How did you do it? Advice for next year

CFA Level III
#21

This is the exact method I used to pass the test. I think it’s the most efficient way for people with mild attention deficit. FYI I got 7/10 70%+ for morning and 6/10 70%+ in the afternoon (ethics counted as 2 in the afternoon).

Step 1 (Jan- March) - Watched Wiley silver course videos while taking light notes

Step 2 (April) - Do ALL of CFA website practice questions and start making flash cards for things you tend to forget (like f’ing performance attribution breakdown)

Step 3 (April - May) - Do 6-10+ morning and afternoon mocks under test like conditions. There’s no getting around this. Just do it, find them on the CFA website, find them online, Schweser, etc. Just do at least 6 to 10 morning and afternoon exams. Make sure to spend a lot of time on reviewing the answers after each mock. That’s where the majority of learning takes place.

Step 4 (May) - The week leading up to the test I read the Secret Sauce book. It was decent, don’t remember anything from it but probably had positive confidence boosting benefits.

Good luck next year!

#22

I partially disagree with doing EOC problems multiple times for IPS. Better do past essay IPS questions directly to improve this section. EOCs are however very good for non-IPS… particularly helpful for G IPS!!!

#23

Since i passed levels 1 and 2 only with Scheweser books i did it again this year for level 3, apart froma c ouple of mocks from the CFA website.

Fortunately i passed but for some reason felt Scheweser is less useful in level 3 than the previous two levels.

#24

Almost the exact same plan for me.

Schweser notes can be a weakness if you rely too heavily on them, but I will give Kaplan kudos because the Live Schweser mock was tremendously helpful for me. It was TOUGH- I didn’t pass it- but getting into a room and putting pen to paper really took the edge off when the real thing came around, and the video explanations really put me in the right mindset for the last weeks in terms of how to attack the essays.

#25

I failed level 3 this year - for whatever reason the exam just beats the heck out of me. But i will win.

I plan on doing what analystdude did…seemed like a good approach. I also plan on starting at around October (by that time my football will be dead in the water). I also plan on listening to lose your self by Eminem on a daily basis.

#26

For me Level 3 was the easiest. The topics are the most interrelated, and by the end of it, you should really feel a cohesiveness to a lot of the material. Some stuff stands on its own, like econ (e.g. Taylor rule has nothing to do with individual PM), but a lot of that stuff is a rehash of L1/L2 material anyways.

I first ran through Schweser secret sauce to familiarize myself with the materials.

After that, it was straight practice. I used 2012 - 2016 AM exams, and the CFAI topic tests online, + the mock exams on the CFAI website. I estimate I spent about 100 hours doing practice, plus ~40 hours going through Schweser. I think most of those 40 hours were wasted as my recall was very limited, and in hindsight would have been better spent doing more practice questions. Maybe 10 hours to loosely familiarize with the materials should be enough, just to get a framework of how they’ll work together.

My method probably covered 80% of likely testable material, but you should feel very confident in that 80%. The other 20% you will either use educated guesses or outright guess, but you’ll still pick up some points unless it’s AM and you really don’t know what they’re talking about and can’t BS your way to at least partial credit.

Practice is by far the most effective way to increase retention and recall. Reading and trying to memorize the materials, whether it’s CFAI, Scheweser, or something else, is a giant waste of time for most people. I know if you’re one of those people who spent hundreds of hours hashing through the texts it probably hurts to read that, but it’s true. How long does it take to read through the CFAI texts on a given level? 200 hours? 300? And what percent of that material did you truly synthesize? 5%? 10%? Probably not much more than that unless you are an exceptional human being.

If you’re trying to master 100% of the materials, there’s probably no real alternative to the texts; if you’re just trying to pass the exam, I firmly believe you can skip reading any text at all, save for a short background/intro to the materials.

#27

I used Schweser and found it to be fine. The biggest suggestion I have is to find and two as many prior year CFA exams as possible. Do not underestimate the fact you have to write out the answers. I advise after taking each exam also study the answer key to get a feel for how the Institute likes to word things. Just my $0.02.

#28

Tremendous advice everybody thank you.

please keep it coming!

#29

In addition to advice from others:

watch the Schweser subject videos right before doing the readings. Repeat the videos weeks later on any topic you are having any trouble with.

watch the Schweser solution videos for questions on past CFA exams you struggle with. Don’t watch all of the videos on all of the questions for the past 5 years. It takes up too much time.

If you aren’t getting at least 80% on EOC questions, do the EOCs from another provider (e.g., if using Kaplan, do the CFA EOC questions).

