I’m working on level II, taking it for the first time in June of 2010, and want to refine my study plan for maximum effectiveness. I’m into book 2 so I’m on my way… I’m considering using the schweser notes for the reading and note taking, simply to cut down on the volume of reading, and then utilize the questions at the end of each reading in both CFA and Schweser to reinforce what I know or don’t know. Does anyone have an opinion on this strategy or any strong opinions of what worked for you. Many thanks… good luck!
Sounds ok. Read Schweser notes 3 times and do all exercices you can find (not qbank).
Schweser sucks, use the authoritative material and go through it once throughly and take notes. Also do a search on this forum as there are about 50 threads discussing the merits of using CFAI texts or Shweser.
when I took L2 back in 2007 a lot of people who used just Schweser got burned by its lack of coverage on a particular PM topic. The test had a bunch of questions on topics that Schweser didn’t even address or glossed over. You always take on that risk by not studying the ultimate source.
jbaldyga Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > when I took L2 back in 2007 a lot of people who > used just Schweser got burned by its lack of > coverage on a particular PM topic. The test had a > bunch of questions on topics that Schweser didn’t > even address or glossed over. > > You always take on that risk by not studying the > ultimate source. I second this opinion. I say study from CFAI material, take the CFAI ECQs/samples/mocks and you’ll be in good shape since you’ll have been exposed to the entire curriculum. It takes time, though not as much as re-sitting. Schweser doesn’t cover the material comprehensively enough.
my basic advice is read the stuff over and over again. often quite quickly. not a fan of the twice thru the material, once meticulously. if you only have CFAI, then good set of notes on qualitative stuff, and then just pound those notes and the more formula-based stuff from CFAI over and over again. just my two cents, but most people i know who didn’t fail a level agree with this, and some who failed didn’t do it this way. (admittedly a small, biased sample)
Kakane Wrote: > It takes time, > though not as much as re-sitting. Amen to that.
Just stick with Schweser if you’re time sensitive. I studied for 1.5 months only using Schweser and passed. I didn’t do great, but a pass is a pass, right? If you have time, I’d suggest do the CFAI readings, as others have suggested. Much more in depth, but you gotta cut through alot of their “fluff”, which is interesting/helpful, to get to the really important concepts.
Schweser is top notch! Used for L1 and L2… Planning to do the same for L3 too.
Use Schweser for Level III, the coverage ain’t complete. If you get stuck or don’t understand anything, DO open up the CFAI books and clear each and everything before proceeding.
People really need to stop bashing schweser so much. Yes, I agree that the CFAI books are the best, that’s obvious, since they are the test writers…duh! BUT…schweser was helpful for some of us who were crunched for time, or who didn’t want to read all the extra ‘fluff’ but wanted to directly attack the LOS’s. I used schweser + actual previous morning session tests (do them timed) from CFA + my own notes which I made from schweser…and I passed. At least six other people I know ALL passed…and they all used schweser. It’s not about what you use (schweser or CFAI), it’s about how hard you study and how well you practise the morning session ‘style’ of testing.
I had to use Schweser for L2 as I inly had 3.5 months and that is not long enough to go through the CFAI text imho. I did pass, but I would have preferred to have used CFAI as I felt a bit underprepared going inot the exam.