skillionaire Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > You’ll be fine, dude. > > I put in 150-200 hours (ballpark, as I would > always stop keeping track) for each level and > passed I and II pretty easily. > > It’s not as hard as some people would have you > believe, especially with a decent background. > > I’m giving you an 85% shot if you stick to your > studies. Wow you are smart, dude. I put in over 400 hours for L1 but passed easily. For L2, i doubt i’d reach even 300 hours and having a very negative feeling.
Drz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Would you rate these exams as difficult as > > the actuarial exams. I definitely do. > > Come exam day, I sat down, opened the exam > booklet, and the difference hit me like a ton of > bricks. Even though the *material* was roughly > the same, the questions asked by the CFA were > much, much easier. There’s rarely a > straightforward question on an actuarial exam. > You have to really know the minute details of > every topic. But there were very few CFA Level I > questions that really dug deep into the material. > I wanted to write additional details in my exam > booklet because the questions all seemed so > straightforward. “Here are all the ways to adjust > for diluted shares, since you didn’t ask about > it…” > Hahaha. There are some sections [the parts of Equity that I consistently do well on, some of Fixed Income] where I have this urge as well. “LISTEN, CFAI, YOU DIDN’T ASK FOR ANYTHING REGARDING ADDING ALPHA VIA TAX-EFFICIENT REBALANCING IN A FLAT/DECLINING MARKET, BUT IMMA DO THIS FOR YOU SINCE I KNOWS IT.” Maybe I’ll just write it in the margins of my exam book. They’d probably appreciate it.
I’m an FSA also studying for Level II. I’ve been at it since the beginning of March, and my study schedule should end up at about 225-250 hours. I agree with most of the other posters about CFA vs. Actuarial exams: -CFA covers more topics in an exam -FSA exams go into much more depth -FSA exam questions are never straightforward -CFA exam - hoping as straightforward as I found Level I!! I think the exam itself is one of the key differences. The FSA exams purposefully try to screw you up, and in the m/c questions, the plant all the most predictible mistakes as the other answers. Lots of twists and complexities added. The CFA exam was more straightforward at Level I and I pray it’s like that for Level II. I’ve found studying for Level II to be about as stressful as an actuarial exam, though, because I’m putting in the same number of hours, and worry constantly that I’ve forgotten what I knew last week! So many tidbits of information. I don’t feel confident at all, but I passed all but on of my FSA exams on the first try as well as Level I on my first try so I’m hoping that helps my chances. As for the OP, I think if you can cram a lot into those 40 days, then you’ll stand a good chance. My schedule is such that about 3/4 of my total hours are ending up in the last 40 days (about 175 hours). Good luck everyone and this is your LAST WEEKEND STUDYING!!
So this is where all the actuaries hang… I started studying for this one after taking C/4 on May 1st. Either way, I can’t wait for June 6th. Good luck math ninjas, I know I’ll need more than my fair share of it.
Figured I should bump this for completeness. I failed. Band 9. I studied pretty hard for the 40 days, but it wasn’t enough. Another two weeks would’ve gone a long way and possibly been enough to pass, because there were a good number of questions on topics that I didn’t fully cover due to time constraints. So my final verdict is, 40 days is only enough if you’re a very smart person. Two months is an absolute minimum for the average exam taker to have a good shot.
Drz, you are either a genius or a mad man, nothing in between. I admire you for your confidence and clear cut plan. I must say if you hack it the way you plan to, you deserve to write a book and share you secrets. For me, I am no genius but I am one of the most hardworking people you will ever come a across. I am resitting Level 2 again. Last outing I did not deserve to pass because I did not put in the hours required. So, this is my stategy: >Ensure I put in at least two hours every week day & eight hours on the weekend. >Read,make short notes & do EOC questions from September to end of March. >For this month I am going through Schwesser Level 1 notes to refresh myself. >Will also employ audio notes for use when I am in transitting from home to work and back and when I am working out. >Will not read in order but rather alternate among all subjects. That is one study session per subject then move to the next subject and do one study session and move to the next subject. I will do this so I can get a feel of all materials. Will also always do a refresher with audio notes once I return to do the next study session in the specific subject. >From April to D-day I will read schwesser summarized notes, ran through the audio notes, do EOC questions again, schwesser practise exams , & MOCKS exams. >Plan to get at least 15 days of my work leave to maximize the last days to D-day. With this I should be able to cover close to 500 hours of study between September and March. My only concern is, BURNOUT & INFROMATION OVERLOAD!!! Your thoughts?
Drz Sorry to learn that you failed after that spirited battle But band 9 in LII for about 40 days work? - that is a genius at work Best of luck next June Just one point, so you are saying the actuarial exams the hardest tests you have ever had to take?
DRZ I am extremely sorry that you failed. I have an actuarial background as well and I passed this baby on my second attempt. I just want to say, and do not take this the wrong way , that actuaries tend to take CFA exams very lightly and say how easy it is. I guess that may be why you thought you would have aced it with 40 days, while the humans like me studied for 4-5 months. Any way I am not hitting at you but passing these exams, in my opinion require just as much discipline as any actuarial exam. Good Luck.
40 days totally doable…that’s about how long it took me. I would just try to grasp the basic concepts and do practice exams like crazy.
Good luck to you , but probably won’t pass. If you are basing this plan on Level 1 know that Level 1 is CAKE. As someone who takes this profession and Charter thing seriously…on one hand I must say I am disappointed in the “pass test” focus v. learning focus. On the other hand, as a competitor in the workplace, I am encouraged. -3 for 3, and worked my ass off for it