Hi guys. I’m a new L2 candidate and would really appreciate any words of wisdom you can pass on to me… People at work tell me that L2 is the hardest so I’d like to be mentally prepared before hitting the books next year. So I had a couple of questions for you guys… 1) Is L2 conceptually more difficult than L1 or are the L2 questions in the exam more difficult? How does the volume compare between L1 and L2? 2) Which set of books did you use as your bible? Schweser, Stalla, CFA text 3) Do you think there are any shortcuts to this exam? 4) Which topics did you find most difficult/easy? 5) My strategy for L1 was to do tons and tons of questions (as opposed to reading books)- will I be taking a huge risk if I did the same for L2? Thanks for reading and would appreciate your help! and well done to all those that passed today!
You can pick your nose, and you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your friends’ nose… Hazing aside: 1) Yes - The concepts go into a lot more detail, but there are less topics 2) Schweser - Schweser pack with the 2nd exam book 3) NO - Bottom line you really do need to know everything. Obviously valuation is the whole theme of L2, so I think it can help to try and think of how everything affects valuation as your going through the readings 4) Quant was the toughest for me, I don’t have much experience with this. Equity was easy for me because I do a lot of it for my job 5) I think you need to understand the concepts and know the calculations
I just failed L2, reasonably close to passing (band 8) and I think Schweser along with qbank is the best way to go. Make sure you get the study planner with your package, you put in a start and end date it gives you a very detailed study and review schedule. I;m probably going to use the curriculum as well and start early because I am not taking any chances next time around. Also, this is very doable with time and repition. I took l2 after passing l1 in December, which is doable for a decent number of people on this forum but wasn’t enough time for me.
dna Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi guys. I’m a new L2 candidate and would really > appreciate any words of wisdom you can pass on to > me… People at work tell me that L2 is the > hardest so I’d like to be mentally prepared before > hitting the books next year. So I had a couple of > questions for you guys… > > 1) Is L2 conceptually more difficult than L1 or > are the L2 questions in the exam more difficult? > How does the volume compare between L1 and L2? > 2) Which set of books did you use as your bible? > Schweser, Stalla, CFA text > 3) Do you think there are any shortcuts to this > exam? > 4) Which topics did you find most difficult/easy? > 5) My strategy for L1 was to do tons and tons of > questions (as opposed to reading books)- will I be > taking a huge risk if I did the same for L2? > > Thanks for reading and would appreciate your help! > and well done to all those that passed today! 1. On these boards I heard ‘Level I is a mile long and an inch deep, Level II is a mile long and a mile deep.’ I can’t describe it any better than that. 2. Schweser for everything but Ethics, CFAI for Ethics. 3. No. On our exam there was no free cash flow (long section) and two balance of payment questions (hardly a page). It’s tough to predict what will be on there. 4. Difficult: Multiple regression, pensions, All-current v. Temporal 5. You have to be able to read a vingette and apply what you read. You need to be able to work everything, but you also have to know what information from the vingette you need to work your problem, if that makes sense.
- Same basic idea, higher level of understanding required. Memorizing will not do. 2) Schweser (including secret sauce) 3) Don’t worry about obscure stuff people will tell you about (Balance of Payments this year) - if you know your core topics well, few questions you miss should not matter 4) Port. Mgmt is hard 5) Read books. Questions and books only work when you use them together.
Thanks guys that’s helpful.
I found Level 2 significantly harder and “deeper”. I registered for Level 1 in late March 07, studied fast and passed June 07. For Level 2 I took a more cautious approach and started in September 07. I used CFAI materia for the majority of the studying. Near the end, I picked up some used '07 Schweser study guides and used those for a fast review (had to watch for the sections deleted or added though). Did not use anything else. For Level 3 I think I should notch it up and make more use of various prep strategies like Q-bank and/or courses etc. Another point to keep in mind, there are “only” 120 questions on the Level 2 exam and as such, they tend to require more time to analyse than many of the shorter Level 1 questions. I personally liked the vignette format, but that is merely a personal preference. The afternoon session was very tough (this year anyway) and there were six questions I had to guess on. Unlike Level 1, I found the questions very difficult to guess on with partial knowledge. I felt going into the exam that I could have done more practice questions. However, many of the exam questions were rooted in minutae that was extracted from deep in the readings. In restrospect, I was glad that I read all the CFAI stuff. For reference I am a non-fianance guy, so my perception of what is difficult or not may be skewed.
