OK, I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, and this post will be in vain if I flunk L1 in December 2011. I’m just trying to tap into other people’s experiences and gauge what to expect with regards to L2. I need to plan ahead of time so that I can set the expectations at my workplace. I have already started preparing for L1, December 2011. I already have an MBA in Finance, so I’m on par with quite a bit of stuff for L1. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to pass L1. However, if I do, I want to find out from you guys if it is realistic to prepare for and appear for L2 in June 2012. This means I’ll have maybe five months (if not less) to prepare. I don’t know if the CFA Institute will allow me to register as soon as I get out of L1, but my plan was that I could enroll myself in Stalla-like classes to get an early start. The assumption is that I won’t find out if I passed L1 until February 2012, so registering for Stalla-like classes would at least allow me to get a crack at the material as early as January 2012. The risk here is I’ll have wasted all that money if I flunk L1 :). It’d be awesome if some you, who prepared for L2 in such a short window, can share your experiences here (regardless of the outcome). Thanks in advance.
Unless you’re unemployed and have lots of time on your hands, it’s really tough to prepare for L2 in anything less than six months. It’s been done, I’m sure, but it’s very hard to do.
I say its all about your memory skills I have a BA in finance, and I found nothing in Level II hard. You have MBA in finance so you might even find it easier. On the other hand getting it to stick in my memory is a bi***
Nothing is ever hard - it’s the retention that’s the challenge. You can always go down the memorization route if you just want to pass the exam within a limited time frame, particularly if you have many other commitments. However I am sure the CFAI designed the curriculums (as well as the exams) in order to reward candidates who really know the stuff , i.e. internalized the knowledge and has the ability to apply those in a work scenario. The enormous volume of information and the emphasis on application (particularly in L2) imo also really handicaps those who are in the memorization game. Time is on your side. Study an hour or two consistently everyday and you will pass through all the exams easily as you get to gradually commit the study materials into your long term memory. If you are going to sit for L2 in 2012 imo that’s the better strategy. Perhaps try getting your hands on the second hand textbooks.
If time is short, drill problems to near perfection. However, nothing is a substitute for preparing thoroughly.
Heard it is doable. doesnt mean it is likely possible. It all comes down to how u budget ur time till Apr and how u solve(& retain) in May
Awesome input, guys. Thanks for all the feedback.
Robert A Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Unless you’re unemployed and have lots of time on > your hands, it’s really tough to prepare for L2 in > anything less than six months. It’s been done, > I’m sure, but it’s very hard to do. +1
You can handle it, Oyster
you can totally do it; my buddy had an mba in finance too, so here’s what he did; he registered for all three exams concurrently, and got 70+, all sections, all levels; on the exam day, he started at his lvl 1 desk, wrote it in an hour, then sprinted over to his desk in the level 2 section, did that in an hour, and sprinted over to the level 3 section, and did that in an hour. Then he just repeated this for the afternoon session. He said it wasn’t too bad, but kinda rough since he was pretty hung over from the night before. He said he flipped through a few of the pages leading up to the exam, but it was mostly a recap, so it wasn’t too bad. Good luck!
haa haa 
Your buddy violated ethics by sprinting/jumping across desks
magicskyfairy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > you can totally do it; my buddy had an mba in > finance too, so here’s what he did; he registered > for all three exams concurrently, and got 70+, all > sections, all levels; > on the exam day, he started at his lvl 1 desk, > wrote it in an hour, then sprinted over to his > desk in the level 2 section, did that in an hour, > and sprinted over to the level 3 section, and did > that in an hour. Then he just repeated this for > the afternoon session. > He said it wasn’t too bad, but kinda rough since > he was pretty hung over from the night before. He > said he flipped through a few of the pages leading > up to the exam, but it was mostly a recap, so it > wasn’t too bad. > > Good luck! Haha. Awesome. Thanks for picking up on me :). I’m sure the “MBA in Finance” claim had nothing to do with it!