For an average candidate, who has little or no finance background, there are two scenarios: 1) Read only from Schweser + (Do EOC questions, reread schweser many times, Do all available exams) = Narrowly fail (guaranteed…) (then kill yourself…) 2) Read CFAI + Read Schweser + Prepare notes using (CFAI + Schweser) + (Do EOC questions, Digest notes, Do all available exams) = Guaranteed pass (get this out of your life and enjoy…) Any questions?
Well how about those with finance undergrad background and work in the financial industry? I would think most people fall under my category…
CF_AHHHHHHHHH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > kellyc319 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > IT is not that i am lazy and don’t think I can > get > > through the CFAI books if i start studying > > now…it is that I lose my focus and get bogged > > down by the details and then ultimately get > > confused as to what the real important stuff > are. > > > > > > The 2nd time I took level 2 i read alot > (50%+)of > > CFAI materials, but by then it was easy for me > to > > know which portion of the CFAI text was just > “nice > > to knows” vs. “core concepts”. I am completely > > new to level 3 this year and thus it is hard to > > differentiate between the nice to knows vs. > core > > concepts…and then i end up taking notes on > > everything. Is this really effective? I am > not > > quite sure… > > In my opinion yes, it is effective. I think the > best way to look at these up coming months is to > cypher through all the material and put it in your > own words. For me, thats color-coded highlights > and note cards. Some people might prefer > outlining and note taking. Whatever works. > > But its all about preparing for that one last push > in the last couple of months. Trust me, you wont’ > remember 90% of what you read in the next couple > months (at least I won’t). But I will have taken > that time to translate the CFAI’s BS into a > digestible format for me. > > Then thats what I use in my final push. Why leave > any stone unturned? I agree w/ this approach. i did the same and passed comfortably. good way to go about it is to find the ‘answer’ to every LOS in the text and write out a note card(s) for each one. L3 is more qualitative so I upgraded to the big note cards. By early April you’ll have the entire cirriculum boiled down to your own notes. Writing them out helps you remember and it’s an easy reference for when you’re reviewing. In the last 6 weeks I read my cards about 20 times alongside practice problems/exams. The last day I did a final read through of note cards and I found it really solidified the material. I could actually “see” all my notes in my head when I thought about a topic. When you can do that you know you’re ready to make this thing your b!tch.
kellyc319 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well how about those with finance undergrad > background and work in the financial industry? I > would think most people fall under my category… By average candidate I mean that the candidates with no or an undergraduate degree in finance and / or with less than 5 yrs of experience. Yes you are correct that the most of the cadidates fall into this category. If you have a masters or PhD in finance or in a related field and / or if you are in the industry for more than 5 yrs. and if you are using the concepts first hand then you are not an average candidate. My point is that, if you leave a small chance for your fail, CFA institute will make sure that you fail. The institute lately is very succesful in doing that. Do not give that chance.
I am summarizing every page of the CFA books in my own hand-written notes. I need to do 3 SS’s per month to finish by the beginning of March or so. Then hammer EOC questions and past essay exams combined with re-reading my notes as often as possible. This way I am guranteed to have read every word in the CFAI text, plus will have my own detailed summaries. It’s long tedious work and as boring as hell, but I’m not taking any chances with this f*cker - I don’t want to have to ever do another CFA exam after June 2010.
…just a thought. think of the risk reward tradeoff. the reward is fixed: passing level 3. it doesn’t matter how much you study, the best you can do is pass the exam. But, you control the amount of risk you are taking on exam day by the amount of prep you do. So risk adjusted return is an increasing function of the amount of time you put in (being practical). you might argue there’s some disutility to the amount of time you have to put in to prepare, but if you amortize that over the # of years of benefit you get from having the charter, it’s a very small cost. So take the 4-5 months and do EVERYTHING in your power to be completely prepared (within practical limits). QED.
