Hi,
Just wondering if any of you guys could give me an idea of the level of difficulty of the exams, and what kind of hours are required vs CFA.
Is there a lot of focus on statistics? I hated this topic in the CFA curriculum…
Thanks
mrdjb, CFA
I don’t want to discourage you, because if you need/want the credential you should go for it, but you’re going to hate it if you hated the statistics on the CFA exam. Between both levels, your quant knowledge will have to be like the CFA quant section on steroids. Additionally, there really isn’t much “rehashing” of CFA quant material – for many candidates, they have never seen or heard of the models and methods they will be learning. But, like anything else, if you put in the time and focus on building knowledge week by week, it can be done by anybody who had the wherewithall to complete the CFA program.
Hi Destroyer,
I was wondering if you be kind enought to give me some hints for the exam preperation couple weeks before the exam and and do’s and don’ts?
So far I have read the books couple times and now I am doing practice questions using bionic turtle and kaplan practice questions.
Thank you
Thanks for the feedback, Destroyer - it is as I feared.
This kind of stuff just doesn’t seem to stick in my head - it’s no problem doing it at the time but two weeks later it’s like I’m reading it for the first time and my notes are meaningless.
Will just have to convince myself that I have nothing to fear but fear itself…
mrdjb, CFA
QuantBoy,
You’re doing all the right things. Biggest things for me are 1) tons of practice questions and, 2) create your own flash cards. About #2, seriously, buy a stack of index cards and invest a couple of hours just writing down all the formulae in the back of the Schweser books. Write the name of the formula on the front, and write the actual formula (as well as any key varible definitions, i.e., “Where: x=fill in the blank, etc.”). Carry these cards with you and pull them out in the middle of the day randomly and just quiz yourself on memorizing the formulas. Some of these formulas, as you know, contain many variables and are structurally difficult to remember, so just start memorizing, stone cold, as many as you can. You’ll find that this will also help you do questions. By the way, BT questions seem to be closer to the actual difficulty on the exam than the Schweser questions.
Do your practice exams last after completing all of your basic question bank stuff. The free ones from GARP are known as being fairly easy; still, I did all of the ones that were available for free to candidates off their website, including the ones that were several years old (obviously just Part I if that is all you’re taking). I saved the Schweser practice exams for last.
If you are not very close to the exam center, I would HIGHLY recommend investing in a hotel close to the facility for the night before. Go to the exam facility, drive up to the assigned room on your admission ticket you will receive from GARP, and walk up and touch the door. I’m serious about this; nothing is more stressful than not knowing exactly where you are going on the morning of the exam.
Also, others have posted this elsewhere but you should be aware that the actual answer sheet once you are in the test is some kind of weird carbon copy sheet that is unlike any other credential test answer sheet you have ever taken. You won’t we able to erase a wrong answer; you need to pencil in the corrected answer in a box, which is also carbon copy, which means you can only really change your mind about an answer once. Thus, you should develop a system in your practice exam-taking to train you to mark with asterisks or something those questions you want to return to if you are not entirely certain about them. Of course, you also need to watch the clock to make sure you have time to go and backfill the ones you left unanswered before the proctor calls “time.”
Above all, stay motivated and memorize those formulas. Good luck.
I hear you mrdjb. On your point about how the material doesn’t “stick” – I definitely hear you. See my advice to QuantBoy above on the flash cards. This investment of my time to create custom flash cards that I needed really worked for me on Level I. It also forces you to look at the formula in detail in a way that is easy to convince yourself that you are doing when going through the material quickly. You’d be surprised at how the simple act of writing it down in a flash card format helps you recall things like formula structures, variables, etc…
Hi Destroyer,
Thank you for the valuable feedback. I totally agree with your flash card method. I am currently doing just that. I am making my one pager formula with keys facts for each and every topic and carry it around with me on the way to work or on the train and make a habit of going over different topic and re writing the formulas as practice makes perfect right.
I am however struggling with the bionic turtle practice questions. They seem to focus more on calculation. I also noticed that even for AIM that say define, describe or explain their practice questions simply throw in calculations.
I used the schwaser books solely for the study aspect and feel comfortable with the schwaser Q bank but with bionic I am struggling.
I am now thinking about just picking and choosing some of the major topics for practicing on with bionic turtle questions.
Any thoughts?
Regards
QuantBoy,
Yes, I think that Bionic Turtle is known for “over-prepping” you; hence, they will quiz you on calculation when the AIM only calls for the candidate to define. I’ll be honest, I believe that you could probably get away with using just Schweser for Part I (I did), but in my experience, I did feel underprepared using that method when I actually sat for the exam. I still passed, but during the time I was actually taking the exam, I wondered if I had done enough using just Schweser. The material seemed that tough. This is why I invested in both Schweser and BT for Part II.
I think your strategy of selectively picking topics that you want extra comfort with from BT but otherwise using the Schweser material is a good one. Frankly, it’s the way I’m doing it for P2 right now – with 1 month to go, I’m just not going to have time to 100% cover the BT material but I do consider it a good supplement for “deeper” AIM areas where Schweser tends to go light.
Yes I agree. I am on book four at the moment covering the topic 43 Measures of financial risk and the schwaser notes are just pure words and no calculations but when i turned to bionic turtle practice question I was shocked to see just calculations. I do honestly think bionic is better and more comprehensive. but at this stage in time Its too late to start the theory again. my main focus is question practice and as and when i need to (which is more often then not. haha) refer to notes for reinforcing the material.
All the best of luck with your studies. I am planning to do the CAIA (level 1) in September if I pass this. The idea is to pass both qualifications by the end of 2014. Will see how this exam is. Sometimes I feel as if what I am learning is just escaping. Doesn’t help when you’re working full time. 
Regards