sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^ > It is somewhat ambiguously worded. They seem to > imply total, but it could be interpreted as “per > level.” > > If a person fails a level the first time while > spending X hours, and they pass a subsequent time > while spending Y hours, they did NOT spend Y hours > studying, but rather, X+Y hours. > > Anyways, I am shooting for >70% in all sections of > all levels - this is a significantly harder goal > than squeaking by. I want to OWN the material and > not have it decay fast in my brain after the test. > I think many other perfectionists here can > understand that, especially the INTJs here. : ) man, this is a weird but so true. I wanna own this exam as well and wont rest until I do. I think being an INTJ is more of a curse than a blessing sometimes.
250 hours is not true…folks exaggerate and want to appear “smarter”…L2 is definately harder, I find myself reading less pages pe hour than I did in L1…not an accurate estimate that you need 250 hours for each level…I have spend more hours and am still behind…of course seriously worried, need to make compromises in my reading in the next few weeks. Almost giving up!! OMG…
not only does it take longer to get through each page, it is harder to retain the material since the material is more complex you can no longer rely on simple things like: - time value of money, - definitions, - nor stuff you picked up back in undergrad econ/finance classes CFA Level 2 is no joke
you have some guys that claim a ridiculously low number of hours for CFA Level 2, then digging a little deeper, you find some subset of the following: - they have an MS/MBA finance - they have worked for years - they have failed one or more times
Sub…I totally agree…how did you get to finish all these sections already, I know your goal is > 70 in all sections…dude, I am trying to suck it up, and do the readings at least once but at the same time don’t want to sacrifice review time at least for the sections I have already covered…worried I won’t get to PM and Alternative…any thoughts, anyone??? sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > not only does it take longer to get through each > page, it is harder to retain the material since > the material is more complex > > you can no longer rely on simple things like: > - time value of money, > - definitions, > - nor stuff you picked up back in undergrad > econ/finance classes > > CFA Level 2 is no joke
i started early - though wish now that there was no “interference” due to CAIA LI + CAIA LII in September and March (completed the program and now just need the work experience) i’m starting on CFA Level 3 right on Sunday after the exam - too much crap (life) can come up that can screw me over, I hear Level 3 is a BEAST looking through past posts, some guy called sh34 is on his 6th or 7th try on L3 BRACE YOURSELF EVERYONE (though I realize it is premature to be scared about L3 when we are tied up on the tracks and we can hear the L2 steam train coming our way)
you have to know FRA and Equity. Make sure you know these topics inside and out. My challenge (and probably the same for others) is reviewing material and feeling good about it, but then you leave it alone for a week or so and you’re back to square one. My plan of action is to ‘build up’ my review. That is, after I go through a topic (say Quant) and move onto a final reivew of Econ, I make sure I keep doing some questions on Quant everyday so I don’t lose it. Hopefully, I’m actually getting stronger on the topic because of continuous study. Even if its only 10, keep doing them every day. Then I move onto the next subject and so on. It’s certainly going to be difficult adding more topcs as we get closer to exam time, but this is the final push. Nobody wants to do this again. Good luck!
the trick is to peak leading up to the exam with the crest at 9 AM on exam day
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i started early - though wish now that there was > no “interference” due to CAIA LI + CAIA LII in > September and March (completed the program and now > just need the work experience) > > i’m starting on CFA Level 3 right on Sunday after > the exam - too much crap (life) can come up that > can screw me over, I hear Level 3 is a BEAST > > looking through past posts, some guy called sh34 > is on his 6th or 7th try on L3 > > BRACE YOURSELF EVERYONE (though I realize it is > premature to be scared about L3 when we are tied > up on the tracks and we can hear the L2 steam > train coming our way) Congrats on the CAIA. I took level one and passed a few years ago, but never sat for LII. I want to get through CFA before I worry about that one. I give you credit for starting on LIII the day after the LII exam–not because you’re starting early, but because you’d be doing it with a hangover.
I greatly enjoyed CAIA 1 and 2, it’s fun stuff, but nowhere near as hard as CFA 2. On another topic - retention is a huge deal. You can read stuff, have it make sense, and see it decaying at a high rate in real time. I think periodically skimming things helps, even if you think you know it.
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I greatly enjoyed CAIA 1 and 2, it’s fun stuff, > but nowhere near as hard as CFA 2. > > On another topic - retention is a huge deal. You > can read stuff, have it make sense, and see it > decaying at a high rate in real time. I think > periodically skimming things helps, even if you > think you know it. I don’t know about you, but re-reading, or skimming, a few times allows me to pick up new insights. It’s not just about picking up a point on the exam; it’s about real understading of the material (which leads to even more points).
definitely, there is no substitute for deep understanding and that is really the only way to ensure success on this monster some of the problems are so deep with so many twists and turns that your only defense is solid understanding memorization and tricks may pick up a few extra points IF you’ve already mastered the material, otherwise the points you gain from these are greatly swamped by the points you lose by not understanding this is in contrast to L1, where i think you can squeak by with more rote memorization and just background familiarity with the material
A good tip for passing any exam is to put 2or 2.5 xstated time. There was a tread on this forum after level 1 in 2008 where conclusion was that time estimates stated by exam test takers are biased and sometimes not realistic. So you should always use multiply (2x for woman’s statements) and (3x for man). So if somebody told that he/she put 200 hours and passed. It means that in fact he/she put 400-600 hours. Do not let them to mislead you.
Definitely true. This is what I wrote about the matter over a while back. : ) sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think good rules of thumb when reading anonymous > internet postings are: > - to multiply the number of hours that people > claim they study by an average of x1 = 2.0 > a) if the internet poster is male, x1 might even > be higher (testosterone bias). > b) if the internet poster is female, x1 tends to > be closer to 1 (no testosterone bias) > > Furthermore, probably safe to say that you should > multiply the number of hours recommended by the > actual testing institution by x2 = 2.0 to get a > truer figure.
People I know passed putting in just 300 hours. With extremely challenging jobs. Their strategy? More practice, less reading. Its about retention. And the more questions and from the more sources you do, the better. Good luck to everyone…
I have studied exactly 227 hours so far, and i doubt i will make it to 300. My hours were all distraction free, and i dont count hours where i get up and walk around for a minute, i always reset the clock… So i think i have 227 “quality hours” in. Again dont think I will get to 300, but still think i have a shot on test day… (66 and 56 on the 2 samples)… 3 weeks to learn some stuff to push me over that edge…
How do you track your hours that precisely? That seems like overkill to have to stop a timer every time you want to take a leak or look at some chick’s a$$
study in the kitchen mainly… Put the oven timer on… if i get up to piss or the phone rings, i look at the clock… and when i come back i just put the clock back to where it was when i got up… A lot of chicks dont walk thru the kitchen unfotunately…
what’s your weight?
zizoubleu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I don’t know about you, but re-reading, or > skimming, a few times allows me to pick up new > insights. It’s not just about picking up a point > on the exam; it’s about real understading of the > material (which leads to even more points). I have to keep telling myself this over and over again as we get closer. I keep thinking of ‘strategies’ to get quick points but have to stop myself . . . best method is a real understanding . . . and peaking the last week or two . . .