I am planning to take the CFA exam level one exam in Dec 2008. I do some research last week and I found that most of the people here recommed schweser notes. I went to schweser’s wbsite and I found that there are a lot of package. I am wondering which one I should purchase to prepare my level one exam. Thanks
i chose the essential package over the premium because i dont think i would use the online classes. thats basically the only difference between the two. just make sure you get the Qbank and practice exams. the study notes do a pretty good job of summarizing everything an in some cases, can help explain things in a different way than the CFAI cirriculum. I also got the secret sauce book because i have heard good things about it. its not included in the essential package, but everything else mentioned above is (except for the weekly online classes)
I also got the Essential package. Actually I haven’t used anything in the package so far except the study notes, but the practice exams & QBank will definitely come in handy later for review. Scot, you recommend buying the secret sauce? I looked at the sample version of it and it looks like a really BIG summary of each SS. Do you think there’s too much info on it to study from?
So basically I just need to purcahse the essential package and CFAI studying material for my CFA level one exam, right? What is the different between the CFAI textbook and the schweser notes in the essential package?
Scottrader, I read your post before: “First of all, CFAI should have sent you six books, not five. There are only five Schweser books though. I have read many threads related to your question and the general consensus seems to be that you should read ethics, quant, and FSA from the CFAI books and everything else from Schweser. I also recommend doing the do-it-yourself LOS cards because that really helps place it in your memory. I also agree with Chicagoist that you should just read everything. Why risk the time and effort and money, just to have to take it all over again because you were under prepared? I hear that many of the questions on the exam are taken directly from examples in the reading from CFAI. There are also many little topics in CFAI books that might not necessarily be on the exam (anything in hte text is fair game, but some things are just obviously not as important as others), but they are interesting to read nonetheless. I guess it just depends if you are just trying to pass the tests or if you actually want to be one of the best CFAs around once you pass the tests. I think a lot of the people who take the tests dont quite understand that its not just passing the tests that counts, but being able to apply the material in real life is what gets noticed the most.” I am wondering how can I purchase the CFAI textbook? You mention that CFAI will send me 6 books? Is the cost include in the registration fee when I apply for the exam? Btw, I am wondering how long you spend to prepare for your CFA level one exam per day? Since you know that working and studying at the same time is tough. Would you mind giving me some suggestions? Thanks
The enrollment fee includes the 6 CFA textbooks you need. The Schweser textbooks cover the exact same material in the same order, but is a condensed version of the CFA texts. The total recommended hrs of study is 250 - you can divide that up anyhow you like, depending on your schedule. I think most pple do 2~ hrs per night on weeknights & more (4~) on weekends. You should read the CFAI website & Schweser website more carefully bc your questions are very basic & can be easily answered by reading those two websites.
Thanks cfa08.
cfa08, i think that secret sauce will come in handy in the last week before the exam. it is basically the most condensed version of the material available. it doesn’t quite cover everything, but schweser makes inferences into what it thinks are the most important concepts and what will be on the test. its a handy book to have around while reviewing too because you dont have to go back and search through the original texts to find stuff. all in all, the $70 for the book is way overpriced, but i think its a good tool to have. i figured that i might as well buy it for level 1 and then make my decision for buying it for level 2 based on the usefulness for level 1. i also bought the LOS flashcards which i haven’t used at all yet, but also might be handy come review time