Hi guys, I have cleared L2 this year and will be appearing for L3 next year. I hear two viewpoints as far as L3 is concerned: 1) Mock exams are a must to get a feel of how to time the exams…the most important element 2) CFAI textbooks are a must. 1 is pretty clear but my question pertains to view 2. I wanted to know whether studying Schweiser would suffice for L3. I ask because I am extremely comfortable with the Schweiser format and will prefer sticking to it. But I cant afford to take a risk as I really need to pass L3 next year as lot of plans follow that (wedding 2011 july, MBA 2011 - 2013 hopefully). PS: I took my L1 - 2006 December. Level 2 in June this year. Cleared both first attempt. But in both the levels I was borderline case! Till date, I have only consulted the main Schweiser textbooks (albeit very thoroughly!) and I am yet to take a mock exam or consult any question bank (CFAI or Schweiser) Please reply.
In a word, no. I felt that Schweser was of limited use particularly in L3. The other two levels I passed pretty much using only Schweser. You certainly can’t do that in L3. The material is much more complex than the treatment Schweser gives it. There are some sections in particularly where Schweser is very weak. And that applies also to the prac exams. Schweser is not very in line with what the real exams are like. That applies particularly to ethics. Use Schweser only as a guide to check your understanding of concepts. But use CFA readings as your primary focus. Good luck.
well said, stuart. I regretted using schweser entirely this year…Lots of stuff are way too brief…CFAI readings, although boring and tedious, is the only way to pass level 3
At least finish the questions posted after each session. Schweser is good to pick up the whole idea/concept, but for the exam, CFAI is your No.1 choice.
You should ask this question after 2 weeks, when results are out.
I know some people well passed lv1 and 2 (i mean all above 70) with schweser only but I never know anyone could well passed lv 3 that way (maybe some just passed)…so safety first, regardless how much you are confident with schweser approach before, you should take schweser for learning 1st time, then skim CFAI as a 2nd review and do EOC quest. You will soon find this way extremely useful in the exam hall…Never see anyone regret because they did like that…
Thanks guys…I got the same responses from others whom I personally know! thnks a lot…Schweiser it is!!
erl21982 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks guys…I got the same responses from > others whom I personally know! > > thnks a lot…Schweiser it is!! I meant CFAI it is!! my bad
I think you guys are nuts – I obviously haven’t received my LIII results yet, but from taking the test I felt very comfortable with the questions and didn’t feel “blind sided” by anything that wasn’t in Schweser. If I didn’t know the answer to a question, it was generally because I couldn’t remember it from the notes, not because it wasn’t in there. If I do fail I will not hesitate to use 100% Schweser again. You only need to get 70% on this test to pass. If Schweser gives you 90% of the material for 75% of the readings, you’ve got a good deal on your hands. I truly do not believe someone who knows 100% of the Schweser readings could possibly fail any level of the CFA. Its absurd to think otherwise. If you can accept that, why wouldn’t you use Schweser exclusively?
very important feedback guys…l was also one guy who was comfy using Schweiser alone for level 1 and 2. will def change my approach for level 3
mossy695 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think you guys are nuts – I obviously haven’t > received my LIII results yet, but from taking the > test I felt very comfortable with the questions > and didn’t feel “blind sided” by anything that > wasn’t in Schweser. If I didn’t know the answer to > a question, it was generally because I couldn’t > remember it from the notes, not because it wasn’t > in there. > > If I do fail I will not hesitate to use 100% > Schweser again. You only need to get 70% on this > test to pass. If Schweser gives you 90% of the > material for 75% of the readings, you’ve got a > good deal on your hands. I truly do not believe > someone who knows 100% of the Schweser readings > could possibly fail any level of the CFA. Its > absurd to think otherwise. If you can accept that, > why wouldn’t you use Schweser exclusively? I definitely feel more comfortable reading the books where the questions are going to be pulled from. I have heard people complain about the difference in terminologies used by Schweser and the CFAI texts and I guess that is going to count a lot towards the essay portion of the exam. Reading those words over and over again in the CFAI texts and locking it into your brain definitely trumps reading certain words only once in Schweser. We are all different anyways and learn differently, I am not the crashing-and-dumping-everything-into-the-head-pass-and-go kind of person. I need to read around the concepts and understand how they evolved and I think that might just be the key to passing Level 3 since it is all about the “synthesis and integration”.
No. CFAI books are required in my view. I will let you know if/when i pass.
I didn’t read CFAI, but did all the EOC questions. So, if i pass in 2 week, I’ll say schweser’s enough.
people told me schweser alone wasnt enough for L1 - they were wrong people told schweser alone wasnt enough for L2 - they were wrong again if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Schweser helped me do really well on both L1 and L2, and I’m going to take that route again for L3 - I’ll supplement with some CFAI texts as necessary, but I think by this point you’ve gotta stick with what’s worked…
As long as you can do/ throughly understand the cfai between chapter questions and mocks by using only schweser notes you’re fine. The rest is practice and execution on test day. It also depends on how you learn… I personally like to get through the material 3 times and write notes. This would be impossible given my time constraints using the curriculum simply because of the sheer volume of pages. If you can retain everything in one read, cfai books might be the way to go. If you work full time like most taking this and need a few reads for it all to stick, schw’s your best bet. Of course you can look up random topics here and there using the curriculum.
whoaa… Did schweser L1, 2 n 3. Makes a lot more sense with hw generally our prep timilines keep diminishing. Wud b happy to cover the entire lot in schweser than do half of CFAI… bt if u r lucky enuf to hv nuthin to do @ wrk, cfai highly recommended… fingers crossed… given tht u folks hv increased the odds nw against me
Ok, now I wish many more people will use Schweser for Level 3. **Evil Grin**
Ok, now I wish many more people will use Schweser for Level 3. Evil Grin…
I will be joining this group in using Schweser only for L3. Done that for L1 and L2. Hoping the streak to cont.
GrooveCoverage Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I will be joining this group in using Schweser > only for L3. Done that for L1 and L2. Hoping the > streak to cont. You are wild!