I just took the Level I. I had signed up not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. I only studied from the CFAI books, maybe 6 weeks before the exam, but I came out feeling okay about the exam. Thing is, I’ve been seeing how well prepared most of you are. Anyway the idea is that, next June when I take the exam again (L1 or L2?), I’m going to try and do it right. So what I really wanted to ask is, how much did you guys spend on the entire exam (exam fee aside) and on what components/brand of study material exactly? Which parts were worth it and really helped you?
I actually got a MASSIVE discount on the exam fee. The head of the finance dept. at my university is a charterholder and he sponsored me. So I only had to pay $220. I got the books dirt cheap too (Schweser 7books+QBank CD for $30). I studied mainly from Schweser, I’m a finance student at my uni so not a lot of this stuff was new to me and I got a grasp of it relatively easily. Schweser was good I felt. AF is a fantastic resource, keep coming on here. Plus, it’s free. The QBank CD was pretty handy too, a lot of questions in there, you’ll definitely feel a lot more confident after doing that.
Schweser notes + practice exams were crucial. I didn’t fully utilize Qbank (used only 30% of it at the end). Next time I’m gonna do questions throughout the course to keep everything fresh
Thanks guys. It’s still Schweser vs Stalla. Both seems to have its own share of supporters and fans
I used Stalla ti oass levels I & II on the first try. I really am a fan of Stalla especially Olinto he does a great job explaining concepts. As for Schweser my understanding from people who have used it is that its also a great product. I guess you could pick either. I’m usung Stalla for level III as it worked for me on I & II just my two cents…