I think it’d be useful to have a thread where all the upcoming December testers could ask you veterans questions while you’re still around. My first question is about study materials. When you enroll does the CFAI include enough sample questions/exams or is it recommended to get the Qbank and practice exams from Schweser? The Schweser essential pack is almost $600, and that’s on top of the $1000 enrollment fee from CFAI… Thanks for your answers and everyone else post your questions here!
i put in about 150+ very hard studying hours using purely schweser (with very little reference to the cfai text)…i left feeling very confident. all depends on ur background though. If you choose the schweser, go with the essential pack.
I’m a Finance major, Accounting minor, in my last year of Undergrad… to give some background. I’m guessing you can’t resell a subscription to the Qbank… Kinda sucks since the Qbank costs $450 and the essential pack costs 600. Did anyone get the Qbank on CD instead of online?
get the schweser essential pack. i am 100% satisfied with it. as far as your background is concerned, only you will be able to know how much studying you have to do after you flip through the material.
I think you should ask this question once the exam results are released, so you know whether you are getting feedback from someone who passed/failed. I used CFA texts, CFA samples and mocks. I also used QBank, which I was pleased with expect for reliability issues with Schweser’s website.
What about just CFAI curriculum (those 6 Volumes), are they not enough + sample/mock exams to practice? Do I necessarily need Shweser Qbank?
I am taking the test in December as well, started the CFAI books about 3 weeks ago and purchased the qbank pro (not the essential pack) last week because I realized very quickly that I needed all the questions I could get. If you have a background in finance/accounting, you will notice that reading the material gets you nowhere b/c you read a few pages and recognized the concepts, but without practicing tons of questions it doesn’t really stick. Or maybe that’s just me… I know I was dead set against buying anything on top of the CFAI books in the beginning, and I can’t speak from experience bc I haven’t taken the test yet, but these LOS readings and quizzes are a must have. That’s how I study now.
jpfwildcat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am taking the test in December as well, started > the CFAI books about 3 weeks ago and purchased the > qbank pro (not the essential pack) last week > because I realized very quickly that I needed all > the questions I could get. If you have a > background in finance/accounting, you will notice > that reading the material gets you nowhere b/c you > read a few pages and recognized the concepts, but > without practicing tons of questions it doesn’t > really stick. Or maybe that’s just me… > > I know I was dead set against buying anything on > top of the CFAI books in the beginning, and I > can’t speak from experience bc I haven’t taken the > test yet, but these LOS readings and quizzes are a > must have. That’s how I study now. Thanks JPF… I think I’d better get the Qbank since I learn better from problems as well. Now I only wish I could buy it secondhand…