Level I dec 2012 progress

Hi guys! I’ve just enrolled for dec level I exam and i was wondering how is your study going?and to be more relevant no of hours planned and a short study plan.

I am thinking about starting in august 1.5 ss per week plus 6 weeks for revision and mock exams, somewhere around 400h. I have schweser and i’ll get soon cfai materials

Hi,

It all depends on your background. Some of the study sessions are very small so won’t take you a week to look at. Just keep the plan flexible.

I have an excel spreadsheet where I monitor the number of hours I do and my progress. So far i’ve done c60hours in 3.5weeks and have finished, Ethics, Quant and 90% of FRA. I’m going to be studying them all again next week and nail the Qbank, EOC, and little quizes at the end of schweser. I want to be 80% on these by w/c 13th Aug.

My plan is close to 550hours…not sure how much I’ll end up doing tho.

Hey ana_georgiana90!

I am enrolled for the Dec. 2012 exams too! I have started my CFA readings about a month ago. I am done with ethics (took me forever to get through it) and now I am working my way through Quants. Do note that I recently graduated with a finance/accounting/statistics background, so most of the material will be a review for me from my university years.

I created a schedule, where for the next 3 months, I am planning on reading all 5 Schweser books, watching their video’s, and doing the Schweser end of readings self-tests. Do take notes of any important or hard to memorize concepts in a separate review notebook that you can use when you’ll be done all the readings.

In the last month, I am planning to do:

*Schweser Q Bank Questions* - there are about 4000 questions, so I will go through as many as possible. *CFA Institute End of Chapter Questions* *Schweser Practice Exams Books 1 and 2* *CFA Institude Mock Exams* - I think you need to pay for these? *Read the CFA Institute Ethics book 1-2 times* - I am planning on leaving this near the end of the month so that my short-term memory can work its magic during the Exam. Do note that I have already read the ethics material, so this reading should be fast and mostly review. *Read the Schweser Secret Sauce* - throughout the month!!! I am planning on writing at least 4-6 mock exams before the Dec. 2012 Exam. Also, I will be taking notes of the questions that I will be getting wrong, and compile them into a separate exam for me to retake. Hope this helped, and good luck with your studies :slight_smile:

This is exactly the material i am going to use plus watching videos and taking notes.I am not sure yet when should i do QBank questions after each session/topic/volume? so that it will help m nail everything and not forget older readings.

I don’t have a financial calculator so that is a minus at the moment …anyway i ordered texas instruments ba II plus on amazon, i should have it next monday.

Did you already start studying?how is it going?

What do you think about being my study partener? i would like somenone to talk by email let’s say once a week keep track of our progress motivate each other and try to explain each other things we haven’t understood very well. Someone with same study plan/materials would be great

Get your CFAI books now, you can pass relying completely on Schweser but that study method will no work at level 2 and 3. You may find yourself wasting time reviewing material you should have learned properly from level 1 because you cut corners and used Schweser.

Also relying heavily on Schweser may mean you miss some easy questions on the CFA exam because that material was not covered in Schweser.

Again, get you CFAI books now, do the end of chapter readings twice if you can. Try to complete the multiple choice questions in 1.5 minutes (240 questions, 360 minutes in total for exam day = 1.5 minutes per question),

thanks for the advice:) i’ve already ordered them, they will arrive in a few days. Anyway some of the information is not exactly new for me because i studied in school probabilities, statistics, portfolio management, micro and macro economics +

I am in for a bit of juggling due to shortage of time.

I am unable to put massive hours, so what I’m doing is studying Schweser, doing EOC questions from CFA and Schweser. Watching 7 City videos. I plan to do q bank questions as well which I haven’t yet started.

When I do EOC questions, or when I’m studying Schweser I also have the CFA book open, if I think Schweser is too concise on that topic, I read the CFAI material. This is working for FRA.

I agree CFA takes a lot of time but it much easier to grasp things with the detailed explanation.

On, how much I’m through, I’ve only done 1 reading in Ethics, and should be through FRA by 5th Aug. Then moving to Ethics and Quant. I’m worried about the progress. as I started end of June and haven’t finished FRA yet. Any thoughts?