Thanks amjf088… that’s helpful. amjf088 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I found Level 2 significantly harder and > “deeper”. > > I registered for Level 1 in late March 07, studied > fast and passed June 07. For Level 2 I took a more > cautious approach and started in September 07. > > I used CFAI materia for the majority of the > studying. Near the end, I picked up some used '07 > Schweser study guides and used those for a fast > review (had to watch for the sections deleted or > added though). Did not use anything else. > > For Level 3 I think I should notch it up and make > more use of various prep strategies like Q-bank > and/or courses etc. > > Another point to keep in mind, there are “only” > 120 questions on the Level 2 exam and as such, > they tend to require more time to analyse than > many of the shorter Level 1 questions. I > personally liked the vignette format, but that is > merely a personal preference. > > The afternoon session was very tough (this year > anyway) and there were six questions I had to > guess on. Unlike Level 1, I found the questions > very difficult to guess on with partial knowledge. > > > I felt going into the exam that I could have done > more practice questions. However, many of the exam > questions were rooted in minutae that was > extracted from deep in the readings. In > restrospect, I was glad that I read all the CFAI > stuff. > > For reference I am a non-fianance guy, so my > perception of what is difficult or not may be > skewed.
Used Schweser almost solely, with CFAI texts in case I didnt understand something For both LI and LII, I wrote an outline of each section. It ended up being about 50 written pages in total, which is what I studied from for about the last 2 weeks. Basically I started the outline by writing down tough questions from q-bank or practice exams, and it just builds from there. Every time you run across something you dont know off the top of your head, write it in the notes. Whats great about doing this is that you can reuse the notes next year for certain sections (i.e. ethics, some econ, etc)
- Is L2 conceptually more difficult than L1 or are the L2 questions in the exam more difficult? How does the volume compare between L1 and L2? I think for someone who came off L1 with a fairly solid understanding of the material, it’s not conceptually difficult, it’s just a lot deeper. In some cases, it really builds, like in FSA. Consequently, the volume is quite a bit more than L1 in my opinion. Ethics is kind of a freebie since it’s mostly identical to L1, just a little extra. It’s not much, but you gotta take what you can get. 2) Which set of books did you use as your bible? Schweser, Stalla, CFA text I read every page of CFAI. Maybe I missed a few since I pulled a “Fail” (band 9) out of it. Ugh. I used Schweser’s practice test books and review books. The practice tests were great. I suggest getting through the material - however you choose to do that - and start plowing through practice questions 5-6 weeks from the test. 3) Do you think there are any shortcuts to this exam? No, unless you count Ethics. That’s not really a shortcut though, it’s just a gift to those who mastered it in L1. 4) Which topics did you find most difficult/easy? I have no idea how to answer this. I thought I had Econ whipped and I got < 50%; FSA had me worried and I got > 70%. They can test you on whatever nitpicky thing (Bal. of Pmts!!!) they want and if you’re a little weak on that particular point, forget it. The best thing you can do is know all of it thoroughly. (Consider this an answer to your shortcuts question.) 5) My strategy for L1 was to do tons and tons of questions (as opposed to reading books)- will I be taking a huge risk if I did the same for L2? I don’t think so. It’s how I prepared. I didn’t get to the practice questions until a little late in the game and I think that really hurt me. It kinda takes a while to get through the CFAI books if you’re hitting every page though. Maybe one shortcut is to skim areas you feel acquainted with and pick them up in the practice questions - they’re important. Very important.
dna, take a break for 6 months - seriously if you start now you will be stale and bored by june next year Start fresh in say Feb next year and hit it with everything you got It’s not just about learning the stuff - it’s a mental game and you’ve got to be fresh and at your peak in June just my 2c
- More volume, more difficult (new concepts, interaction between study sessions) 2) Schweser in addition to CFA texts (didn’t use CFA text for Level I, didn’t use CFA texts for Level II ENOUGH … but passed) 3) The only short cut only and ONLY if you feel you’re running out of time: Know A LOT about a few topics (Equity, FSA, Fixed Income - BIG DOGS) and SOMETHING (main points) about everything else 4) People will diverge on their perceptions due to abilities/backgrounds/etc. The key to remember: some topics have overwhelmingly more weight than others. So you MUST know the BIG DOGS inside and out, see my answer to quest. #3 5) Risk -Yes, questions that you will find in Schweser and Q banks may differ significantly from what you’ll find on Level II (this is due to vignette format of Level II). You will find a fraction of material tested on exam compared to what you’ve learned. This means ANYTHING can show up on exam, and no matter how many questions you do, you will still not cover every possible variation. That said, do both: lots of practice questions (to get familiar with format), and lots of in-depth study of curriculum. General Advice: Talk to yourself through topics. Before going to bed, I would rehearse everything I know about one specific topic, for instance Pension Accounting, or Price Multiples as I was teaching other people about it. Then I would teach my relatives/friends about (they didn’t care and probably thought I was going crazy ) If I forgot anything, formulas, concepts, I would go back to books to re-read, re-read, and re-read. Same thing after making mistakes on practice tests. This helps a lot to retain the material.