Practice careful time management on AM mocks.

Cross out items, don’t erase.

Bring two calculators, lots of pens and pencils.

Don’t eat or drink anything before the real exam that you haven’t had before the mocks.

stay in a hotel right next to the exam site.

Only make flashcards for topics you are having some trouble with.

Redoing questions you got right is a waste of time.

The Institute’s topic tests are better prep than Kaplan’s Mocks. Do lots of topic tests in areas where you have trouble.

#30

  1. Start early - both studying and getting used to the AM format. I used CFAI materials and while they are longwinded, if I were in your shoes I’d rather bleed in practice and pass the first time than use a prep provider exclusively and need to retake … L3 is the “no shortcuts / no fluffy knowledge” part of the journey.

  2. Print all old AM papers before you start and use Arif’s summary to allocate the questions by study section.

  3. Once you finish a chapter and have done BBs and EOCs and have revised them, sit down and do the AM questions you’ve printed out and do them TIMED … yes, even in October. If you do this you will understand the challenge ahead - that the model CFAI answers aren’t that useful, that grading is difficult, etc. Best is to ask someone to grade your answers.

Best of luck!

#31

Which prep providers were the best or worst. KS, Wiley, IFT, LevelUp, or GoStudy? Thanks

#32

Hiya rex! As promised, here’s the breakdown of how I tackled Level III. Before I start, I want to mention that I went after LIII this year without buying a full study package from any of the major providers, instead opting to rely heavily on curriculum study and purchasing smaller, less expensive supplemental offerings to dial in my review.

Curriculum:

I read it cover to cover with highlights and light personal notes. I kept my notes light as I knew I’d be reviewing with GoStudy’s notes (more on this later) and that my highlights would be the source of the majority of my flashcards. I did the EOC practice questions after each reading, then I made another full run through all the Blue Boxes and EOC questions about 1.5 months before the exam.

A note on the EOC practice: For Levels I and II (particularly LII), I found the EOC questions to be a bit lacking in the preparation process, and for the most part too simple and “grindy” to be good preparation for the actual exam. I still did them, but they weren’t as important to me personally. However, for the Level III exam, I found them to be much more diverse and far more useful for exam preparation. The only place they got grindy and repetitive was in the Options reading, but that’s a good thing if you decide to practice the Option gain/loss/breakeven analysis from the actual formulas (like I did … others use the charts … to each his own).

GoStudy Notes: https://gostudy.io/cfa-products-l3

Great product for the price. I opted for just the Ultimate Package and passed on the videos. I used this as my primary source of consolidated review notes and source material for a lot of my flashcards. The author also adds a lot of insight into the material, concepts and formulas that should be focused on, and that which is on the fringes of being testable and possibly in the weeds. With this you also gain access to past AM exam papers, which can also be found out there on the interwebz, but it’s nice being housed in one place from a site you know you can trust. I went through the notes twice and the cram guide once toward the end. Again, a great source of supplemental material for the price.

IFT Crash Course: https://ift.world/crash-course/

Incredible value. If I could rewind the clock I might have purchased Arif’s full study course and videos, but the Crash Course as a standalone service is excellent. This course includes summary videos of every reading which are downloadable and also includes downloadable slides if you want to use them as a note source. I personally converted all of the videos to audio (Arif later did this as well when I told him what I was doing and also offered them in audio) and I listened to them during the 2ish hours of my daily round trip commute. The goal here was to keep the material constantly flowing into my head, and the commute is the perfect downtime to get in some extra studying. Also, because GIPS is essentially brute force memorization, I listened to that video probably 8 to 10 times (I lost count) over the course of a week.

But the real gem in the crash course are the past AM exam review videos. Arif creates videos of solving each question of past AM exams going back several years and shares his views on what to look for in the case to find your answers and how to most concisely state your answers. He also does a holistic solve video for the most recent AM paper. _ These are pure gold. _ These helped me get a better understanding of not just how to answer the AM questions, but how to quickly identify and extract the answers right out of the case.

Other Comments:

Topic Tests/CFA Mock: These are good practice, but maybe not quite as important as at Level II. But they are essentially additional mock exam cases so you should do them. I personally went through them twice, and printed many of them for additional practice in areas where I struggled. Do the official CFA mock as well of course. I recommend printing the PDF and get a bubble sheet, then enter the answers and score it on the website after taking it. Keep in mind that the mock is essentially two PM exams. Your AM mocks will be actual past year’s exams.

