Hi everyone, I would like to introduce myself to the group, this is my first mssg. I have registered for L2 and finally recd the curriculum, would like to know which subject should i start with, have cleared L1 on my second try, dont want to take any chances with L2. I guess i have sufficient time till jun10, Can anyone help me schedule for the ensuing 10 months, given that I am into a full time job, not related to finance and an average student. This would really help me, Thanks.
If you don’t want to take any chance, be prepared to do three passes on the whole curriculum. And since you already admitted you are an average student with no finance background, you need to work extra hard to pass the exam. If CFAI says you need 250 hours, be prepared to put in at least 400-450 hours. Purchase one of the third party study notes with instructor office hours. Attend office hours every week to make sure you don’t misunderstand anything (also to make sure your progress is ahead of other average candidates). Ideally, you should be done first pass by end of year (assuming you start now). Then work on your second pass from Jan. to Apr. using CFAI text EOC questions. For the last two months, study from Secret Sauce and crunch through as many vignettes as possible until D-Day. Don’t pay too much attention to how much you score on mock exams. Rather, use them as tools to reveal your weakness, so you can patch them before D-Day. (Think of the mock exams as opportunities for you to make all the mistakes that you can make, so that you won’t make them again on the real exam.) The key: leave no stones unturned. CFAI knows each of us is good at some topics and bad at others. This is why the actual exam is designed such that no one would have an extreme advantage on a small number of topics on the exam. As a rule of thumb, you should aim to have at least five topics that you are very confident about (aim for at least 75% on mocks to be safe, since mocks tend to be easier) and get at least a passing grade on the remaining topics on a consistent basis. The five topics must include Ethics, FSA and Equity. I would also recommend FI and CorpFin to be safe. If you fail any particular topic, consider yourself not ready. Repeat and rinse. That’s my take on the preparation (since your background is similar to mine). YMMV.
Hey eltia,grea8 job.thanks even i will follow the same.
I made a weekly schedule that gives at least one week for each study session w/ review weeks in between volumes. starting with Nov 1 there are 31 weeks before 6/5/2010. would be happy to sent it to you - email me at slorte@gmail.com
1.5 weeks per SS and then 8 weeks of review will be what I am basing my review off of, give or take.
Just reiterate what I said earlier. My comment was based on the assumption that OP is a normal guy from a non-finance background. (i.e. he is no Mozart nor Einstein.) For normal people, you don’t have the gift, so you expect to grind harder and to take longer (and probably let go your ego a bit in the process). i.e. if you believe you are a prodigy or gifted, or you have spent a long time in investment industry, please ignore my comment.
Here’s how I studied for L1: Starting in early January, I read the 6 books until late March/early April. I went ahead and type the LOS and type their answers. That was probably for another 2-3 weeks. For a week, I answered all problems in the books. After that, I just spent answering the Schweser Practice Exam Set while occasionally going through my notes. I’d probably follow the same format. Only this time, since I’m starting earlier, I hope to finish 1 book in 2-3 weeks. That gives me until at most, mid-January. Say, end of Jan. Spend Feb/March doing notes. April-June solving problems. I might end up buying 2 sets of Practice Exams from Schweser this time! lol
Thanks eltia this will really help.
if you do a search of threads on this topic you will probably find 95% of people say 10 months is about 4-6 months too long - for a whole bunch of reasons. Relax for the rest of this year - do some general reading on your weak areas. L2 is pretty much the same scope as L1 except much deeper and more detailed, so you would know what your weak areas are. Then hit the curriculum in about Feb next year. cheers