I am deciding between Wiley and LevelUp materials and am looking for some input on the two. Which do you think is the better package? I have used Wiley for Level 1 and 2 and have enjoyed the experience. I like the idea of having the WIley notes to read through rather than the CFAI books which it seems LevelUp relies on. Though I have heard great things about LevelUp. Do you think it is more important to use the CFAI books for Level 3? Any input on which provider to use is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
As someone who used Wiley exclusively for L1 and L2, I ended up going with Kaplan as my main reading materials for L3 as I didn’t find nearly as much positive feedback for Wiley. Can’t say I regret that decision: Kaplan’s books were great and I passed the exam comfortably above MPS.
I’ve heard amazing things about LevelUp, but decided not to go with Marc on the basis of price alone.
If you can type LevelUp review, it should be pretty simple for you to decide. I don’t need to re-type all that I have been already said regarding Levelup comps. I failed L3 last year with a band 10. I went with LevelUp this year based on the recommendation found on this blog.
Regardless how good a test prep is, it will always come down to how bad you want it and much time you want to spend studying.
With all that being said, I have not seen someone teaches L3 the way Marc from LevelUp does it. Cost it definitely a problem. I had his videos, went to his bootcamp. Easily spent more that $3k when include hotel, airline and food for the BootCamp. Then, I would not trade the cost for passing knowing how hard it is to re-take this test.
This is really the takeaway. Choosing a prep provider (given that you’re going with one of the main ones) is kind of trivial, your work ethic and commitment to learn and practice the material will be the big deciding factor.
Will Kaplan, Wiley, etc cover the new materials added for next year’s exam(AI, crypto) or is there some lag? I assume these study tool providers work with CFA Institute and know what changes/additions will be made beforehand but I just want to make sure. Thanks!
I believe Wiley records their content at some point between June and September. I’m sure Kaplan does something similar, and both should cover that material if it’ll be on next year’s exams.
If I learned something fundamental about L3, there is no true substitute for reading the CFAI books but a good test provider may help you go faster. CFAI has a tendency of putting “white text” questions with no blue box in the exam. You would not pay to much attention to that level of details if you elect to skip the core material. This is particularly true for these new readings.
LevelUp is the way to go- no question. You have to do the work and trust Marc’s advice. Marc knows the curriculum inside and out and is great at presenting the information in a way that makes it easier to learn the material.
This is kind of a silly question – but did you find it more effective to read before watching Marc’s videos or watch the videos and then read the material?