Regards,

I will be taking the December level 1 course for the first time. I got the Schweser essential study material last week. ($750 ouch). I don’t plan on registering for the level 1 until the cut off deadline in August (another $1200 ouch ouch ouch). I cringe knowing that 2 grand has just dented my bank account… I have read the ethics section in Schweser and often found myself thinking at the end of section…well duh…I mean much of the material is very obvious, my big problem is knowing which violation belongs to each specific code violated.

I got a bachelor of commerce in 2011 with a double major in finance/marketing. Anyways I already know my biggest obsticle will be balancing studying with a full time job. I work for a top 100 company in Canada doing internal audit and find myself utterly exhausted by 5pm Mon-Fri. The last thing I want to do when I get home is absorb financial concepts, but obviously sacrafices need to be made.

The main reason I am taking the CFA is so I am not stuck doing this incredibly boring/unrewarding/robotic job in audit for the rest of my life (If I pass level 1 I am qutting) and looking for a new job in the financial sector; that is my main motivation right now.

My goal is to read one study lesson in the Schweser study guide each day. Or roughly 60-80 pages. I hope to have read all the material by the end of October. Then focus on qbank questions and do practice exams for November. Hopefully ready to crush the exam by December. Also one of my co-workers is writing the Level 1 in December for the 3rd time! He quit 2 weeks ago to focus full time on studying the CFA; the incentive for him is that he has an investment banking job waiting for him in China; all he has to do is get his level 1.

#1 This is not the reason to pursue the CFA designation.

#2 I wouldn’t trade employment with a top 100 company for a CFA level 1 pass email

This is a perfect example of the 93% that start the program that never finish. Please have more motivation than wanting a different job before spending another $1200.

Pdub,

#1 I hate my job…II want more for me than life is currently offering…I have a background in finance; therefore it’s a great opportunity for me to pursue a CFA. As a child I dreamed of being a stock broker; I have done my research and many of the local employers that I am currently interested in are asking for CFA level 1 qualifications for great entry level jobs in investment trading. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying this is the golden ticket to be a CFO, I am saying it is a great opportunity to get my foot in the door for a job that I really desire and want to have (unlike being analyst for internal audit). By you stating “this is not the reason to pursue CFA designation” is complete ignorance. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to take the CFA (respect, money, employment, knowledge etc.) don’t condescend someone based on their personal experiences and beliefs.

#2 Yes I work for a great company; however; I work in audit…I’m assuming you have never worked in audit because ask anyone who has…they will tell you the same thing…it sucks! It blows my mind that people in my department have been here for 20+ years, but that is their prerogative. The turnover in my department is insane, many new hires last barely 3 months then quit because of the workload and expectations. All employees in my department are also on contract including myself which means NO benefits and minimal salary. Do you see where my motivation is coming from?

My motivation may not be the same as the motivation you have for taking the CFA; that being said; don’t judge someone that doesn’t have the same values and beliefs you have, it’s ignorant and ethically demoralizing. I’m assuming you haven’t read the Ethics section of level 1 yet :wink: JK JK

Lastly, I want to thank you for posting your comment, you really have inspired me to work harder, study more, and obtain the Level 1. It is people like you that I love to prove wrong.

you got served bro

I was wondering which Schweser package I should get.

I think the essential package for 600$ is enough no? or the full package fr 1400$ is really essential for level 1?

Thanks in advance for your help

Em

proving me wrong is also not a good motivation to pursue the CFA

you very clearly said that you are taking the CFA is so that you wont be stuck in your job anymore…i.e. the CFA is the ticket to changing jobs…it is not…you then followed it up with how your friend is solidifying his job in IB by passing the CFA…essentially supporting your idea that the CFA will get you a job

it helps to have thick skin…it also helps to do your due diligence to see why someone may interpret what you are saying “incorrectly”…you provided no other support than the fact that you want a job in finance…so i didnt judge anything…doing due diligence before writing something up is a key skill in finance

your audit experience is probably more likely to get you in the door than passing the CFA…the answer to getting out of your business is to do your time…its right in front of you…with that said, good luck in your pursuit, because it will ADD VALUE, not open the door

Just ordered my Schweser books on Saturday, still awaiting their arrrival. I think if this is your first rodeo at a finance designation exam I would definitely go for the video instruction. It keeps you on schedule when life starts getting in the way and you don’t realize it. I am planning to do fours hours Tuesday, Thursday; two hours on Friday; depending on my schedule a total of six-eight hours combined Saturday and Sunday.