Good morning , Good afternoon , Good evening , Namastay , Salam o Alykum , Bonjour , Ciao ! Guys first of all congratulations to all who passed Level 1 and wish you all the best with level 2. Finally after 3 years of watching this forum I managed to pass my university and I am a CFA candidate today. But the problem is due to my economic dificulties I am not able to buy schweser Notes and I am delivering News papers and working at a super market at the same time So I can buy Qbank next month So the question is Can I make it with just CFA Curriculum , I just got it two days before and my plan is to study 400 hours (100 hours p month) - Finish all the readings within October and and then mock/sample exams almost much of the Qbank in November. I have BBA with specialization in finance. So those of you have passed had same situation as me ? Or you think if this will work… Any suggestions will be appreciated
I think you will be fine. I have taught people from a variety of backgrounds across all three levels for almost 4 years now. If you have a background in accounting and finance, it really helps. I really admire your attitude and wish you the best of luck.
If you already read my other posts, you would know that I only studiedCFAI textbooks, and I passed My advice: Go through the CFAI texts, take note according to LOS, do all end of chapter questions, leave at least 1 month before exam day to review (for me, I just finished the books before exam date 3 days, and I even didn’t have time to review - and that made me not perform very well at the exam), do CFAI sample and mock exam
Going through the CFAI is the best way to approach the exam. Study seriously and go through everything and you will be fine.
First of all, I just want to say that I think your attitude is fantastic and if that level of enthusiasm spills over into your studying, you should be ok. It’s unfortunate that you are having problems paying for the Schweser materials. Although I did use them to pass level 1, I knew people who didn’t! I actually had friends who flat out refused to buy other materials. They had a dogged determination, just like you, and they passed with flying colors! Admittedly, the Schweser notes are useful, but I would like to point out that they should NOT be seen as a replacement for the CFA text. I have a degree in Economics and Finance, and I still found that the Schweser explanations were often confusing and I had to consult the CFA texts. Also, the Schweser notes are TERRIBLE for ethics! I would never use the Schweser texts for ethics preparation at all, and would advise against it. Overall, when I started my preparation for Level 1 June 2009 in November 2008, I did NOT own Shweser materials. I read the CFA texts because I did not want to buy even more books at a higher cost. I eventually caved because I didn’t have the time to study from the CFA text. However, come April and May 2009 I reverted back to the CFA for a lot of the material. Remember, there are PLENTY of people who pass without Schweser/Stalla and who do very well. If you are adamant that you want to use Schweser, that’s fine. But you CAN make significant progress simply using the CFA text, especially for Ethics, Quant, Equity and Fixed Income, and Corp. Finance. Good luck pal.
I did a lot of studying directly from the CFAI texts, and read them through twice. Remember, they are what the test is based off of, and the Schweser notes will omit stuff that will be on the test (not much, but a few questions). I used the Schweser notes, and they are definitely helpful, but they are not necessary. Qbank is good to have, but I didn’t use it mostly until the last few months, so not having it for a bit is fine. My one piece of advice about using the CFAI texts is to keep the LOS’s in perspective. The texts will go above and beyond what is necessary to pass, and gives you a lot of additional information. I don’t mean that you should write some info off as unimportant, but if you’re banging your head against the wall trying to remember the calculation for a pooled variance test, you’re putting yourself through unnecessary trouble, as the LOS’s only require interpretation, not calculation. Just keep that in mind, and it is a little easier wading through the 3000~ pages you’re about to read. Keep up the good attitude, and good luck.
I studied more then 400 hours cuz i didn’t know anything in finance, you will probably finish much sooner then me. just one advice : Read CFAI books but revising from CFAI books is awefully painful, so make notes and better prepare yourself to revise from schweser so follow that. And yeah do schweser Q-Bank as much as you can !
Sir, Your attitude is admirable indeed. I know several people who have studies exclusively from the texts and done well on the exam. But you might want to check these guys out. They post a new reading almost every week for free. I’ve read their options and taxes readings and theyre better than Schweser’s for sure. Be your own judge www.elanguides.com/samples.php
Thanks very much fellows for the help and nice words. Yes thats true life hasn’t been so easy I am an self finance student in one of the worlds most expensive city and graduated from its most expensive business school >-0:) . Even though I got into master programme but I know what CFA can teach me no other master can teach me and my passion is Investments this is what i sleep i drink and I eat… Thanks for the reply… Now I made my plan and I already finished my Study Session 1 for FRA (I started on it - Because I like it)… I made great notes and this is what I will keep following and I will publish them on internet so anyone can have a great review of all sessions - and I can guarantee they will be better than schweser notes :P~~ since many like me can’t afford to buy them. Best of luck with your preperation
You most certainly can get through with just the CFAI texts but it is also easy to get bogged down in their breadth. Use the LOS as a careful guide to filter out what is important v. what is not. Also be on the lookout for used Schweser stuff which can come at a steep discount from those of us who have no further use for the books. I’m putting mine on ebay or Amazon this week.