How to retain CFA level 1 material? Please help

Hello everyone,

I’m taking level 1 exam in Dec (my first attempt). I have finished studying the CFAI books a month ago (too long and full of details but had no choice as I couldn’t afford third party notes). Now I am going through the material for the second time, solving EOCs plus Qbank (on average 80 questions/reading). Once I’m done, I solve the CFAI topic test for each study session.

I have noticed that I score well when I solve problems right after I finish studying the material. However, this is not the case if I try to solve more problems for a topic that I studied weeks ago. I feel like I have forgotten everything. Is it normal? :confused:I am so frustrated and don’t know if I am not doing the right thing or my memory is failing me :sob:.

Very normal. You’re ahead of schedule, stay diligent about practicing all the material you’ve covered and you should get more and more comfortable with it as time progresses. Best of luck! Check out Apptuto for a great level 1 question bank. They’re cheap, have a great mobile app, and the quality of questions for L1 are superb in my opinion.

All the academic research indicates that the best way to create stronger memory links is by repeated testing/recall. In other words, don’t just reread - quiz yourself, use flash cards, etc…

Make it active. In other words, the best way to train yourself to recall something is

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To repeatedly make yourself recall it. Duh.

Thanks for the advice. I will do my best.

You are doing great and you are way ahead of your schedule and that’s a very good thing. I was encountering the same problem as you are. One of my friend’s suggested me to try out this platform called PrepSmarter. They are an adaptive practice engine with a huge question bank which helps you in facing almost every type of question that can come in the exam. I have been using it for 2 months now and have seen improvement in recalling answers faster and I am improving on my weak areas due to platform’s Adaptive nature. And because you practice daily your concepts get clearer. I would advise you to try the platform once to know how it works.

Make your own flash hand notes and repeat these frequently.