I have to pay for harris out of pocket and I already have the Schweser Videos. Is it worth 500 to go to the Harris Workshop. I am scoring in the 60’s with minimal studying(middle of the road Q bank q’s).
It was definitely worth the money for me. (then again, my firm paid for it.) i would have paid the 500 even if i had to pay for it myself. First, you get his notes and a bunch of fsa questions. that’s probably worth couple of hundred by themselves. in the end, it is still accounting and you will yawn at some point during the 2 days, but he makes it bearable and he really is a great presenter. You also do some problems in teh class, so it’s just not passive learning. (like the schweser online course) if you are scoring 60 now, i bet you hit 80’s afterward. and you will feel better about fx effects and pension. if schweser is charging what 50 bucks for the “quicksheet”, john is relatively undervalued. and no, i don’t work for him.
I paid for it myself. He is an amazing teacher and makes many difficult concepts easy. His notes and questions allow you to take many focused FSA problems and his answers are clear and easy to understand. He will ask questions throughout the class and make sure you understand something before moving on. He also said he has scheduled himself to be sitting at home to answer emails in the two week leading up to the exam.
dmoxson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have to pay for harris out of pocket and I > already have the Schweser Videos. Is it worth 500 > to go to the Harris Workshop. I am scoring in the > 60’s with minimal studying(middle of the road Q > bank q’s). Harris or not, I think you’re going to have to do something more if you want to pass, no?
Pylon - My scores will easily improve to around 70% if I spend 2 days (16 hours) studying on my own. At this point I have spent around 15-20 hours on FSA. I want to get an idea of the true value of Harris. Will I have a slam dunk come test time? That sounds like a yes per what I am reading.
Nothing is a slam dunk with the CFA exam, but Harris is worth every penny, imo. He knows his material cold and paces the class to cover everything (including questions)…he also updates his own presentation based on the feedback he’s receiving giving the class (if several people are confused on the same point, he makes note and goes into more detail). 16 hours studying on your own < 16 hours attending Harris review!
I think it’s better to buy the CFA online exams to practice questions than to go for this workshop. Personal Opinion.
You’re just pissed no one would give you a copy of his notes; get a life.
yes, yes and yes-great delivery! He was open to questions and his notes are invaluable. I would highly recomend this class to everyone!! Going through his practice problems he breaks everything down. I definitely feel like I walked out 110% better than when I walked in.
anishcandy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think it’s better to buy the CFA online exams to > practice questions than to go for this workshop. > Personal Opinion. You’ve never been to his workshop, so how could you possible know? I would say that you don’t walk out of his workshop ready to ace the FSA section of the exam, but if you have done your reading before you go, it will really solidify a lot of the underlying concepts for you. You will still have to practice the all-curent/temporal method and the like, but when you resume your studying, you will really understand what it is you are doing while you are doing it, rather than just going through the motions. Actually having a good grasp like that is invaluable come 6/7 IMO. The guy is easily the best teacher I have ever had.
People, is he better than Peter Orlinto ??? I have heard so many good things about John, that I feel I should rob an ATM [$500 only] to fund his class… oh well… I have to do FSA on my own this year… m broke!!
Sponge_Bob_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You’re just pissed no one would give you a copy of > his notes; get a life. Burned! He is certainly a good teacher and you will benefit a lot from his class. If it were my money I probably wouldn’t pay it though. I did shell out some money for the hotel, gas, and meals to attend, but $500 out of pocket is pretty steep. I think he made the point in our class that once it gets close to the exam, your time would be better spent in the library studying the materials than attending his lectures (that’s why he does them early). He said this because someone asked why he did not have a follow up class later like, say, 2 weeks before the exam.
I paid out my own pocket to attend his class as well and it was definitely worth it
I think it’s really up to you how you want to spend your time and money. For me CFAI materials + Secret Sauce + Qbank + CFAI sample exams are sufficient.
If your background is accounting and you use a lot of FSA in your current job you may not need his live class. My buddy that passed who is a CPA thought it was a piece of cake. I certainly needed it. I have more of a corporate finance and investment background with no CPA experience, college accounting classes from years ago, and no auditing experience for a big accounting firm (which I hear can help). For me the out of pocket $500 is worth it. Not only do you get the class and notes but he’ll help answer q’s that you may have a long the way. No comparison from his teaching compared to the schweser videos. Those videos didn’t help me out a bit.
dinesh.sundrani Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > People, is he better than Peter Orlinto ??? > > I have heard so many good things about John, that > I feel I should rob an ATM [$500 only] to fund his > class… oh well… I have to do FSA on my own this > year… m broke! Peter Orlinto? If Harris is 2 Pac, Orlinto is K-Fed.
So your saying stick with Peter Orlinto?? haha…
Bad news - Harris class in NYC is full. Now I have to find someone to trade me their seat.
I would have gone to his NYC one but I’m going to UFC 83 in Montreal instead. Maybe GSP will teach me something about pensions.
Dinesh, Do you go to Peter Olinto’s live classes? I’m wondering if I should do the mock exam with him in NYC. Thanks,