Most agree the PM session was easy. Not me. Got my behind handed to me during the last 2 item sets. Used Schweser and thought I was ready but couldn’t figure how to answer the last 2 sets. If you found the last 2 item sets easy, can you share what prep provider you used/would recommend? Thank you!
CFA
Thank you! the text or the EOCs?
CFAI EOC, BlueBoxes, CFA Mocks, CFA Online Practice Mocks, CFA old Mocks
thank you very much!
I believe the last two item sets most people found difficult. Doing lots of CFAI material stated above helps, but I don’t think made it easy. You really had to understand it.
Using Schweser in general I think is a bad idea for L3. That’s just taking on excessive unnecessary risk.
It’s too early to say it’s the winning recipe but
- CFAI EOC & BB (as many times as needed to understand the topic tested)
- 6 years CFAI AM (IPS multiple times until you can do it in your sleep)
- 6 yaers CFAI PM Mocks (understand every mistake you make)
- CFAI online mocks (only 5-6 items sets are not recycled from previous mocks, just do those)
Started with Schweser but more often than not I would start reading from the books directly. I wouldnt rely entirely on Schweser as its focus is siginificant different from that of CFAI; nonetheless, it’s a nice study tool to have.
last 2 item sets were ridiculously hard, no matter which provider you used.
I dont recall havin a difficult time on those last 2 item sets tho, cant even remember what topic was it on.
Don’t worry man… i’m in the same boat as you (or perhaps worse)…i got stuck on one question in the 2nd to last item set and was forced to guess for the entire final item set. It really threw me off because the fatigue at that point (i’m guessing) really didn’t bode well for making those required calculations.
Therefore… i cannot answer your question.
I can’t remember the last 2 item sets…
Keys for success for re-takers with 500+ hours to spend:
- Master the curriculum with all the practice questions. As you go through the curriculum, things in each topic get progressively harder, ending with the hardest part: the practice problems. On Currency Management, the hardest is within the blue squares throughout the text. As you get to the final steps of preparation, you will start doing mocks, etc., which will be easier than the curriculum problems. Forget about relaxing, and go back to the practice problems in the text, this is what you need to do if you want to pass. Mocks will only help you with the questions format and timing, do them all anyway. 2. You need to feel comfortable answering all the questions. Here is where mocks can fail you: you are asked the same types of questions over and over, and after 10 mocks, you think this is it. No way! Go back to the practice problems, because you will get caught with your pants down on test day. Last year, I had no idea what they were asking on 5+ questions in the PM. Reread the whole material, and redo every problem 2x. 3. Do all the derivatives practice problems over and over, until you faint. Establish a strategy and logic with options, these are not that hard if you remember what you buy and sell, and if you hold the underlying. 4. Remember the charts, and draw them everywhere you go, on the corner of your notebooks at work, at home, everywhere you find a piece of paper. If you are a visual person, this is of tremendous help. Rework the statistical formulas, e.g., correlations, beta, sharpe, market, etc., and link them together, try to extract one out of another. Then start with another set, you can group the Nf formulas, it is counterintuitive, but with the formulas, you can use your logic. 5. Do your own notes, don’t try to memorize someone else’s notes. It is not the point in reading excessive material, but to write stuff down and celebrate how smart you are. You will fail if your notes are too far from what the test graders will expect you to answer, you need to give them what they want, not what you think is right and logic. Logic is with derivatives and economics only, everything else is brutal memorizing. 6. If you are retaking the test, never underestimate the format. This test is not much about common sense, it requires a lot of cramming. You need to be dedicated at remembering the material up to the test date. Your routine fades as soon as you stop training. Nobody is that smart. Look at it as a 6-month preparation for a boxing match. You might have been a great boxer last year, but without the needed supplements and training, you will get wiped-off. 7. During test day, you need to make quick decisions, like in real life, …sure. You don’t have much time to exercise the above logic I mentioned. The AM will show you who the boss is. This year, I managed to get wrong all parts of a sub question on which I had made a presentation for work with diagrams and flowcharts! I guess, this test is not about how you can present a material, but how quickly you can answer something, knowing you are already 30 minutes late. That is why, the most important advice I can give you is: sleep and relax enough before test day, so you can be fresh in the PM, because you will need it sooooo bad. They don’t give you any margin for error in the PM, because of the AM. This is their strategy to make sure you know the whole material!