I did my level 1 in december and this time around for level, boy it was a close shave. I ordered my books in february. Lazed through just asset valuation till the last week of April. I met a girl, fell in love with her during february and broke up with her in may. This gave me close to 50 days to study…real hard. I studied 8-12 hours a day. Used Schweser primarily, referred CFAI occasionally and made it a point to do all the practice exams. I thought the mock exams were worth a miss, so i just looked it up with the answers. My key takeaways are 1. Make good custom made formula sheets. Don’t use the schweser ones. 2. FSA went bad for me in Level 1. I made it a point to study it. Making your own notes for FSA really helps. There were threads on AF which were really useful for picking out key points. 3. I feel your last month is the most crucial month. I wouldn’t know when the right time to start is, but the last 50 days make or break Level 2. 4.You can maximize your performance if you know how to choose between schweser and CFAI. There are some areas where you can pick up key points in CFA and not in schweser. All in all, strong determination and faith in God stood me through the period. I’ll remember the time i studied for Level 2 more than Level 1. All the best, guys !!
I agree with Smarshy…that was my plan heading into studies, and somehow towards the end i got caught with marginal benefit studying and not focusing on the larger sections (which are also areas where i think i am strong in). as a result i got between 50-70 on both equity and FSA sections (and i knew it the day i took the exam). had i scored above 70 on those two sections (which i should have) i would have passed…
I did 95% reading from CFA material. Did all CFA mock exams and 2 Schweser exams. Also, i made index cards on conceptual stuff. Took John Harris’s seminar too. was a great help.
Thought CFAI material was overly academic - skipped it and replaced it with Stalla on top of Schweser and John Harris FSA, did Schweser 3 day seminar in DC, and hit all cylinders hard - mock exams, made flash cards, online exams, the free CFAI mini-test and generated plenty of memorization devices.
i used CFA materials only. You must really, really study the professional standards. Do them first and then do them last. Of all the subjects, that is the one you should get 70% or more just by using the materials. And work every single problem in the texts. multiple times.
I exclusively used CFAI materials, made my own formula sheets and notes, studied every weekend, usually both sat and sunday in the office for the 3 months or so preceding the exam. Also did almost every question at the end of the chapters in the CFAI books. The biggest thing for me (as a retaker especially) was to really try to understand the material, not just memorize formulas and definitions. Although admittedly this was difficult for me, esp in swaps, interest rate derivatives and portfolio. Obviously there is a broad range of studying techniques here so I would try to figure out how you may have gotten tripped up w/ whatever method you used and change it up the next time around. For what it’s worth, I have taken level 2 before w/ the study providers and this was the first time I exclusively used CFAI materials and it paid off.
99% schweser, 1% CFA Text, all of Practice Test Book 1, BSAS, CFA Mock, 1 schweser book 7 (not worth the time). Started mid January in earnest, but really kicked it up mid Feb. Hit it for at least 15 hours per week until the last two weeks, when I was probably closer to 30hrs/week. I was through the material by late april, spent a few weeks reviewing, and spent the last two weeks on practice tests/weak areas. I think AF was a material part of my success. I remember working problems with Banni, Pink, mumu and the rest at 10pm on a Friday and thinking “there’s no way I would be studying right now if it weren’t for AF”.
I passed L1 in Dec 07 and did not start working on L2 until Feb after I knew about my L1 score. I definitely wish I had more time to prepare for it. Since I also have a non-finance related full time job, weekends became precious for me. I only used Schweser and CFAI books. I felt CFAI books are more useful than Schweser in terms of understanding L2 core concepts. I also did all mock exams.
I was on the border (fortunately on the passing side), and I think the >70% score on Ethics made the difference. I agree that focusing on the heavily weighted subjects, as well as taking lots of practice exams, are essential. I started studying in Dec., but with small children at home I couldn’t study more than about 10 hours a week (in evenings after 9 and early morning on weekends). It was barely enough to pass, but I did. I used Schweser about 95% (study notes and the Book 6 practice exams), with 5% CFAI for Ethics.
I’d estimate I put in 250-280 hours total, with the hours increasing from about 10 per week to 15 per week in late March, up to about 20 per week in may, then 50+ hours over the final week (took the week off) - I just cram in pratice test, it sucks but then you’re ready to go.
also I tore out the formula pages from the back of each Schweser study book, and added my own notes and formulas as I went. That was a good way to start my own notes while hitting the main formulas from Schweser. I ended up with a mini-book of essential concepts/formulas that along with the laminated tri-fold formula sheet from Schweser really helped the last week of prep.
I was a borderline pass myself. I used Schweser pretty exclusively for readings, but I used CFAI text for Ethics and end of chapter problems/actual old exam questions. I’m sture these have already been touched on , but you have to nail either FSA or Equity or both and you can’t get <50 on either one IMO. Ethics also has to be at least 51-70. If you do get <50 on anything make sure its not heavily weighted. I bombed PM and Econ and it looks like a lot of people did and still passed. I started studying mostly on weekends (no more than 5 hours per day) in mid-February cause I passed L1 in Dec. Probably not enough time, but I guess I got a little lucky. I used Q-bank religiously and retested myself on the ones I consistently got wrong. Don’t waste a lot of time on what you’re already strong on. I would recommend starting again in a couple of months and read the CFAI text because there’s definitely some gaps between that and Schweser. You’ll get it next year.
