Looking for some thoughts on which provider to use for L3. I used KS for L1, KS & Wiley for L2 (repeater)…
Any thoughts?
Hopefully outgoing L3’ers will start chiming in after their results are released. May be better to post this then!
Don’t do Wiley for L3. If I fail, part of it is on them. It should be illegal to sell material for so much errate in it. And I don’t mean random typos in words. The calculations in case studies and formulas have material errors.
AND, there is no question bank (or at least was not for 2017, so even if there is for 2018, I can imagine the quality).
I’d provided an extensive negative feedback to them, but as expected, no response. I honestly wanted to ask for a refund. It was just a horrible experience especially after the L2 was so amazing.
The instructor in most of the pre-recorded videos is also not very good, definitely nothing compared to Basit and Peter from L2.
We are too busy debating 1 or 2 boxes right now to help incoming L3 candidates.
Really sorry to hear that! I, like you, really enjoyed them for L2. Who was your lecturer for L3? Darren Miller was it?
I can see that in the popularity of that thread…lol.
I did a silver course, so no online classes. I don’t find them as helpful for my learning style.
Right, but who did the actual recorded video lecturers (Basit, Olinto)?
I can’t stand the live online classes either.
Miller did about 20% in the beginning, and the rest was done by another guy. I dont remember his name. But his voice sounded like they made him pay to do those videos instead of paying him. Not sure he enjoys to live.
Wiley is new to the Level 3 game, with their first product released in 2015. So it’s probably fair to say the program isn’t nearly as developed as their Level 2 material. Daren Miller is a very good instructor though, and he has been a Level 3 exam grader so you get some insight there. In the end I didn’t opt for Wiley for Level 3, as I suspected it wouldn’t be as polished as I would expect. From the above it sounds like my feelings proved correct.
If you’re dead set on a full study package, Schweser is still the top dog, but I’m a big believer that studying straight from the curriculum is more important at Level 3 than any exam thus far. I personally read the entire curriculum for L3, and supplemented with GoStudy for notes and formulas (very well done in my opinion) and IFT’s Crash Course for summary videos and audio for my work commute. IFT’s Crash Course was an incredible value, with a lot of content per dollar spent. The videos he makes that go through past AM exam questions were pure gold.
We’ll see in a couple of weeks if my study strategy paid off. If not, I’m not sure I would change anything to be honest, other than maybe create more of my own notes. I had written out hundreds of flashcards with bullet lists and formulas, but I relied on GoStudy for the majority of my summary notes.
Yes, definitely use the CFAI curriculum regardless of the provider you pick. Personally, the main 2 things I use providers for (especially for L3) are video lectures and additional questions and mocks. For L2 Schweser is definitely worth the premium you pay.
KS all the way. A great compliment is Level Up videos and boot camp as Marc clears up KS flaws and everything they miss.
Word is Miller does the entire L3 video lecture series for Wiley now.
Online classes or the recorded videos? I am talking about the latter.
From what Darren Degraaf just told me: about 80-90% of their recorded videos.
I guess people complained, cause it was definitely not the case this year.
I’m still skeptical. Going to wait a few months before making my decision on them vs Kaplan.
i liked Wiley (did that along with CFAI) in terms of a lot of finer points that I picked from the content in the videos… though I must admit that the videos were not delivered in a form that made it very interesting… Darren introduces the topic for a couple of minutes and then the videos are delivered by another guy. (Basit or Olinto would have been great. Daren Miller is fine too) …was told last year too that Miller might be doing the videos but that wasn’t the case… I did not use their books, so, can not speak to the quality of them. The best approach I would suggest for L3 would be start with the CFAI material itself, if you can bear the amount of content and the time it takes to go through it…it is worth it and may be very important especially L3… but many have passed by doing lesser …and we do not know which side (pass/fail) we are on yet.
Appreciate the insights. Best of luck to you and all the others here on August 8th (or 9th? whenever the results are sent out) 
I would recommend GoStudy. It’s very cost effective ($100 if I recall correctly) and includes all Level 3 AM exams back to like 1999. Their 30 page cram guide was useful as well. It works better as a supplement to CFAI material than as a stand alone study tool that can substitute CFAI material.