1 Month Study Plan Advice

Hey guys, so I’m taking level I this December and I would just like to get some advice on the best way to utilize the remaining time I have to study. I started studying about two months ago by reading the books font to back, and realized a little too late that this was a terrible strategy (too much material, not absorbing it all). With that said, what would be your suggestion on the best way to study from here until test day considering the following: Havent read fixed incom/port mgmt/alt investments yet, have dont concept Q bank quizs on Study Session 1-12, and haven’t yet taken a practice exam. I’m starting to get a little stressed about how much material is left, so any advice/opinions/suggestions/anything would be very helpful. Thanks for your time and I wish everyone luck with their studies and on the exam. Thanks again

One Month Plan: 1.) Establish your problem areas- for me right now this area is quant. I have not looked at it in four months and need to go over it. This was my plan from the start because its all formulas and don’t want to waste my time memorizing things I am going to forget. 2.) I have taken the next month off work which is huge for me. I am going to go over concepts in the morning and then do practice exams in the evening. I will use this process to figure out which sections I need more help on. 3.) Try and know the big sections. For example alternative investments is 4 questions on the exam. Accounting is 23… so make sure you know the larger weighted sections. 4.) Use your time wisely. At this point I would try and re read books. I would get a secret sauce or similar type package and solidify concepts. This exam is so specific. Knowing is not nearly enough, you need to know every detail down to the penny.

Thanks for the great comment! Wow, a month off from work…very lucky. I took off the last couple days of Nov. including half day on day after Thanksgiving (market closes at 1 pm)…hopefully that’s enough. I definitely have spent the most time on accounting and corp fin, and less so on econ (i was an econ major). Would you recommend I take a practice exam now to see my problem areas currently even though I have not covered fixed income/port mgmt/alt inv rather than my prior knowledge? Anyway, thanks for the response and I hope some more fellow analysts will add to the discussion…this is definitely a good resource so far.

my advice - stop posting comments and checking this website and get to work. hate to break it to you, but you sound very unprepared and have 3 and half weeks to go. You need to start reading, doing practice questions, and mock exams asap.

Well maybe I exaggerated exactly how unprepared I am…I’ve covered all topics, just not in complete 100% detail. I also came to this site to seeking realistic advice…I know that in hindsight I wish I started a month earlier, but I didn’t, so now I’m asking for some advice on the best plan going forward. Telling me to stop posting and checking the site (im not, i get email updates on my phone) is not very helpful. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that I needed some advice…IMO, I don’t have time to simply start reading, doing practice question, and mock exams…I’ve been doing that, but now I need to create a specific and concise study plan for the time I have left. Sorry if I sound a little defensive, but constructive advice is much appreciated. Respect the honesty though Johnnyboy.

Here is a review process before taking the exam. At this time, I would focus your time on CFAI material only as suggested below. CFAI Mock and Sample exams, not Schweser. use the last 4 weeks to: 1. review all summaries from all books 2. redo all exercices from all books 3. perform mock-exams 4. review your areas of weaknesses (identified with mock-exams and redone exercices) 5. perform sample exams 6. review all summaries from all books 7. you’re ready!