can i study with 2005 notes?

hi guys i’m a newbie here and i’m planning to take the L1 in dec 2010. my friend gave me free notes and practice exams, but there are from 2005. Can i use them? or does CFA change their curriculum a lot? I’ll appreciate any comments/ advice. Thanks a lot!

You can start using these notes (from 2005) if you plan on studying for the 2011 exam (which would be a reasonable time frame given how many hours you’ll need to put down). Once the “current” notes are out (for 2011 it’ll be around October) my advice is you buy new notes and throw the old notes away. You should in my opinion only use these old notes to get a grasp of the overall picture and a general feeling for what you’re up against, and not use them as a serious study tool. The curriculum is changed every year and various texts are added and others are shifted out.

You can use them as long as you keep checking with the 2010 Curriculum to ensure that you cover all the material. I wouldn’t advise it though.

Ditch them. I wouldn’t use any material older than '09. There have been quite a few changes to IFRS and GAAP since then. You might as well start studying with the latest notes.

jcyt - i ll give you a help if you want. Just send me your email address.

I agree w/chuckrox8 A lot changes from year to year. It’s better to spend the money for the newer stuff. You have plenty of time until the December exam.

You can not study with 05 notes. Your throwing away $800 and months of your life. Get real, and get the new notes.

In addition to everything already mentioned, the questions in 2008 and before had four answer choices. Since they changed to three in '09, I’m pretty sure they had to change the format of some of the questions. Elans guides are only $50 if you are tight on money and they aren’t bad.