paper weights
Passed all 3 with Schweser. I used Schweser for 99% of my studying this year. Read a couple of short sections in the CFAI books and did some of their end of chapter questions. I think the CFAI books have way too much info.
Schweser Notes Problems assigned with CFAI readings Secret Sauce Passed L3 (65.7 MPS) on third try.
Apologies for the long post but here is my response to another post on repeat studying… Aloha, I failed in 2007 and was a 2008 repeat. Looking back, the difference between the previous 2 levels and when I failed L3 (and I think somebody mentioned it well here) was that L3 you really have to have a deep working knowledge of the subjects. You have to be able to recall and apply info out of thin air, whereas in multiple choice you can somewhat gauge what the response should be by looking at the answers. Again, my $0.02 only. But here’s what I did for what its worth… 1) 98% Schweser - reading a chapter, all end of chapter book problems as well as all Schweser Pro Q Bank questions (2,500 questions in all). Started in Dec 07 and finished with 6-7 wks left. 2) took ALL avail CFA mock/sample exams, including past years’ essays. I was scoring anywhere from mid 70s on the samples to around 65% on the mock. In general, it kept me honest and not too beaten yet not too cocky and I scored around there on the exam. 3) Took the Boston Society exam (that was made avail here in Hawaii) and smashed it so strongly I thought it was poorly constructed because I know I’m not that good. I’ve heard good things about the Bos exam however, such as that it was more difficult than the real exam. 4) Ran through some Schweser vids during the last 2 weeks, covering about 75% of the study sessions. There were some interesting morsels of info in the videos not in the Schweser notes that helped during the test. It helped to get a different take, other than reading pure text, particularly on difficult subjects. 5) Took 3 2008 Schweser exams. In my opinion, these were a LOT harder than anything else and I felt awful after them. I’d do well on a CFA mock, then take a Schweser and get a 55%. They were SO difficult, that I probably wouldn’t order all 9 of them (Online package, Vol 1, and Vol 2 each have 3) but direct energy and $$ towards old CFA material instead. Other tid bits: a) I thought Schweser was very good in helping nail down 90% of the material. However, the CFA sample exams threw some curves at me that were only in the CFA text books. Subjects like hedging, currency translation, returns on international assets I had to refer to CFAI books and it wasn’t until a day before the exam that I had even a general grasp of it. I was hoping I wouldn’t see anything too different than the sample exams. If I had to do it again, I would have finished reading earlier and saved more time to review the CFA texts as clarification. b) Schw Secret Sauce is ok for a big picture review. I used it more in the first 2 levels than L3. Their Cheat Sheet was not that important to me since we have fewer formulas than the other two levels. c) You HAVE to practice essay responses. Not so much as in time yourself, altho that probably cant hurt, but be able to shoot the answer out in a few bullets. Be able to answer “what is this stupid question asking” and then “what are the three/four bullet points I need to nail to get full credit.” That am session will be much easier if you do this a few times. I thought old CFA essay questions were great in this regard. d) Schweser Q Bank is good for testing basic concepts in a straightforward manner. To me, its marketed better than it really is. It’s completely different answering a complex item set or essay however, especially when curves are thrown. e) I tried the end of chapter questions in the CFAI material and got crushed. Didnt even know how to answer some of the open ended ones. Schweser however said they were not indicative of the exam questions since they were so open ended and therefore recommended only doing questions in the CFAI material that came from actual previous exams. Looking back I think this is a good strategy. You get some sense of how questions were phrased while preserving confidence and efficiency. I didnt want to waste my time trying to figure out some of the more vague questions. If you have other questions, you can email me offline at mrkellyfong@gmail.com. Good luck fellas!
3/3 with Schweser, Qbank, Secret Sauce, and classes. L1 Quintero, L2 Olinto, L3 Schweser online. I highly recommend Bruce Kuhlman and the Schweser Premium package (notes, practice exams, weekly online class with materials) as well as Secret Sauce. I also found the QuickSheet invaluable at all three levels.
Passed all levels just using Schweser. I think its to the point and u need to top it up with practice exams. My sincere thanks to Schweser and good luck to all the candidates.
yes, 3 levels, always at first try, only with Schweser and regular, personal work.
3 for 3 using only Schweser noting during the last week or so when reviewing practice exams, I looked at CFA books from time to time
Schweser for 2 & 3
schweser … i used the cfai books but more of as reference when i did not understand anything … make it a point to understand all concepts… and sometimes they were more confusing than the study motes itself! the key to schweser i feel is multiple repititions … doing it once is not going to help… i went over it thrice and still felt that at least another reading was warranted (i didn’t make my own summarized notes ) the best thing was AF though … i read alot of threads, even on topics that i understood … ppl here put things in much simpler terms than either schweser/cfai … and remember to copy paste all those discussions you find helpful in a seperate file … last day i just read that and what a difference they made.
schweser + CFAI text for Private Wealth Management. PM for Institutional Investors +CFAI EOC problems
only schweser - that too 12 days ( like 100-120 hrs ) 
Schweser only and passed - premium package. IMO, I don’t think I would have passed with just the notes, but the weekly online program and qbank helped. Strategy: 1. Read all notes once before weekly program began, 2. Did 20 - 50 multiple choice questions after reading each lesson, 3. On the week before the program, re-read each lesson’s notes and made hand written notes on each chapter, 4. Watched the weekly online class and refined hand written notes, 5. After seminars did all end of chapter practice questions, 6. Repeated the above for the 18 weeks, 7. After online program ended, nightly during the week I would review one lesson (from my notes) and do ~100 questions from the Qbank, 8. On each Saturdays and Sundays I did one of the practice exams with extra time spent on general review and memorization of various lists, 10. Two weeks preceeding the exam I bought the secret sauce and read the entire book virtually daily. 11. Day before the exam - do nothing and relax!! If you don’t know it at that point, cramming until late the night before the exam makes it worse. Comments: 1. The online class is highly recommended, it rephasizes what is in the notes, provides additional PDF slides for review, provides additional end of chapter questions and concept checkers and also goes over in detail relevant past CFA exam questions. 2. If you feel you are close and are starting to get overwhelmed with information at the end, buy the secret sauce!!! It really condenses the materials nicely. It does not have every small detail, but if you have read the notes already, it provides a good recall mechanism. If you only have $100 or so and are debating between the CFAI practice exams online or the secret sauce - go with the secret sauce.
Schweser for I & II with the basic packages for both levels…