Hello Everybody, Irish CFAer here, first time poster, long time reader.
Taking level 1 in June 2019. Signed up and purchased Schweser notes in August but have only started studying seriously since the start of January. I’ve always been one to leave it late but hoping I still have enough time to pull it off.
Just wondering if anyone else has just started studying and whats your plan like and what materials you using?
I’m studying twice a week, 5 hours each time, trying to get through two readings each day but at least 3 readings each week. That will have me finished the curriculum by the end of April if all goes well. This will leave me with a month to six weeks to revise and do as many questions/mocks as I can. I’ve also booked the two weeks before the exam off so I can study full time without distraction. Should be able to cram about 100 hours of quality revision and mocks into that final two weeks which is a huge plus.
I’m using Schweser notes and IFTs free videos. Probably should have ordered Schweser videos as well but went for the cheap option and soon realised its hard to focus without videos. I chose IFT over Mark Meldrums free videos as they’ve been recently updated for newest curriculum and MMs videos seem to take a lot longer than IFTs.
Has anybody else used this combination of materials? What are people’s opinion on using the IFT videos the main source of materials, are they a bit light? Will IFT videos and Schweser notes be enough to cover the curriculum sufficiently?
Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself to the forum, I’ll probably be posting a few times over the next five months so thank you all in advance!
We are in the same boat. Although I will be writing in December 2019. Why write sooner when you can write later? Any way level 2 will be in June 2020, so I thought I will give myself the luxury. I am preparing with IFT and CFAI textbooks. Will take me 4 months to get done, with 10-12 hours a week. Schweser leaves a lot out, but they are great for revision.
That’s why I went for June 2019 over December 2018 but in the end I only started studying in December so no time was really gained for me. Anyway, this gives me a year (hopefully) to study Level 2 which should be more difficult than Level 1.
Im taking a risk by not using the CFAI books so I hope Schweser will be enough. What do you think of IFTs videos? I find them very clear and easy to understand so far but they seem very light and I would prefer if they went through each LOS in order. But they definitely help understand everything and i guess its good that they get through the material fairly quick.
Anyway best of luck with your study mate, good to know I’m not the only one suffering on this journey.
I started Dec. 3rd with CFAI and Wiley q-bank. I did ethics first. Then I bough Schweser notes and q-bank to speed up the reading. I shoot for an average of 2 hours a night. I use IFT and Meldrum video’s for deeper understanding. Both providers have pluses and minuses in their video presentation. Meldrum goes by LOS and if you pay, his video’s are indexed so you only have to review the material you have difficulty with. I bought quant because I don’t use a lot of that stuff at work so I needed a deeper review. I still use the CFAI examples and EOC question because they explain in the curriculum that a lot of the exam is based on those. So, now Im blocking the weekend to review past materials using the CFAI curriculum questions. The last thing I do will be to review the CFAI q-bank and mocks.
One thing I also do is read CFAI for the sections I have trouble with. Not entire sections, just the los’. Sometimes it understanding what they want you to know that’s important. I also make my own flash cards and try to memorize one equation a day. I only memorize the equations I cant seem to figure out logically.
My original study plan didn’t survive the holidays. I’m a week behind now but I built in a two week buffer. So I’m on track. I hope to have 6 weeks for mocks and q-bank at the end. I have small children so its a challenge.
I am a big fan of it. If it takes 5 hours to get through a reading, just watch the IFT videos before you start reading the notes. It will take you half the time to understand everything. IFT gives a brilliant surface level run through the material. Also, it shows how to use the calculator (something that the notes don’t do too well).