I went 3/3 in 2 Years. Here is what I did

Hello, I have a template if anyone is looking for a strategy. It is time intensive but it worked for me! This is an email I sent to a coworker. -Kyle

Materials:

The CFA Institute books are where it is at, but for level 1 you can get by with Schweser’s material. I did the San Francisco Schweser seminars for Level 2 and Level 3, and I would definitely recommend that as a top priority. I studied about 300 hours for level 1, 430 for level 2, and 450 level 3 (each hour was 50 minutes, bc I normally take a 10 minute break every 50 minutes, which later became solid time blocks as I was building my mental endurance). I wouldn’t recommend using 3rd party material for practice tests for level 3 unless you run out of CFAI materials.

The whole thing is really intense so you need to have a good strategy, and you will need to get really good at time management. However, the material is basically a compilation of the leading edge finance papers, books, and studies, so it is much better than what I had in college. More interesting as well.

My strategies:

-Minimum 6 practice tests per level.

-Start 5-6 months ahead of time, no earlier, no later.

-Get used to burnout, and managing burnout, but don’t take more than a day or two off studying.

-Part of this is making sure you have a great time when you do take breaks (hobbies, concerts, spend some cash)

-Work the Blue Box examples and End of Chapter Questions as you are reading. These are a prime source for actual test questions. It is said that blue boxes have a higher correlation to test questions than EOC questions, I would agree.

-Do not short yourself on time, building up to the test is not a linear process, you get a lot more out of the last 50 hours than the first.

-Do not skim the material, the passing score is most likely 68%, but to get that score you need to know it to an a level.

-The material is extremely overwhelming if you look at how much there is, so don’t. Track your minutes and assign yourself minutes studying, it helps from feeling like you are swamped.

-Levels 2 and 3 are much harder than Level 1, but speed is very important in Level 1 so do 2000 practice questions,so that you will finish the exam with time to spare. Your mental endurance is crucial on test day, your brain works the same way as your muscles, so train it!

-When you sign up they will send you the materials, make sure to sign up soon and get your passport all squared away. I almost missed level 1 because I didn’t get my passport ahead of time (and I transposed the expiration date on my registration, had it fixed via phone call at 4 AM PST the night before). Good luck!

you forgot key pieces of information.

job.

age.

kids/no-kids.

Ideal:

Discount Stockbroker (42hrs/wk avg, low stress)

26

No kids

Adjust your effort accordingly.

-Kyle

I went 3/3 w/ a full-time, high pressure job (buy side analyst) and I have 2 small kids who demand time on weekends. My kids were born about halfway through my L1 studies. Also had deaths in the family and hospitalizations along the way. I only mention this because life should not be an excuse.

Study early and often. There is no one perfect strategy although there is no shortage of opinions and new threads on this. Something will come up (job, family, death, life) where you might not be able to study for a while. It’s a marathon so get familiar with the material as soon as possible and repeat. Rote memorization might work for Level 1 but becomes less so as you progress. You need to master this stuff eventually so might as well start now. Read on your commute, nights, when dropping a deuce, whenever. You should be able to get all the EOCs right before you take the exam. Take as many mocks as you can find.

Best of luck. When you get that Pass email after Level 3 it will be well worth it.

PS: spend less time on AF unless you have a legitimate question. Especially the 1-2 months before the exam. Minimize time spent online in general and keep your nose in the books.

I know one guy who failed and he put in around 600 hrs, while I know another who says he put in 3 solid weeks of studying and passed. Not sure if I believe him (senior undergrads are notorious for lieing) but I have already read 4 out of 5 schweser books, just attempted a mock exam for fun, and feel nowhere even close to prepared (write in Dec 2013). If I took it right now I would probably get around 30%.\ Is this normal? I’d say I’ve put in about 75-100 hrs.

Too funny - I hit all three of those criteria when I enrolled last Fall.

After 300 hours of studying, I scored a 51% on my first mock.

Two months later, after 200 hours of additional preparation, I cleared Level 1.

We all learn in different ways and at different speeds. You have plenty of time, just keep at it.

^ Everything that Kmel said.

I don’t have a finance background and I passed 3/3 in 1.5 years (*)

Schweser is very useful in the ealry levels (I and II), less on level III but still useful. QBank usefulness falls off with levels, as well. Still, use Schweser (or your provider of choice) before you tackle the wordy meanderings of the CFAI textbooks.

(*) Not counting study time, of course. About 800 hours on LI, 600 on LII and 800 on LIII.

ditto, 3/3 in 1.5 years.

schwesser is your friend. all i ever used.

the videos were awesome for level 2 to get through some of the drier topics.

rip the audio to mp3 and put on your ipod / iphone and listen whenever you have time.

for level 1 / 2 qbank and mocks is all you should be thinking about the last month.

level 3 - mocks, mocks, mocks especially the am session.

This is very possible. If you have a BBA with a double major in finance and accounting, you shouldn’t have to study much at all for Level 1.

If you have a BA with a double major in Interpretive Dance and Cello Performance, then you can expect to spend a significant amount of time on Level 1.

commitment is the name of the game

In level 1, 2000 practice questions. Only from Question bank or some where else???

Thanks

Arguably necessary; unquestionably not sufficient.