Hi Aimee, For what it’s worth I’ll tell you what I did to pass first time (8 sections above 70; FI 50-70; PM<=50) I used Stalla, which I think is a great summary of the readings. Read it three times each time doing end of chapter problems and actually working through the in chapter examples before looking at solutions, while making sure I really understod what was going on done to the finest detail - as you’re probably CFAI likes testing this stuff, like the depreciation of the amount paid above book value for the FSA question on the aquistion. When something in Stalla was not well understood or too brief I went to the CFAI official text, which was great for Derivatives and FI (again school boy errors in exam like credit risk instead of prepayment and I’m a bloody credit analyst! lol!). I only really used CFAI for end of chapter questions of which I’d advise you to do all of them! This was very good practice for exam esp. Corp Fin. The Stalla Flash cards were great as well. Cos as simple as it sounds the exam tests the LOS verbatum. You can do the LOS, you can do the exam and the cards summarise what you need to know quite well. Work through these after doing readings for last time as a memory aid in last 10 or so days. Admittedly for Level III I’ll try to read cards during the year - easier to remember stuff this way. I’m a bit pe’d with my PM score as that stuff was covered in Stalla, bar the improving forecasts part of the question, but heh. The rest was pretty good. So in summary: Read Stalla 3 times and thoroughly understood it Did ALL end of chapter questions Consulted CFAI test when something was unclear Did ALL end of CFAI reading questions Also used a learning provider if you have access to one? 7City in London. Not sure where you reside, but may be something similar where you’re at. Classroom sucks, but they also had online questions and progress test, plus timed mocks. Took one two weeks before exam and it beat me up (but very unrealistic in comparison to real thing as exam was half quantitative/half qualitative). Real shock, but good prep for real thing! Admittedly learnt more on own than in class. Didn’t really go to them after first 5 weeks, the access to resources was best thing. If you can start early do. I started in Jan and tried to do some reading everyday as was told was too risky to leave just to weekend by someone who took six years to complete. Weekends were devoted to study, although I would head out around 8pm on a Sat in the early stages like jan to march. Contrary to what was said on these boards in June I actually thought both papers were fair and came out feeling very confident (before I saw the link business this weekend and all the negativity that followed - my profile still has CFA Level II registration). If you covered the ALL the LOS and cut no corners, you’re grand. I’m too risk averse to do otherwise. Good luck.
Took Level 1 in December so couldn’t start until Feb 1. Schweser all the way. Didn’t use CFAI but if I had more time I probably would have. Took detailed notes on notecards, did as many practice exams as I could get my hands on, and used Qbank as concept checkers on material that I thought I need a better understanding of. Maybe this sounds cheezy, but I tried not to memorize, but understand the concepts so would be ready for curveballs on exam day. Good luck to all of you!
I used the schweser study planner to create a plan of attack. The upside was that it created the structure needed to break down the volume of info. The downside, it left me woefully behind schedule for the NYSSA course i took in NYC. I would skim the schweser study notes to get a broader birds eye approach, and then watch the DVD’s. After, I would reread the study notes to try to get the nitty gritty down. Initially I used the Qbank, but abandoned it after discussing it with the teacher of the class who said the questions were a bad proxy for actual exam questions. I went through the material in that fashion and took an additional problem solving course through NYSSA. I spent a lot of cash for all the materials, but I figured I’d rather spend an additional $500-$1000 to save myself an additional 250 hours if I went in unprepared.
-Studied Jan. 23rd through June 6th. -All CFAI first (supplemented Schweser for a few SS), then reviewed with Schweser study notes. -1/2 of Q-Bank questions (started with “practice tests” consisting of 60 ?'s from all categories, then cut out all “easy” level questions and focus on calculation intensive areas like derrivatives). -All Book 6 questions (book 7 are a total waste of time) -All CFAI sample and mock exams (I highly recommend this, helps build confidence and PERFORMANCE which is crucial on exam day). -Do as many vignette style questions as possible. You MUST be a pro at sorting though the vignette quickly and sorting out the important information in order to be successful. -2 weeks out, write and re-write a complete formula sheet several times. Carry that sheet everywhere you go and look at it periodically. You will need to have complete mastery of the formulas to avoid giving up easy points. -Listened to those F*%$g Scheser CD’s to and from work every day. This really sucked, but HEARING the material helped to solidify my knowledge of the curriculum. ****** -GO ON AF and WORK the HARD problems. People always bring up the more difficult problems that everyone has trouble with. When you see something that you don’t understand, LEARN it. This was an incredibly value part of my preparation. And don’t just work through the questions that YOU ask, helping other people solve problems and actually EXPLAINING the material is the greatest way for you to master that topic and make it your own. That’s it.
Used Stalla, made my own study cards and notes (essential) and used the CFAI exams…approx 400 hours in total including 1 week off in May and 2 weeks prior to the exam.
I used Stalla, and CFAI practice exams and didn’t start till March 1. I would’ve rather had more time, but I took level 1 in Dec 07. Passed level I, and level II. My strategy was to take a vow of celebacy(sp ?), and disavow any activity that could be described as in any way being fun. All joking aside I studied my arse off. After the exam I was sure I failed and was pleasantly suprised to find out I passed…
The best advice I’ve seen here and the truest. There are many ways to study for this, but getting through the hard questions posted here and understanding them works wonders. Should be a part of whatever study routine you go with… McLeod81 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > -GO ON AF and WORK the HARD problems. People > always bring up the more difficult problems that > everyone has trouble with. When you see something > that you don’t understand, LEARN it. This was an > incredibly value part of my preparation. And > don’t just work through the questions that YOU > ask, helping other people solve problems and > actually EXPLAINING the material is the greatest > way for you to master that topic and make it your > own.
I relied on CFA text books only. Every page, every book, and almost every question at the end of the chapter. Nothing else. I found it very enriching and satisfying experience, ofcourse I Passed!