Is there anyone out there who has passed Level 1 who can speak to whether the Schweser practice exams are equal to the $50 a pop kind offered by CFA Institute…also, what kind of numbers are/were you getting on these exams (and from Qbank when run a comprehensive type of exam)?
ATTN: if you cannot see the value in using ALL official resources, and especially the CFAI prac exams then you need to go back to community college. quick.
the online official CFAI exams are the best way to measure your possible performance.
In a less harsh way the mikeeboy… they are worth it. 
I took 4 of them and would say they are worth the price. Questions almost identical to the actual test were on the practice exams. They also get you comfortable with the two part questions and concept questions that are typical of CFAI.
I have heard from multiple sources that the CFAI Practice Exams are worth the $50 a pop. I would do Scheweser exams AND the CFAI exams.
personally, I think they all probably help you get closer to a pass come test day. the problems really are time and money. schweser book 6 is a great study tool. schweser book 7 is really hard, but since it’s so hard, wordy, and obscure, it maybe isn’t as good as other resources if you’re strapped for cash or time. i actually didn’t take a single CFAI practice test and scored above 70% in all areas, but from those here on this forum who did take them, seems like they got some valuable insights into how the test questions were formatted and also questions that came up almost identical on test day. that seems pretty valuable and i most likely will take at least 2 or 3 of them for level 2. they are pricey though, so if money is a huge constraint, maybe wait until your peers here start taking them, see from them the hardest or most useful test (I want to say for June people said test # 3 was the most challenging), and take 1. for level 1, most likely if you study and can get in the 70’s or 80’s on whatever practice tests you’re taking, you’re in pretty good shape. i took a BSAS mock test close to test time that was very good and challenging on FSA, pretty expensive but good. Stalla now keeps sending me lots of mail about their programs… I’ve never used but a lot of people like their stuff. Bottom line, pick something that suits your budget but try to make sure that you take at least a few full practice tests before you walk in on test day. If you have schweser and do all of book 6 plus a test or 2 from the CFAI and are scoring in the 70’s at least, you’ll probably be ok. If you start up in book 6 and bomb and score a 50 or something, you probably will have to fine tune your studies a bit and simply taking practice tests might not get you there alone. it is possible to pass w/o the CFAI practice tests though- i’m proof, but if you can afford them, why wouldn’t you want that advantage of seeing potentially the same questions or extremely similar ones to the actual test?
Hi guys, another doubt. Say if i buy the exam, can i keep it (since its online) just in case i cant get through this dec exam. (got to study again for jun 08) anyway, how many exam papers are available for us to buy and which one are the recommended one i should get. considering I hv a tight budget constraint. Any advices?