Schweser Practice Exam Volumes: I bought the Volume 1 practice exam book ala carte and the PM multiple choice exams were good practice, but I found the AM exams to be lacking. The wording and format was just too different and shallow compared to the actual past AM exams I did, so I only wrote the first one then simply reviewed the other two. On a positive note, the AM exam answers provide some guidance on how to score your answers which is nice (the CFA guideline answers do not) and the answer explanations are well done.

Past AM Exam Papers: Practicing these is critical to doing well on the AM portion. You have to do a bunch of these. How many depends on your schedule, but make sure you do the most recent papers as the format of the last couple of years is what you’ll see in 2018. I did 9 past AM exam papers along with a detailed personal review and scoring, and review with the IFT videos. Also, I reviewed 2014-2016 a third time. After doing these, you start to see patterns in how the exam writers put answers into the case, particularly in the IPS related cases. The amount of answers right there in the case is almost comical, but it true … just about every sentence in an IPS case can have some relevance to a correct answer in the sub-questions.

Flashcards: Make them. Destroy them and re-make them if you have time. And not just formulas. Level III has more concepts and less formulas than past levels, so make sure to write out plenty of “mini-notes” on the cards. I probably had as many bullet point cards as formula cards this year. Don’t get me wrong, there are must know formulas for sure, but don’t ignore the concepts.

Study start date: 11/7/2016

Total study hours (logged but still an estimate): 615

Pass Matrix (<50 / 51-70 / 70+): AM - 1 / 2 / 7 PM - 0 / 3 / 6

#33

I probably studied the most this year than for any of the tests (nothing crazy, maybe 325 hrs), just given the desire to finally be done; however, I stuck with the same study plan i used for the previous two tests (passed all three on first attempt). So that’s the first thing I would offer: it you have a plan that worked before, don’t throw the whole thing the window just because the format is different and people tell you what “works”. You got through the first two, obviously something is working.

That being said here is what I would recommend from a high level:

  1. Use a third party provider for the “reading” portion of your studies - I used Schweser all three years and it seemed to work fine. In fact, I never opened a single CFAI books at any level.
  2. Start with exam type questions (incl. constructed response) as soon as you finish reading the relevant section. I.e. once you’re done reading Behavioral Finance (for example) add that to your bank of questions you regularly hit and then keep adding sections as you go. This keeps everything fresh and gives you plenty of practice. I would be pull single topic questions from previous exams and time myself every time i did one.
  3. Finish reading and going through the material early - ideally in the beginning or middle of April. Just start going practice exams, topic tests, Qbank etc while selectively reviewing certain sections that you need review on. The previous AM tests are the best resource for constructed response question, third party not as good. At this point, it also helps to have access to review videos for certain sections you might be having trouble with.

Other things I would add:

  • You can’t get by this time with pure rote memorization of formulas; AM definitely requires critical thinking
  • Flashcards are helpful for formulas, simple concepts, etc.
  • Make a spreadsheet or some other tracking system so you know where your weak spots

Lastly, remember that this isn’t rocket science and that its more important to study well for 300 hrs than study poorly for 500 hrs. Anyone who says you need to start 9 months early is wrong. 4-5 months is plenty.

#34

Following on from op’s question, when did you all finish the curriculum and start revision?

#35

Shoutout to Marc Lefebvre’s LevelUp Bootcamp! Definitely a big contributor in teaching me how to tackle the AM portion.

#36

first week in april

#37

Late February for me, so about 3.5 months and 220 hours into the process. This included EOC practice questions at the end of each reading.

#38

Couldn’t have done with it without LevelUp Boot Camp. Failed last year band 8 using Kaplan. Nothing beats the CFA curriculum that Marc goes through in LevelUp. I did the online videos and classes. The only thing I wish I did different was to watch the videos more than once. Felt much more prepared this year than any of the other times I took it in the past and the results showed it.

  • Went through Marc’s slide book so many times I lost count
  • Reviewed blue boxes 3-4 times
  • “White text” examples that Marc highlighted in the curriculum
  • EOC questions 1-2 times depending on if I was struggling with a given area
  • Flash cards for specific examples/past exam questions
  • Old exams - went back 10 years for some sections
  • Mock Exams - went back 5 years
  • Online CFA topic tests 1-2 times depending on the area
#39

Additionally you can check the results thread and find a few ppl that totally nailed the exam. Find the most efficient combination of what they did for preparation, and do about 80% of their efforts.

#40

where do you find past exam questions? I don’t believe they are available on the CFA website? Thank you.