I did with schweser only 
Passed all three levels with schweser only. It is possible. But I read through the books at least three times cover to cover
I read Schweser + solved EoC questions. Understanding the level, language & difficulty of EoCs was the key. Did them a few times.
Like others have posted, I used Schweser to learn the material (all topics except some FRA), then did the Schweser practice problems (much easier than the CFAI ones), then went on to do the CFAI EOC problems. I hardly read any of the content in the CFAI texts - it was too drawn out and I didnāt find I needed that. Some might though - itās all up to the individual. Also, I read Ethics from the source because I didnāt want to risk that one.
Just to add, the QBank is uselessā¦ The mocks are good but some questions are ridiculously tough & complex. Youāll probably never find such questions in any CFAI examā¦
I used Schweser notes only to pass just this June. Theyāre good =P Never opened the CFAI books. Too boring.
I passed L2 this year using only Schweser and doing no CFAI EOC questions. Just a few mocks and about 100 Q-Bank questions. āBand 11ā pass with four sections >70 and six sections 50-70. I didnāt encounter anything on the test not in Schweser except some Ibbotsen-Chen obscurity that apparently had a different name in Schweser. Based on the test itself and other posters, I would have been A LOT more comfortable on test day had I added the EOC questions to my study cycle. I had a working and conversational knowledge of all the topics but not enough practice. Iāll definitely do EOC for L3!
I too passed both L1 & L2 using Schweser notes onlyā¦didnāt even open the box they sent the CFAI book inā¦didnāt attempt a single EOC question and didnāt try a single mock examā¦i utilized my time revising the notes as many times as possibleā¦ its true that on level 2 exam day, i had to deal with three or four question in total that looked all Greek to me but otherwise i didnāt face any problemā¦i read 3 hours every day for last five weeks before the examsā¦had i taken the CFAI text routeā¦i donāt think that iād be able to just go through the entire material at least once in such a short timeā¦i am not suggesting you to put only 100 hrs of effort in preparing for L2 examā¦ i managed it pull it through in five weeks only (3 hours a day) because it was my second attempt and i remembered almost 50% of what i studied last year (in 2009 i studied for 3 hours a day for last 3 months b4 exam)ā¦ I intend to start studying a little early this year for L3, i.e. in Decemberā¦but i donāt know yet that will i be using Schweser only this timeā¦in L3 fourm people advice to use CFAI text only and that Schweser notes are not help full at allā¦but i know bunch of guys who cleared their L3 exams using Schweser onlyā¦ my final words for L2 takers this yearā¦donāt waste time using CFAI textā¦its lengthy and boringā¦Schweser is the easy way to successā¦covers everything nicely almost completelyā¦and even if Schweser leaves some topics outā¦there is no harm in bumping in to two three questions out of 120 that look totally alien to youā¦
yo yo yo
wiqi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I too passed both L1 & L2 using Schweser notes > onlyā¦didnāt even open the box they sent the CFAI > book inā¦didnāt attempt a single EOC question > and didnāt try a single mock examā¦i utilized > my time revising the notes as many times as > possibleā¦ > > its true that on level 2 exam day, i had to deal > with three or four question in total that looked > all Greek to me but otherwise i didnāt face any > problemā¦i read 3 hours every day for last > five weeks before the examsā¦had i taken the > CFAI text routeā¦i donāt think that iād be able > to just go through the entire material at least > once in such a short timeā¦i am not > suggesting you to put only 100 hrs of effort in > preparing for L2 examā¦ i managed it pull it > through in five weeks only (3 hours a day) because > it was my second attempt and i remembered almost > 50% of what i studied last year (in 2009 i > studied for 3 hours a day for last 3 months b4 > exam)ā¦ > > I intend to start studying a little early this > year for L3, i.e. in Decemberā¦but i donāt know > yet that will i be using Schweser only this > timeā¦in L3 fourm people advice to use CFAI > text only and that Schweser notes are not help > full at allā¦but i know bunch of guys who > cleared their L3 exams using Schweser > onlyā¦ > > my final words for L2 takers this yearā¦donāt > waste time using CFAI textā¦its lengthy and > boringā¦Schweser is the easy way to > successā¦covers everything nicely almost > completelyā¦and even if Schweser leaves some > topics outā¦there is no harm in bumping in to > two three questions out of 120 that look totally > alien to youā¦ Hmmmā¦ you passed the exam after the 2nd attempt using Schweser only but your final words for Level 2 takers is to use Schweser only. Let anyone who does NOT have a background in finance and does not hold a job in finance and has average intelligence and passed all levels of the CFA exam using Schwser only with one attempt each speak up and I will forever remain silent. Okay let me rephrase thatā¦ let anyone who does NOT have a background in finance and does not hold a job in finance and passed Level two of the CFA exam using Schwser only after one attempt speak up and I will forever remain silent. We should be very careful the way we dish out advice.
I passed this year on my first attempt quite comfortably using schweser + CFAI EOC questions only. I donāt have a finance backrground and my work is not finance related. However, I cannot guarantee the same for everyone. It all depends on your own strength as well. But my general advice is that, focus on the big picture first (reading the CFAI text can easily make a person lose focus because of the level of details in it). Once you have mastered the core concepts, then you can start digging into more details. One more thing, start as early as you can. If you get burnt out, take a few days break to recharge. In my opinion, you can never start too early. Good luck.
Looks like some people are very opinionated mmmm. timotimo I donāt think you will be hiring anybody any time soon. With your arrogance, you will surely be a master market timer!
I did but I donāt think itās the wisest thing to do. Make sure you at least skim the CFAI notes. There was at least one question in equities that referred to a calculation that Schweser did not mention in their notes. It was only as I had come across it previously that I knew what they were referring to. Start with the CFAI - Schweser wonāt have the notes ready until the end of Oct at the very earliest. A quick read of CFAI canāt do any harm, followed by Schweser etc.
Yip, here is one. First attempt.
Passed using Schweser for 95% of the material. Used the video CDs, Books, Qbank, and mocks. Only thing I used CFAI for was ethics - read that section end to end two days before the exam (in addition to my schweser prep for ethics) just to feel like I had it buckled down. Passed L2 on first attempt in June. As Iāve said in a more complete post somewhere else, Schweser is not made to save you time. It simply saves you headache, in my opinion, because the books are presented better, written better, and through things like the Qbank + notes + videos, youāre learning in different modes and more likely to make concepts āstickā. If you are looking to Schweser to try and save you time, Iād say donāt bother. You still need to put in the hours - the hours (for me at least) are just a lot less sucky.
Passed with Schweser only. Did not touch the CFAI textbooks, except for the Ethics portion. Got >70% on all topics, so i believe its highly possible to pass using Schweser only.
Passed L1 and L2 solely using Schweser. Never touched Qbank nor EOC. Did like 2 or 3 practice exams in total for all the levels. I have the CFA Curriculum still sealed for all the three Levels butā¦ I FAILED L3 just recently (I deserved it) and would like to give out the advise not to underestimate any of the exams. There is nothing wrong with preparing as much as possible. Some people pass with Schweser only but any risk taken can go the wrong side. I will study my a$$ of to not fail next June. Just wanna get it over with and I had to learn there is rarely shortcuts to studying this. I will also try to read at least some of the curriculum this time.