People Pumping Prep Programs

I passed with Schweser at 1 & 2, but am considering LevelUp or IFT for level 3. I like the idea of studying from CFAI books for level 3, it is less material than earlier exams and the CFAI EOC and online questions are simply the best source to study from. LU is definitely expensive, and I don’t love it that he holds back things like IPS training only for Bootcamp subscribers, that seems cheap for an otherwise premium product.

Which is a bit like saying why don’t schweser include Sauce and videos in their basic package.

If you buy the Level Up videos the incremental cost of the BC isn’t that much from what I remember. Of course there are other costs like travel and accommodation associated with BC, but it all depends on how much confidence you want to have in passing. I’m biased because I doubt I would have passed without it.

I will side with the OP as well. It is quite annoying these people with like 8 AF points comment on L3 forums regarding the quality of some specific prep providers. There has never been a post from someone with considerable contribution to the forum. I do not wish to write off the provider as poor, as the matter of fact it could be even awesome.

This Malee guy is registered on AF for less than three weeks and is commenting only on sections with prep providers. I did a quick glance and it seems people with low AF points or time since registration are talking good about the prep provider.

Come on!

Agree with the OP as well. Schweser worked for me for levels 1 and 2 and I’m tempted to give LevelUp a try, but there are many posts here that seem fake and that’s giving me pause.

I think you’ll see a lot of recommendations for Level Up because it it is extremely good. Marc doesn’t advertise pass rates, but when asked I think he said something like 84%. In addition, I suspect (but don’t know) a lot more re-takers use it. Both of which means a lot of satisfied customers who want to share their experiences.

Of course you don’t need to spend USD 2000 on Level Up and there are cheaper alternatives. But I would encourage you to look at each of the alternatives and decide what’s best for you, regardless of ‘fake’ posts that seem to promote them.

Have you ever thought that maybe the accounts aren’t fake and they are actually because people may be lurking on the forums and see a topic they feel they can contribute to and so decide to register for the forum and comment?

I still have to see people like that talking about any other prep company. And not just talk about other prep company, but sign up on AF just to comment in favor of the prep company, without contributing in any other way.

This is just too much.

The thing is if you go with one (good) provider you’re not going to have in depth personal experience of another. Nor (in my case) do you feel you need the support of the forum to discuss the material you are studying.

Good luck in 2019

Up-front Disclaimer: this is my one and only time posting in this forum. The only reason I created a login is to provide honest feedback for those asking about prep providers, since I do agree with some of the posters that speak to Level 3 being a different animal. For all three levels I’ve been on this site mostly to see what folks were saying close to & after results day to share in the excitement & agony!

For the OP I can see why this will read as another plug & rightly so. All I can speak to is LevelUp with Marc, the one I used and passed with. Am sure there are other providers that do an excellent job as well but this is my experience with LevelUp. I feel Level I & Level II are so much more technical & quantitatively-based that experience in the field wasn’t as critical to passing. Level III is so much about portfolio mgmt. & BF is such a critical aspect of it that for people not in Inv. Mgmt. it gets difficult to see the forest among the trees. Not to mention the entirely different approach needed to come up with an answer & write it in an essay format. How else do you explain the 56% pass rate for folks that are obviously really smart & passed two hard exams prior to this?

I’ve known Marc for about ten years, having taken my Investment Management graduate classes with him at Creighton when he was teaching there. He’s definitely a Type A personality & brings that same zealous attitude to his teaching. His knowledge of the materials is simply amazing and he’s committed to upholding the value of the charter & helping his students pass. The slide book, AM essay book, course videos, IPS workbook, & Focus book are all excellent companions; his four-day boot camp is excruciating but well worth its price & pain in getting that pass result! Marc will emphasize to you from the get-go that there are no shortcuts & the CFAI curriculum is your bible. However when you’re a one-man show and you spend 20-some years studying the CFA curriculum and the testing of it each year you end up with a very good, experienced partner to help guide you through the exam process.

I didn’t take LevelUp course, videos or bootcamp, but having seen his old videos with Kaplan, I have no doubt that Marc would be one of the top 3 CFA instructors ever.

The other two being . . . ?

You and Arif

What about Mark Meldrum? Haven’t seen a great deal of posts (unlike LevelUp) where people discuss and analyze his quality of teaching. Is it because he is kind of like new in the block?

It is foolish to assume people are fake based on the number of AF points they have. I registered long ago, even took a break between studies because of life, and now that I am approaching level 3, I am back on here interacting for a while. I didn’t have time to interact as much on here, too busy with work and study, doesn’t mean I am a fake. I will probably disappear again when real time study comes (received my books today), no use of being here all the time, better spend that precious tight time reading the curriculum or watching videos!

I originally used LevelUp full package after all the hyped-up post here… I was disappointed after watching the videos and attending the famous boot camp. I failed the L3 and was surprised to find out that I was not the only one from my group. More of my coworkers passed using Schweser than my boot camp friends.

This year I switched to Mark Meldrum and did not regret it a bit. I honestly feel this is a better and more comprehensive offering at a fraction of the cost.

I see S2000 posting a lot in response to candidate questions on this forum with good detail and a dash of Socratic method.

Plus, he and Mrs. S2000 are delightful company over drinks and food!! :slightly_smiling_face: :+1:

OP: luv the alliteration in the thread title!!! :+1: