I’ve been a lurker here for two years now and I’m going to give to you, my fellow analysts, the most crucial and critical gift to your Level 2 preparation that NO ONE here told me. If you want to pass this beast on the first attempt do this and only this; FOLLOW THE LOS’ TO THE LETTER! I managed to pass Level 1 on the first shot without following the LOS’. I have always been an excellent student and never done poorly on any test for which I have studied. I also have an IQ higher than 3 standard deviations from the mean. For Level 2 I kept reading and hearing from people, “know everything!”, but what they meant and mean is; know everything FROM THE LOS’! If the LOS states you need to know how to calculate or just explain a concept then your study of the material should reflect that precisely. Had I known the LOS’ were of such central importance and that the test material comes precisely and only from them, I probably would have passed and with half the amount of study time. Don’t follow this advice at your own peril. My first and penultimate post on Analystforum. The next post will come when I finish Level 3. Good luck to all!
Thanks!
so there are people taking this test that are focusing on stuff that is not in the los? like what? art history? underwater basket weaving? it’s good advice, but i thought we all knew to do this.
actually, the CFAI material has a lot of stuff that is not realated to the LOS’ This is another reason why I like Schweser, as they will explain the concepts so you have a grasp, however will tell you if you need to know something as part of the LOS or not…I see where eik is coming from…his advice is valid.
there’s your answer… I only used schweser except for ethics and practice questions…
cfasf1 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > so there are people taking this test that are > focusing on stuff that is not in the los? like > what? art history? underwater basket weaving? it’s > good advice, but i thought we all knew to do this. Underwater basket weaving is underrated on this forum. It played a big part in my success at L1…
one of the big derivatives calculations is actually in an optional section… don’t make that mistake like i did. i don’t necessarily agree on the LOS being completely definitive in their descriptions, although for tough formulae and so forth i definitely had a good look at the LOS… lots of stuff that isn’t described in LOS (and i don’t mean optional). for sure, i would focus most on the LOS stuff.
I am grateful for this post. Many thanks. As I dive into the meat of equity, crazy formulas coming at me from every angle, I am reminded to STAY FOCUSED ON THE LOSs. When I walked out of the Level 1 test last June, my first thought was “Gee, all the questions have direct wording relationships to the LOSs, no gimmicks. If you know your LOSs, you will be in the game.”
thank you for the advice!
since there is a 99.7 percent chance you are smarter than me I am going to listen to your advice sounds like great advice thanks
i rather learn everything and get a good grasp of the knowledge (i mean… isn’t that the ultimate purpose of getting the cfa designation? – having the letters CFA next to our name is just a plus). I would still read through the CFAI materials and learn as much as I can … then go back and work on the qbank/practice questions to pass the exam. That’s still how I would approach it; I can care less about isolating only LOS-related studying.
I don’t really get how to study with the intent of accomplishing the intent of the LOS’s, at least in an explicit sense. When I study, I study knowing I have to know the topic inside and out, whether that includes calculations, explanations, or some combination of things. It’s not like when I think about a topic, the exact LOS phrase pops into my head and I know exactly what CFAI wants me to know. I just know I need to know everything lol.
i don’t study only for the sake of the test, because if i failed , i would had learned something…
topher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t really get how to study with the intent of > accomplishing the intent of the LOS’s, at least in > an explicit sense. When I study, I study knowing I > have to know the topic inside and out, whether > that includes calculations, explanations, or some > combination of things. > > It’s not like when I think about a topic, the > exact LOS phrase pops into my head and I know > exactly what CFAI wants me to know. I just know I > need to know everything lol. AGREED!
Everybody has their own way to learn the material and pass the test. Just because one way works for one person doesn’t mean that it will work for everyone else. Also, like others here have said, isn’t the main goal of the CFA charter to learn the material and not to just pass the exams?
LOL. My IQ is probably not 3 standard deviations higher than average, but I didn’t have to wait until level 2 to figure out that the LOSs were there for a reason. I rate your thread 3 standard deviations below average.
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