Which would you start with and why? 2006 CFAI Other year CFAI Schweser Book 1 or 2, particular exam? If you say 2008 CFAI I will know you hate me. Thanks.
am starting with Stalla exam 1 CFA will be the 3rd exam i do
I did Schweser book 1 1 AM/PM may 8. Did 2006 AM last week. Planning on doing 2007 AM this Friday, Schweser Book 1 2 AM/PM on Saturday, and 2008 AM on Monday. Saving the Mock for next weekend. I was tempted to leave the 2008 AM to next weekend but didn’t want to destroy any confidence I have left by then. I figure the mock is what the CFAI is telling us is close to the real thing so it should be the last check before game day. My head might explode this weekend though.
anc417 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I did Schweser book 1 1 AM/PM may 8. Did 2006 AM > last week. Planning on doing 2007 AM this Friday, > Schweser Book 1 2 AM/PM on Saturday, and 2008 AM > on Monday. Saving the Mock for next weekend. > > I was tempted to leave the 2008 AM to next weekend > but didn’t want to destroy any confidence I have > left by then. I figure the mock is what the CFAI > is telling us is close to the real thing so it > should be the last check before game day. > > My head might explode this weekend though. So what would your recommendation be if you were just starting like me?
2006 pissed me off with all the question not covered in this year’s materials. as a gauge, i think 2008 is better and i would bet you do well on it. but i don’t want you to think that i hate you. (which i secretly do because you freaking score higher than me in everything we take. ) So, I’d go with 2007. I thought that one was pretty good. or a schweser volume 1 exam.
2008 
if you want to scare the hell out of you and want your studying following the exam to be in the top most gear!!!
dude u never post your scores … how much did you score on the sample
Agree on Schweser volume 1. Nice warm up to the structure. Then start CFAI. My reasoning for going in order was/is: 2006 will be a good warm up to the structure and test management, but some questions might not be as applicable so I don’t put as much weight on the score (as cfas pointed out) 2007 is closer in content and (hopefully) manageable from a time perspective so it is one that I hope to do well on. 2008 sounds like a beast from a time perspective but I better be able to handle it so I want to have all the practice I can get.
2008 was straight scary. I got real banged up by it last weekend. Then took Vol 1 AM#2 and got a 75% and felt a little better. I think I will need to crush the afternoon (i.e. > 80%) in order to pass this beast. Def take 2008 am early to prepare. It will hopefully be the worst we can expect, but who knows.
mwvt9: I suggest you start with 2006 or Schweser V1 1AM. I had the same confusion last week and was scared to take am test. Finally, took Sch 1AM last weekend. It was not that bad. Took 2006 this morning and felt much better. In 2006, there were couple of questions that are not in 2009 curriculum. Still it was ok. I am planning to take 2008 a week or 10days before. That way I can give a fair shot and at the same time will have time to recover from the wounds.
I think Schwesers exam directed response format is great since it shows you exactly how you should answer questions, so as not to be too wordy.
Are CFAI more wordy? I think I remember reading on their site that the model answers were longer than what is needed to get full credit. This may be a deciding factor in which one I start with…
Yes, more wordy. Schweser provides the “test day response” and then a full explanation afterwards. This is more useful, imo, but at the same time the schweser AM’s do give you a feel for what CFAI can throw at you. Not to make peeps scared, but there were a couple sections in 2008 cfai am I was totally lost on, lol.
Our Schweser instructor was a former grader… I think you’d do well by writing less than more. The CFAI guideline answers are not set up so you must say everything they say exactly the way they say it - just hit the main points. If they ask for two reasons, you give two. As long as the two you gave were in the guideline answer, you’re golden. My strategy is to write as little as possible (paying attention to the minutes allotted to each question because that gives you an idea of how much to put down) moving quickly through the questions. Then, and only then, will I come back to fill in, check, or revise what I have done. Don’t let yourself get bogged down anywhere and lose out on easy points scattered throughout the AM. To get back on topic, I’d start with either 2006 or the first Schweser. Best to leave the bulk of the CFAI exams until the end though because that’s what we’ll see on exam day, not the Schweser tests.
If I take a schweser exam first, will checking the errata BEFORE I take the exam help or hurt? Will it give away answers or help by clearing up mistakes?
I like Sterling’s advice - take schweser now, then close with CFAI. Schweser volume 1 exam 1 was relatively clean - I’d say you can take it without checking errata first, but you may get a few points back on the PM section.
I say go Schweser volume 2 first. If you take test 2 there’s a whole chunk of the vignette missing, so had better check errata. Safer to do it for all of them before taking, just try not to read too into the lines to give away answers. V2 has better answer keys…more helpful to me.
Now I know why I didn’t want to take an AM exam. Try not to step on my teeth while you’re walking around.
which did you end up doing?
Schweser Sample 1 AM