So I told myself when I was doing my studies that I promised that I would post how I passed IF I passed as a kind of pay it forward thing. I learned some great tips from people on this site and I would like to share my wisdom to current CFA Level Candidates.
First off let’s get the obvious disclaimer out of the way. EVERYONE is different. Your externalities and internalities are all different. So let me tell you a little about me and if you think it fits you or somewhat fits you then listen to what I have to say, if not you may still find some useful tips.
I am a stockbroker working about 40 hours a week in a low stressful job (although this may change soon). I have no kids and a girlfriend (but where not to serious). I recently graduated college with a degree in Finance with about 3.8 GPA in major finance class and 3.4 overall.
Ok so got the personal information out of the way. Now I thought the best way to show you what I did is bullet point format in no particular order then I will go over the points afterwards;
· Studied 800 hours
· Kept track of everything in excel (hours, EOC scores, mock exams, etc)
· Made a study guide for each session for only conceptual things not re-hashing definitions and black and white things
· Highlighted key concepts in text
· Studied about 30 hours a week (minus first month: 20 hours) while steadily increasing each month and studied 40 hours a week in final month
· Read every reading
· Did EOC problems three times all together
· Studied the CFA book for 500 of 800 hours (including review)
· Rest of 300 was devoting to mock exams and study guides
· Do LOTS of mocks (I think this is one of the most important key to success)
So your first thoughts are probably, is this guy crazy? 800 hours? Well I am a person who always over prepares. Did I need to do 800 hours? No, probably not. But I was not about to study say 400 or 500 only to study again for the December exam when I failed in band 10. I passed all subjects about 70% minus one which was Economics (50% - 70%). This was expected as I scored the worst on mocks and EOCs in this area. This is why I think it is important to keep track of all your scores in excel. You will find your weaknesses easier which becomes important in the final month and half when your reviewing. I pinpointed four areas of weakness seven weeks before exam; Quant, Econ, Ethics, and FRA. I focused a lot on these areas for the preceding weeks until exam. It paid off as I passed three of four weaknesses.
I would definitely recommend doing a study guide. There is so much information you must summarize or your brain will explode. I also highlighted key concepts in book because I reviewed all material three times. Once after each reading (quickly), again after each study session, and once more after full reading of all books. Kind of a moving average of review I guess. There’s a lot of blogs about just doing Schweser and skipping CFA books. Although I only used Schweser for mocks and not review material, you can’t go wrong studying the books from the actual CFA institute…you know the people who write the test you will be taking. I would just use Schweser as compliment not substitute to CFA material.
I wouldn’t advise skipping readings unless you are crunched on time. It is going to come down to 240 randomized questions about six full length books. I would try your best to know as much as possible so you do not run into multiple questions on test where you don’t even have a good educated guess.
My biggest advice would be to do LOTS AND LOTS of mock exams. This was pivotal for me. It’s a different kind of thinking then reading text after text. You challenge your brain to learn and pin point your weaknesses which helps to focus your studying. I outsourced six Schweser exams and of course did CFA sample and mock exam. My results improved from each exam which is a huge confidence booster.
As for externalities, I would advise keeping a set routine. I went to work, worked out, came home and studied every single weekday. On weekends I would usually do something fun one night and study the other plus Sunday. I rarely took multiple days off in a row. Remember this is all going to your long term memory not short. By training your brain to learn every single day, I think makes remembering the material better than just doing long weekend study sessions and nothing during week.
You will get stressed out at times and sometimes you may freak out. That is perfectly normal. You must just fight threw it like everyone else. Just keep your eye on the prize and keep reminding yourself what motivated you to do the CFA in the first place. That will help.
I know this was very lengthy but I just wanted to do a detailed forum about how I passed in hopes that I can help another fellow candidate pass.
Hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck on your studies!