Quick question...

If one were planning on getting through both the Schweser notes and CFAI texts each one time from January through April, which order would she choose? I can see the argument both ways… get all the material first with CFAI and then drill down to the more essential stuff through Schweser… or get the broader strokes through Schweser first to have a good handhold on the material while slogging through CFAI texts… What say ye? -PP

i’m not going to do this, but if i were, i’d go text then schweser…

I did Schweser then CFAI for LII and it made sense since Schweser gave a broad perspective and some guidance in solving the problems, after that I read CFAI text with some understanding what I should pay more attention for and what is mainly for pleasure.

I have to say I contemplated it and decided against, but if I did it, I would go Schweser, to get a solid base, then drill in with CFAi since at that point you will find the level of detail more beneficial.

although it seems more logical to do notes then text (to get a grasp before diving into the sea) it did not work for me @ level 2. I planned on doing that and after having read schweser, I found the CFAI text much to frustrating. Long, disjointed, lots of extra info, optional sections, etc. All I could ever think was AAARRRGGG!!! This time around I plan to reverse my strategy since I will have the texts far sooner then the Schweser notes. I figure the notes will serve to reinforce the “big picture” and will be less frustrating as a 2nd time through the same material.

I attacked each of the 18 sections as such: Read CFAI text Read notes, do problems Do CFAI problems Add personal comments to notes & flashcards from CFAI text where I felt Schweser was lacking Move onto next section

I do CFAI first and then Schweser. I find that reading CFAI causes extreme burnout, so i would rather get burntout in Feb and then still have plenty of time to regroup and get energized to read Schweser

Phab, I studied both the CFAI text (at least 2’ish + times for initial read and notes/problem solving) and the Scwhesser materials. This seemed to have worked for me when I took all 3 exams and passed them. I felt that the CFAI had a very very broad overview (as usual) with tons of interesting side discussion, but the Schwesser did a better job on the test questions and sample IPSs to prep me for the exam. They even provided 5 or 6 sample exams with explanations for each answer and an online toolbox. Overall, if you don’t do both (time or money constraints), I would recommend the following: 1) Read Schwesser materials and do the quizes/tests 2) Buy the online CFAI sample test ($150’ish bucks for all 3) Multiple choice samples 3) Download all of the free, online CFAI morning sample exams. This really did a good job getting you set for what type of questions they might ask in the AM section. Hope that helps man. Good luck next year!

hey jjb, i like this strategy and will implement it for level 3, as for level 2 i studied only my weak sections from CFAI and rest from schewser. Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It definitely seems like there are many possible permutations. I think in the end I’ll probably start with the CFAI materials and get bored of them, switching to Schweser half way through… most likely scenario.