dna Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 1) Is L2 conceptually more difficult than L1 or > are the L2 questions in the exam more difficult? > How does the volume compare between L1 and L2? I actually found L2 easier (but I may be an exception). Coming from a non-finance background, L1 was like being thrown into the deep end of the pool. But L2 builds on a lot of L1 concepts, so I actually found the material more accessible. That said, the L2 material goes into one heck of a lot of detail… and you have to know the details. > 2) Which set of books did you use as your bible? > Schweser, Stalla, CFA text I used the Schweser texts to understand the concepts, as I found the material to be presented in a more logical fashion there. But I went through the CFA texts after that to reinforce and fill in the gaps - the Schweser texts don’t cover 100% of the syllabus. > 3) Do you think there are any shortcuts to this > exam? No. The problem set format means that if you skip an area and it comes out, you’re down 5% of the total marks. Considering the passing mark is around 60-70% and the possibility of silly mistakes in other areas… well… it’s not a risk I’d take. > 4) Which topics did you find most difficult/easy? I liked the equity valuation models as well as the FSA - lots of number crunching, but that’s one of my strengths. I found the ethics section very tricky - you NEED to know the smallest details for what is and isn’t considered okay. > 5) My strategy for L1 was to do tons and tons of > questions (as opposed to reading books)- will I be > taking a huge risk if I did the same for L2? You’re taking the risk that the questions won’t cover the exact things that will come out in the exam. You should to read the books at least once before doing questions. Then go back to the books and beef up on your weak areas… and do even more questions. Doing questions helps to reinforce what you’ve read, but it’s not a substitute for reading the material in the first place. Good luck!
i think i studied for level 1 absolute max 50 hours… level 2 i studied 350+ hours. much, much harder… FSA (one of effectively 9 subjects) was probably more work took more time than level 1 combined. i would do mostly schweser for quite awhile, fill in with CFAI. do all the cfa end of chapter questions (and yes, “name the 5 functions the compensation comittee performs” is a MONUMENTAL PAIN, but that’s how the exam works, basically. get on the practice exams at least 5 weeks early. score is absolutely irrelevent. more a scare and guide to what you don’t know.
man, this is a GREAT thread!! thanks guys.
Whatever you do, don’t ever underestimate the difficulty of the CFA exam.
After Level 1 Exam, I have 98% confidence in passing. After Level 2 Exam, I have 90% confidence in failing. For both, I spent roughly same amount of time…
Wow. Thanks for all your comments. Will take them on board.
- L2 - less volume, a lot more detail - and a lot more difficult. 2) Stalla with a little bit of the CFA text for ethics and quant. 3) God no. 4) Hardest - Economics, Derivatives; Easiest - Equity/FSA (they weren’t easy by any means, but it’s more my speed) 5) You need to understand the concepts. I did less questions for L2 than I did for L1 but still wound up passing. They can ask it a million ways, you need to understand the underlying message.
null&nuller Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dna, > take a break for 6 months - seriously > if you start now you will be stale and bored by > june next year > Start fresh in say Feb next year and hit it with I disagree with this. I started in Feb and I didn’t feel like I had enough time. I know there are a lot of people who passed L1 in 12/07 and passed, so it’s *possible* to start in Feb and make it for some people - maybe you’re one of them. But I’d rather start around 1/1 and ease up later in the process if you feel like you’re all over it than wait until too late and not have enough time. It’s not fun to be sitting around in late May with a 65% average on your last three practice tests wishing you had another six weeks to review. Ask anyone on here who just failed if they would have been willing to be “stale and bored” in exchange for a passing grade.