Anyone else know their study time?

At about 220 hours after this past weekend, where I mean if I sit down and take a 15 minute AF/internet break or bathroom break it’s removed from my time. I finished the curriculum sometime around the 125-150 hour mark. I need to reread GIPS but other than that I’m at the point where I know what I need to sharpen up and memorize, which is good (I think). How many hours have you put in? When did it all start making sense to you?

I also use a stopwatch for my study hours, and have put in 170 hours as of now. I would say I am a favorite to pass, scoring above 75% on all mocks at this point. Plan for the final ten days is to get in another 40-50 hours on a couple more mocks and polishing up all areas.

Good luck Jsobes!

Oh, and completed the curriculum in about 100-110 hours for what it’s worth. Next 60-70 has been used on mocks and problems.

275.5 hours as of Sunday evening

I don’t know how to use my watch. It’s just a fashion statement. What I don’t like in watches is the analogy to the story of the tortoise and the hare. The big heavy needle goes faster than the small and light needle. In real life the tortoise story is a BS. I dunno why the inventor of the watch wanted to deliberately infuse such a philosophical concept in his invention. This was too much and not needed. 99% of smart people are dumb. (I’ve been watching Fox News for the past hour).

You guys seem wealthy. Your watches can get you more than 200. Mine can just read up to 12.

i’m around 260 hrs at this point, plan to do another 50 or so before 6/6. i did 350hrs last yr (failed band 9).

Bout 320.

Just wondering what you did differently this time around? 350 hours is some serious study time and you seem to know your stuff, shocked it didn’t work.

Up to 372 now. Will prob get another 40 hours on top of that.

Caveat is that a lot of that study has been crap quality (flashcards on train, questions at my desk looking over shoulder for the boss) and also I tend to round up (so if I do 25 mins I call it 30 mins) so actually probably a fair away off that in proper study time.

Yeah I’m wondering too, that’s insane

yeah 350hrs is a ton, and it felt like a ton for sure. if i had to sum up or pick two or three things i am doing differently this time around: knowing the material more in depth, studying the seemingly not-so-important stuff, and not taking L3 lightly. last year, i felt i knew “enough” to pass. i knew the Fed model, Taylor Rule, knew the IPS stuff cold, knew how to calculate the duration of swaps… BUT, i didn’t know it inside and out. I did a lot of review but i didn’t do enough questions/practice.

This year, I was not moving on until I knew something inside and out. I know the Taylor rule, for example, but more importantly, I want to know the 10 different ways it could be asked and how to answer it (this comes from knowing it, obviously, then doing a ton of CFAI questions). Same with swaps, IPS, etc. I did a ton more questions so far this go around: I did every EOC question this year (all of the MC questions at least twice), last year I did maybe half of them once, and this year I did all of the CFAI online assessments. Although some might feel it’s a waste of time, it helped drill down on the material, while also seeing CFAI-like questions and how the material is asked (which is why I am not a fan of doing Finquiz or Schweser questions).

So, sorry for rambling…i guess my advice to those taking L3 for the first time: don’t take L3 for granted. I kinda did last yr (it was hard not to when i was told by many ppl it’s easier than L2 - having gone through it, I would argue otherwise). second, if you don’t know something, figure it out. do not move on, do not pass go or collect $200 until you know it inside and out. if you don’t know how to rebalance a portfolio using futures, do not think “my time is better spent elsewhere” - figure it out, and do not move on until you have it down cold. finally, practice what you know. if you haven’t already, do all the EOC MC questions and as many practice exams as you can. it’s one thing to watch Peyton Manning show you how to throw a football; it’s another thing going out and doing it 50 times yourself. that mindset has helped me know what i know now. there’s still a lot i don’t know, but i’ll keep that mindset going the next 9 days as i master this material…and hopefully pass.

I didn’t keep track - but it was a lot for sure. Probably 15 hours a week for 4 months, or so. Then 20 hours a week for the last 2. With the week off before - looking to clock around 60-70 hours there alone. Keep on keepin’ on.

This is an awesome response man, thanks so much. I’ve been doing a lot of notecards and I’m a very conceptual person, but I’ve been memorizing a lot. I haven’t done many EOCs, but I’m doing ok on the previous CFAI exams. I was debating what to do with my spare time (I still need to read GIPS) but I think you helped be decide that I’m going to go all out on old exams and the 2015 CFAI materials.

JuniorCk8 - thanks for the detailed reply, very helpful. You seem 100% on top of it this round.

JSobes - you eluded to it, but yes i would recommend doing more practice questions (don’t be afraid to do a lot of CFAI MC questions, that’s where you’ll master the material i think). while it’s important to practice the AM session, do not overlook the PM. If i did better on the PM last yr (i’d guess i scored in the low 60s per my result breakdown), i wouldnt be sitting with you guys on 6/6. you may have heard this on other threads on this blog, but the goal of test day is to get through the AM session and kill the PM session - i agree 100% with that.

TheSong - thanks! i’ve never felt this “good” about any of the levels, and it actually scares me.

I keep track of my “actual” study time, i try to deduct day dreaming as much as possible. that being said i’ll sum it for each month.

January = 23 hrs 39 minutes

February = 58 hrs 49 minutes

March = 80 hrs 46 minutes

April = 60 hrs 49 minutes

May so far = 77 hrs 33 minutes

If I keep pace i’ll do another 70 hours before the test and be close to 375 hours.

Thanks JuniorCk8. Great reply indeed. I’ll be sure to spend at least a few hours a day from now on just on CFAI MC Qs.