June Passers Please Post !!

Passers, First off, congrats. Secondly, Please post on what methods/materials you used in your success. So far, I have been reading the Schweser Notes (Books 1-5). From what I have read on this forum, Elan has gotten good reviews and I am considering buying there full package ($499) and possibly Qbank. Please advise if these have worked for anyone on June 2010 exam and/or if other materials have worked better. I would like to make a purchase ASAP. Thanks,

I passed 70% in all sections but alt inv and corp finance. I used schweser to read thru first time, did a ton of practice tests and got elan 11th hour guide and 2 exams in the last 2 weeks. That was probably my best move as i took a schweser sit down prac exam 2 weeks before and got 62%. Really jumped a lot the last few weeks based on taking many exams and reviewing every right and wrong answer. Cant comment on Elan’s reading curriculum but loved their practice tests and never once opened CFA material except for ethics.

Passed. Used Schweser books and Q-Bank. Definitely recommend the Q-bank. Did about 2,500 questions in the Q-bank the last 4-5 weeks of studying. The ability to create and take exams/quizzes and review was extremely beneficial. I only took the first 2 Schweser mocks about 2 weeks before the exam. Good luck!

I used Schweser Notes and books, did 70% of the QBank before realizing those were useless. Also used Elan’s 11th Hour and but mostly relied on the CFAI books. (Schweser books were only used for clarification and as a summary for CFAI books) Haven’t heard complaints about Elan, can’t go wrong with it.

Started off using CFA texts only. Kind of grew jittery in March as there was so much material to retain. Got Elan’s 11 hour guide and absolutely loved it. Went on to buy their mock exams which were also great. Eventually also bought their videos (final stretch package) which were very detailed and thorough. Haven’t used their notes, but they do get excellent reviews. Best of luck!

read schweser material twice… solved all schweser eoc qns… during last 1 month did quite a few schweser qbank… took cfa practice exams… did cfa book eoc questions… and listened to cfa mp3s on my commute to work… best move - cfa book eoc questions… i believe that was key to pass!

cfapmp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > read schweser material twice… solved all schweser > eoc qns… during last 1 month did quite a few > schweser qbank… took cfa practice exams… did > cfa book eoc questions… and listened to cfa mp3s > on my commute to work… > > best move - cfa book eoc questions… i believe > that was key to pass! I want to echo this last statement - the EOC questions in the CFA books are a must!!!

Schweser books, and tests. Elan final stretch pack. CFAI mock and 2 sample exams. Opened CFAI books only for ethics and on my first day. Passed with >70% in every subject area. In hindsight, this was much easier than I expected.

I passed with Equity+AI in the 50-70 zone. Qbank: 20% of studying time I read thru all LOS from QBand and did all questions to start off. Shweser Notes: 35% Read about 4 times in total and did all practice questions at end of each chapter. (over and over and over again) Practice exams + brush up on weak sections by re-studying from notes: 40% Read Text and do all the questions: 5%

Passed with >70% for all sections. I used only CFAI curriculum, no notes. I made flashcards, did all the EOC questions two or three times, 2 sample exams and one mock exam. It definetely can be done this way, and it’s comforting knowing you are not missing anything that notes may have left out. That said, notes have pretty good reputation for being comprehensive and I probalby could have lightened my reading load had I used them. Still considering what approach to use for L2. I don’t want to mess too much with a technique that worked first time around.

Elan Elan Elan!

Passed with all over 70% except Derivatives… Used ONLY Schweser notes and the 16 week online class… Will be using Schweser again… Will probably buy Elan practice exams though…

Schweser + Elan eleventh hour guide… Elan was damn useful…70+ in all except derivatives… :slight_smile:

Started preparing in mid Feb, so didnt have much time. Schweser+EOC problems

took whole week before exam + staying in a hotel near testing center so I can study all night and just walk to test center in morning instead of going through traffic/parking… Also I blogged how I studied, google it

KingKaiser : “Schweser books, and tests. Elan final stretch pack. CFAI mock and 2 sample exams. Opened CFAI books only for ethics and on my first day. Passed with >70% in every subject area. In hindsight, this was much easier than I expected.” Thanks for posting; just looking for a little clarification. 1. Are the Schweser tests you are referring to the questions w/in the Notes or their mock exams? 2. CFAI mock and 2 Sample exams - I haven’t received the materials yet but I am assuming this is part of what I will receive with enrollment? Thanks again,

As Ruby said: ELAN ELAN ELAN ELAN ELAN!!! I also scored more than 70% in each section. I bought their Ultimate Prep Pack and that’s basically all I used to study. Only used the CFA books for Ethics and EOC questions and summaries and the QBank for practice. There is seriously no point in wasting your money on others. Elan’s stuff is excellent! Just follow their advice to the letter and you should be fine if you are diligent in your studying. Good luck.

Surprisingly got > 70% across the board CFAI for Ethics and Stalla Summary Books for everything else. 20% of practice questions in Stalla question bank (aka passmaster) CFAI practice/mock exam I thought the Stalla books had a perfect compromise of content detail – falling somewhere in b/w Schweser and CFAI.

Passed with >70% with all sections except AltInv where I was one question short of > 70%. I don’t have finance degree or finance experience, so most of this was new to me. Studied 335 hours beginning in mid-January, with 100 hours in the last two weeks. Tracked every hour with stopwatch and a Google Docs spreadsheet. What I used: Stalla (Stalla lecture notes, Stalla study guide, Stalla videos, went through all 3508 of the Stalla passmaster questions). In general I guess Stalla worked out for me although I was annoyed they did “voice overs” in changing the material from previous years rather than re-record the content. Makes them seem unprofessional and cheapskates. I may use them for Level II but maybe just the study guides. Schweser Secret Sauce I read CFA books for Ethics and EOC questions, but otherwise skimmed it and read EOC summaries. I would spend more time with actual EOC questions. John Harris seminar for FRA. Highly recommended. Went through CFA sample questions, CFA mock, BSAS mock. Even though I basically aced it, what I will do differently for CFA Level II: -the 330 hours was actually short of my goal of 450-500 and I’m going to go for even more for Level II. -I’m going to be using Anki to help retain information as I’m studying -I’m going to do 6hour “mock tests” for each Saturday of the last 4-6 weeks before exam

First up, I failed in the Dec 09 exam relying solely on CFAI text. Big mistake as it’s too much information. Second time around, I used Schweser Notes, Q-Bank and CFAI text for ethics and EOC questions. Secret Sauce was useful for the main points, but if you’re writing summary notes it’s probably not going to be anymore value. My method was to read the Shweser/CFAI notes, do the Schweser end of chapter questions, then then CFAI EOC questions then Q-Bank. Personally, doing questions is excellent way of understanding the subject matter, especially for Ethics. As for mocks, I only used the CFAI mocks (including those provided for last year’s exam) a few days out from the real thing. Yes, I was being cheap but almost pulled the trigger on getting the Elan ones after hearing how good they were. I worked through every wrong answer I made and did them again. If you’re working the best thing you can do is take the week before the exam off.