I had to travel the weekend before the exam instead of study, but I know people who have been in a much worse situation thanwhat I faced while studying. If you really have nothing stopping you from studying all day and every day, then good for you. But 100 hours spent over 8 days or 8 months is still 100 hours.

[pdx914]

Well…did you pass L 3? Details please.

[I_m_legend]

Bleron, maybe you are that damn efficient. But I must say, your strategy is not effective. Your photographic memeory is an asset for you in that you can MEMORIZE, not understand things; I must say. Can you remember a single thing that you had read before the exams? If you think of only PASSING, I have nothing to say, but if you really want to be a professional, i guess, you will see your anaytical skill to be much lower. No offence meant.

[maratikus]

Black Swan passed Level III with 1 week of studying. It was not by choice and I don’t think he would recommend slacking off.

[JP_RL_CFA]

I can’t see how anyone could pass level 3 with one week of studying. It’s really not even possible with the morning section being essay/short answer format. CFAI recommends spending what 250-350 hours? I can’t see how you could spend 7 days on studying and pass. Sounds like a lot of BS to me. Anyway, even if it is true, don’t come on here and brag about it. It’s disrepectful and no one cares. People on this forum are serious about the Charter and about learning and understanding the material. Everyone wants to pass, that’s a given, but unless you can actually somewhat remember and use the material you’ve learned, what have you gained?

[I_m_legend]

It is possible to pass in 1 week if one has a previous strong background. I don’t see why a professor from a reputed business school such as wharton would spare more than 1 week preparing for each level of CFA program.

[pdx914]

Legend…how would you know this? We are all entitled to our opinion but you talk as if you wrote the exam itself.

[igor555]

bump

[former_trader]

Bleron is a legend. Glad to read one of his old threads. They don’t make posters like him anymore!

[doobsmeister]

I don’t believe it… if he really did that, he wouldn’t be mentioning it here. You hear stories like this all the time.

[mheithy]

this guy is a *** **** legend

[oakwood42]

That was an interesting read.

[rsparks]

To be fair, i have a friend that spent two weeks studying for L1 and passed. she spent two weeks studying for L2 and got band 8/9 so it is doable and she only read schweser notes. She spent like 12hours a day though. She passed the next year with 3 months study. I spent 5-6 months, but was also studying for a CA exam. I honestly feel the practice exams were most beneficial. It is not about the formula in L2, but about all the information around the formula. They can present you with information in 5 different ways and you have to get the exposure through questions to deal with it.