CFA texts and own notes?

I just started studying saturday and spent about 4 hours each day so far studying. Ive been reading over the material once, then taking notes, but it seems to be way too time consuming taking all the notes. how are you guys going about this? are some of you actually reading through the CFAi texts and taking notes as you go? What do you think is best? a. read through CFAi text and take notes as I go (to later review 4-6 weeks out) b. read through CFAi text then order study notes from like schweser or something to study after Im done reading c. your opinions? you think its best to read through the material (highlighting some items) and then worry about study notes after that?

Im reading and taking notes from Schweser and doing Qbank problems at the end of each topic. Im not touching CFAI text apart from ethics. There’s not enough time in the day to read CFAI text, let alone take notes from it!

if i decide to read the CFAi texts and not take notes…is it safe to then order the schweser notes after im done reading and then use that as a review?

Hell, cccafrey if you read the CFAI notes just take a few notes down as flashcards/underline as you go along!!It’s a lot safer aand less time consuming than going through a fresh set of notes… No harm as such except that it’s a fresh perspective on a specific text which is not always helpful but is invariably time consuming. :slight_smile: My $0.02…

I’ve been reading the CFAi texts and taking my own notes (usually about 1-2 pages per reading). I find writing out summaries of the concepts forces me to actively think about the subject rather than memorize a few high level concepts. Granted, I started studying in November. If I were starting studying now, I’d ditch the CFAi texts and go with Schweser. But if you have the time, getting the fuller concept through the CFA texts should also better position you for levels 2 and 3 as concepts continue to build.

I took notes throughout the quant section and although it was helpful, it just takes way too much time. I’m onto economics right now and I’m abstaining from note taking. That being said, I fully believe that given the amount of material presented in the CFAI texts, it is impossible to fully prepare for the exam by simply taking the end of chapter questions and the one sample exam offered in the package. The reason for this is that I found that after reading the CFA material my level of comprehension / retention is not as great as I would have hoped. The material appears to have greater depth to it than at first glance. The only way to combat this is through the QBank offered by Schweser…I hope!.

You could buy the pre-printed Schweser flashcards! Those hit a lot of the main points. The front mentions the LOS and explains it. The back gives a short answer to it… I am reading the Schweser study notes, and flipping through the reading in the CFAI text simultaneously, and then putting additional Figures, Examples, and Charts on the front of the LOS. This way, you can try to “memorize” the flashcards during down time…

I have been reading the CFAI texts and doing the example problems as I go. I am finding that the problems at the end of each of the reads are taking me longer and longer to do. I can’t waste 3 days on 21 problems. What shoud I purchase? I just have the CFAI books right now, and I was planning on reading all the books and then at the end of each book going back and writing out what I highlighted. I am only on reading 8 right now. Does anyone have any better ideas?

is a good idea to read through the CFAi books then buy the schweser notes as review? like say read through all the books all feb. and march, and then spend all april doing the notes and then have may to review everything by taking exams and such?

ccaffrey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > is a good idea to read through the CFAi books then > buy the schweser notes as review? like say read > through all the books all feb. and march, and then > spend all april doing the notes and then have may > to review everything by taking exams and such? I tried this method for the level 1 exam, and while I passed, I think that my time would have been better spent reading the Schweser notes more and doing more practice questions. I basically forgot everything I had read after going through all of the CFAI texts. Schweser notes, qbank, book 6, CFAI text questions, and CFAI sample exams are, in my opinion, enough to pass. However, for Ethics I’d recommend studying the CFAI text as Schweser does a poor job of covering everything.

when you mean book 6? you mean book 6 from CFAi?

book 6 schweser practice exams…

Book 6 is now called Practice Exams Vol I, and Book 7 Practice Exams Vol. II. In case anyone was confused…

ok thanks guys. Im giong to finish up reading ethics out of CFAi and then order the schweser notes. Im going to give the notes a shot while skimming through the CFAi books (still in college w/ finance major so the ideas are fresh) and then towards the end order the sample exams. hopefully that works