Most efficient way to study for FRM Part 1?

[niki.c]

Hey folks,

I originally registered for the FRM Part 1 session in Nov 2017, but decided to defer it as I somewhat underestimated the challenge and certain important matters came up in September (and lasted through November). Before temporarily quitting, I had gone through Book 1 and Book 2. I have resumed my studies and am midway through Book 3.

My studies so far have almost exclusively centred on the Schweser books. Occasionally I refer to some additional questions online from other sources, but Schweser is how I go through the materials in general.

My idea was to get through Book 3 by December and Book 4 by January. Then, having gone through the syllabus once, I plan to start doing questions aggressively and exclusively from February onwards.

I would love some comment/feedback on the viability of my study plan outline. Just for your information, I have a bachelor’s in Actuarial Science so I do have some grounding in statistics and even learned about Options/Futures etc, though frankly speaking the knowledge is fairly rusty now. I am also well-versed with the financial industry, especially in so far as equities are concerned as I work in the asset management industry at the moment.

I have some questions as follows:

1. Are Schweser books/materials good enough? How representative are the questions of the actual exam difficulty as compared to the end-of-chapter and end-of-book questions and the online question bank? Are the formulas and examples in the book sufficient to counter most questions?
2. Is it necessary to get the GARP reading material?
3. How representative of the actual exam’s difficulty is the GARP practice paper?
4. What kind of question bank, past year papers etc will you recommend me to focus on to be best prepared for the paper?
5. If I have difficulty in certain topics (Swaps for example, really can’t wrap my head around it!), is it ok to skip these and focus on everything else, provided of course if it is just a couple of topics?
6. What would the actual passing mark be like (roughly)? Is it 70/100? 60/100?

Thanks!

[Damil4real]

@niki.c

Hey folks,

I originally registered for the FRM Part 1 session in Nov 2017, but decided to defer it as I somewhat underestimated the challenge and certain important matters came up in September (and lasted through November). Before temporarily quitting, I had gone through Book 1 and Book 2. I have resumed my studies and am midway through Book 3.

My studies so far have almost exclusively centred on the Schweser books. Occasionally I refer to some additional questions online from other sources, but Schweser is how I go through the materials in general.

My idea was to get through Book 3 by December and Book 4 by January. Then, having gone through the syllabus once, I plan to start doing questions aggressively and exclusively from February onwards.

I would love some comment/feedback on the viability of my study plan outline. Just for your information, I have a bachelor’s in Actuarial Science so I do have some grounding in statistics and even learned about Options/Futures etc, though frankly speaking the knowledge is fairly rusty now. I am also well-versed with the financial industry, especially in so far as equities are concerned as I work in the asset management industry at the moment.

I have some questions as follows:

1. Are Schweser books/materials good enough? How representative are the questions of the actual exam difficulty as compared to the end-of-chapter and end-of-book questions and the online question bank? Are the formulas and examples in the book sufficient to counter most questions? Varies. I used Schweser and GARP questions. I also watched videos that Bionic Turtle provides for free on Youtube. And I passed both parts. Understand the concept as opposed to cramming the formulas. GARP questions are better representation of the actual exam. Bionic Turtle questions are tougher than the actual exam.
2. Is it necessary to get the GARP reading material? No. I didn’t buy it.
3. How representative of the actual exam’s difficulty is the GARP practice paper? Pretty close. But can vary.
4. What kind of question bank, past year papers etc will you recommend me to focus on to be best prepared for the paper? GARP past exams > Bionic Turtle Questions > Schweser Questions.
5. If I have difficulty in certain topics (Swaps for example, really can’t wrap my head around it!), is it ok to skip these and focus on everything else, provided of course if it is just a couple of topics? You can always skip so you’re using your time efficiently, but go back to review so you don’t entirely ignore it. Analystforum website, Bionic Turtle website, Google or Youtube to get a better understanding of materials.
6. What would the actual passing mark be like (roughly)? Is it 70/100? 60/100? have no idea. i think 70 for GARP questions is pretty good.

Thanks!

Responses bolded above.

[dhavalgangar]

Hi,

Could you please share past GARP past exam / mock papers.

Thanks in advance.