CSC coves a lot and text book has about 800 pages. It’s as hard as CFA LEVEL I. It costs $165 to retake it if I don’t pass it. I am so nervous now. Any tips for the exam? What should I pay attention to on the day of exam?
take as many practice questions as you can… guaranteed that some will reappear with the numbers changed… at least that’s what happened when i took the test some years back
Answers: Yes, you can use baII. Don’t sweat it, as long as you study, you will pass. Thousands (tens of thousands have). Get a good night’s sleep on the day of the exam. That’s about all.
Thanks darkhelmet & FourCastles. You guys are great!
“It’s as hard as CFA LEVEL I” No its not! Compared to the CFA its a walk in the park.
The CSC check that you can order online is very similar to the real exam, you order it through CSI institute and it shows up under your online profile. I think it is like 100 bucks though…I found it helpful. Overall CSC is not even remotely close to as hard as CFA level 1 though, there is no comparison.
TheDubs Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The CSC check that you can order online is very > similar to the real exam, you order it through CSI > institute and it shows up under your online > profile. I think it is like 100 bucks though…I > found it helpful. Overall CSC is not even remotely > close to as hard as CFA level 1 though, there is > no comparison. Waste of money, imo (csc check). get the csc fast track study guide, you should be able to find it for 40 bucks (or i can sell you mine). Lots of questions and they’re pretty indicative of what the exam is like. I found it to be helpful, whereas the csc check seemed rather easy from some of the questions that i saw (similar to the one’s that are already included with your online lesson thing). PS you don’t need any special calculator. I went in with some regular scientific calculator and was fine. I didn’t use it much. Might as well get the BAIIplus anyways though if you’re planning on doing the CFA.
Try Oliver’s CSC study notes.
compared to the CFA, the csc is a joke.
Don’t we all wish the CFA was as easy as the CSC… Also, I wouldn’t even bother with CSC check - I was worried before I wrote the first one since I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I stuck to the practice questions on the website - you’ll find that they borrow quite a few questions on the exam from there. The CSC only requires a basic knowledge of the topics covered - exam 1 when I took it this year was a bit more calculation-based, while exam 2 was more theoretical - I think thats mostly due to the way the topics are split up though. It’s really quite easy though and a good primer or your CFA studying. Just read the books once and you’ll do fine (they’re a fairly easy read too).
Bahahahaha… CSC as hard as Level I CFA… that’s a good one. I take it you haven’t written either of them? Take it from someone who has written and passed both (one more easily than the other), that the CSC is not even in the same ballpark as the CFA. I would MAYBE compare one of CSI’s designations (either CIM or DMS) to be a similar amount of studying as for just one level of CFA, and even so, the CSI exams don’t cover and test the material to near the depth of a CFA exam… not even close. Good luck on the CSC exam, but if are finding it that hard after writing one of the exams then I would strongly urge you to reconsider your CFA plans and save yourself some frustration and heartache…
hahah this thread is awesome, CSC is a waste of money. I think every 12th grader in Canada has it.
I don’t even think I used a calculator for either of the CSC tests. I know for the second test, I definitely forgot my calculator and borrowed one from an invigilators.
I will say that CSC and the various CSI courses are awfully pricey if your employer isn’t paying for them… where does all of that money go? Does anyone know?
drugs, my friend, drugs …
Yeah it’s very pricey. I just finished CSC volume 1. Just like everyone has his or her own opinion about the prices of stocks, I think CSC volume 1 is as hard as CFA level 1 and it’s not a joke for me and that makes me a contrarian, sort of.
cfafrank Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yeah it’s very pricey. I just finished CSC volume > 1. Just like everyone has his or her own opinion > about the prices of stocks, I think CSC volume 1 > is as hard as CFA level 1 and it’s not a joke for > me and that makes me a contrarian, sort of. Uh …have done the CFA level 1 ?? No offence but ur far from a contrarian … The entire CSC 1 is probably equivalent to 1 SS of the CFAI curriculum
cfafrank Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yeah it’s very pricey. I just finished CSC volume > 1. Just like everyone has his or her own opinion > about the prices of stocks, I think CSC volume 1 > is as hard as CFA level 1 and it’s not a joke for > me and that makes me a contrarian, sort of. A delusional contrarian perhaps. The cirirculum as set out by the CFAI and the CSI is a stated fact and not subject to anyone’s opinion. I just wasted 10 minutes of my life scanning through my old CSC books to see if your post had any merit… Honestly, have you even taken a look at the level 1 material?
While I’m not arguing that the CSC is much easier than the CFA (I’m set to write L1 in June), I do know a lot of people that have failed the volume 1 exam. I’ve also heard through the grapevine that the passing rate for volume 1 (it’s not something that’s published) is somewhere around 60-65%, so a good chunk of people fail as well. That being said, the CSC doesn’t have any kind of education/job experience requirement in order to enrol like the CFA does, so I imagine the ‘talent pool’ writing the CSC isn’t as serious and educated as the CFA candidates, which could account for why the passing rates aren’t as high as one might think. It’s still funny though, I’ve seen on other discussion boards some people with BA’s and such stating that the CSC exams were the hardest exams they had ever written, which made me laugh. I crammed the CSC for the most part within 2 weeks for each exam (80% of the course), and the prior two weeks I took it easy (so around 20%). I did buy that fast track study guide and found it helpful, but I didn’t get a chance to review much. I think I spent about 10 hours for each exam to review (definitely could have used more). I know I’ll get my arse handed to me if I even attempt to take a simliar approach with the CFA level 1 exam, I’m very well aware.
If you think CSC is hard, I don’t think you are ready for the CFA, or ever will be.