+1
I guess I am feeling a little left out. Are there only a few people here who concentrate only on CFAI texts? I dont have any finance background and have been a big fan of CFAI texts . I guess if I learn straight from the horse’s mouth( and the horse is the one who will be taking my exam) then the odds are stacked in my favour. For both levels I heavily used CFAI texts and didnt even consider reading Schweser books although for level 2 s,chweser videos helped me a lot . Also did secret sauce for both levels. As far as them being time consuming is concerned then I would say I would have spent around 200 hrs for level 1 and arnd 400 hrs for level 2 which I think will be the average time a candidate spends. So the question of someone not having enough time to go through the text seems wierd to me. In my opinion CFAI texts are the best source of preparation. If they are supplemented with Schweser videos then nothing like it. EOC are a no brainer although i almost avoided them completely in Level 1 . ( I use Schweser pro) Although the choice of whether or not to consider reading CFAI texts entirely is a personal one but I think a few factors that affect it are time , background and the returns in terms of knowledge being a few. For me the greatest returns come when I read the CFAI texts and also it gives me the confidence because I know that the examiner can only ask from the stuff I have read.
Alright i am already sold…i am diligently taking notes on the CFAI text. I hope to get this done (along with EOC questions) by the time Schweser class starts. Then it is Qbank (med-hard questions only), concept checkers, re-reading weak areas, and practice exams. God help me.
me too.
nope can’t do it…back to schweser…hahahaha
At least you tried, Kelly! 
My problem w/reading through the CFAI texts is that I can’t remember much from the first pass through. Repitition is what finally gets the info burned into my brain. I used the CFAI texts for L1 last December, but used Schweser for L2 due to time constraints, and it seems like if I have to go through the material 3 times to get it to stick, I might as well use Schweser. Those of you that passed are awfully convincing to read the CFAI texts, though…
+1
I’m a repeater…band 9 last year. I swore I’d cover all the CFA texts before Schweser, but I’ve been slacking somewhat. my question: is it desirable/helpful to just hit the EOC in CFA books, since time is running out to get through the CFA books before year end? Or should I focus more on the actual materials? last year (and at L1 and L2) I never opened a CFA book. they’re just so #$(&* long I can’t see reading every page in a reasonable amount of time.
i’m lazy and do schweser. not going to lie and pretend I’ll put in 500 hrs. i usually put in about 200-250 or so- did extra last year L2 b/c i wanted to pass badly. hopefully it’ll be enough. maybe i can try for a few more. if not, i’ll repeat. but schweser, i can’t quit you baby. EOC q’s are my friend now though. i won’t quit you either. plane ride in T minus 6 hours. nerdy schweser dude on cover, nice to meet you. i’m bannisja. how you doin?
I’ll spend my $0.02 on this thread. I felt that reading CFAI books was crucial but couldn’t get myself to spend the time on it the first time. So, I went for Schweser video’s first, then read the Schweser books and then read the CFAI books. I felt it was an advantage to have glanced at the material in the video’s and having read the notes before diving into the CFAI books. THe end result was that I could read the CFAI books VERY VERY quickly but I did notice things that Schweser didn’t tell me. After that reading period of several months I spent the time up tot he exam doing all Q’s I could find and looked up problematic areas in the CFAI books. Have fun. I just received my business card with ‘CFA’ next to my name and that feels goooooood!
bannisja Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i’m lazy and do schweser. not going to lie and > pretend I’ll put in 500 hrs. i usually put in > about 200-250 or so- did extra last year L2 b/c i > wanted to pass badly. hopefully it’ll be enough. > maybe i can try for a few more. if not, i’ll > repeat. but schweser, i can’t quit you baby. EOC > q’s are my friend now though. i won’t quit you > either. plane ride in T minus 6 hours. nerdy > schweser dude on cover, nice to meet you. i’m > bannisja. how you doin? Funny chick!
steph96 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > Those of you that passed are awfully convincing to > read the CFAI texts, though… I passed and did not read the CFAI books. Of course they are the best source, but I’m just making a point that you can pass with just schweser if you so choose. The gold standard is the CFAI books, but it’s not the only way. For me, schweser helped me focus better since they list out each LOS and tackle it…and the questions come from the LOS…so there!
this is #1
I always find it amusing what a division this questions causes…everyone has their own study style and I personally don’t think there is any right answer I know myself well, and for me Schweser with EOC CFA questions, Q-bank and all the exams I can find is the right approach (2 for 2 so far) However other people have different study styles The important thing is not which books you use…its getting to the point that by April/May you are doing hundreds of questions and exams and feeling good about the material End of story