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!