I probably went overboard and did a ton of mock exams prior to the test. Part of my strategy was that I wanted to see a few from each provider, so I would not encounter terminology or writing style surprises from only seeing one person’s type of questions. Here is how I would rank them: 1. CFAI. You would be a fool to put in so much study time and not work through the cfai mock exams. Sure, they were much harder than the actual exam, but there were specific LOS covered that were tested and I may otherwise have missed. 2. 7City. I did a sit down live simulation mock, and it was invaluable. The guy next to me was coughing loudly, I got tired, my back hurt, there was time pressure… basically everything I would encounter the following week, and was now prepared for. The questions were difficult, but they were direct and focused n the most important areas. The solution book was clear and precise, and wasnt shy about giving my the calculator keystrokes rather than the long formula, which others like Schweser do. 3. Elan. Generally, very well done, but they tend to throw in a few LOS that are not likely to be covered on the exam. I did the first two exams in their book and the online mock. Overall, happy with the tests, but they fall slightly short of 7City. 4. Schweser. Way too may trick questions and questions on insignificant LOS. I really did not enjoy their tests and did a lot worse on them than the others. I know some people like them, so Ill just leave it there - not for me, but still not horrible like… 5. Allen Resources. Terrible questions - especially the ones on market structure which were outdated and no longer relevant. The econ questions were also very random. I would skip these going forward.
- Elan 2) Elan 3) Elan 4) Elan 5) Elan
Indeed, the Elan mocks were incredible. Very similar format, very similar level of difficulty. While I don’t doubt the efficacy of a live simulation I personally don’t think it is necessary. I was super nervous in the days leading up to the test but once I knocked out the first few problems I loosened up immensely. By the afternoon session it was basically cruise control just check, check, check.
notic4lyf Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Indeed, the Elan mocks were incredible. Very > similar format, very similar level of difficulty. > While I don’t doubt the efficacy of a live > simulation I personally don’t think it is > necessary. I was super nervous in the days > leading up to the test but once I knocked out the > first few problems I loosened up immensely. By > the afternoon session it was basically cruise > control just check, check, check. Best part of elan is ethics - although they are not similar to actual exam by any chance but the length of questions is the best that shows actual exam questions unlike cfai and kaplan mock exams where they keep putting those long stupid scenarios
Question for all of you Elan guys (Elan Heads? Elanatics?) - who are you using for L2?
There is no Elan for 2? Shiza! I didn’t know that Well I used elan for mock exams only - I didn’t read notes. For studying, I only use CFAI
I think Elan is going to be making mocks for the Level 2 exam in June, but don’t quote me on that. I for some reason think I saw that somewhere on their website.
Their old website said they’ll have the 11th hour, at least one mock exam and some videos for LII June 2011. All their LII stuff will be ready for June 2012. I’ve emailed them again and they’re saying they’ll put up an update on their website later this week.
you guys all obviously work for elan. cut it out
Elan worked for me…will find out in Jan for sure…
Elan Guides is the best, hands down.
AshleySchaefferBMW7 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > you guys all obviously work for elan. cut it out I laughed way to hard at this comment.
My ranking from most difficult to the easiest one: 1. CFAI mock - tougher than the real one 2. Schweser - ethics questions mostly very straightforward and a lot easier than CFAI (mock or real) - unlike some people claimed, I found no difference in scores between vol I and II (didn’t do them in order so you cannot say that finding no difference was due to practice) 3. Elan - I got the highest score and spent the least time in this one - ethics questions again far easier than CFAI - the providers should really focus on this area - simple and straightforward calculations - half a dozen questions that I think were not even correct (sloppily done)
AshleySchaefferBMW7 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > you guys all obviously work for elan. cut it out LOL! actually elan worked for us 
Really? I think ranking the mocks after the real exam is going overboard.
I thought CFAI free sample exam evening session was quite difficult especially ethics Ranking 1- CFAI 2- Schweser (extremely lengthy questions, i didn’t finish any of their exam in time, finished the actual exam 30 mins earlier) 3- ELAN (one word Cheap, by that I mean, price, quality everything) ELAN was testing material in exam and in 2000 question which was not from any (LOS)learning outcomes, good for overall understanding not that great if you want to just focus on passing L1 I have seen quite a lot of people on this forum frivolously defending and marketing Elan stuff, which kinda tricked me into buying as well Having said that, their material is not bad practice if you have time, but i would not soley rely on any one provider for my prep, whichever provider you use, must do CFAI end of chapter So all you Elanmaniacs out there give us all a break now!!!
@Kaslam I really don’t know where you’re getting the idea that the numerous Elan recommendations on this forum have been “frivolous”. I’d sooner call your bashing of them to be frivolous because you haven’t given any concrete examples as to how their material ISN’T up to par. Sure, not all of the practice questions follow the LOS, but neither do the EOC questions. So what’s your point? Their mocks are almost identical in format, length, and difficulty as the actual CFA exam. What part exactly did you have a problem with?
I have to say, the fact that certain people will come here and rave about Elan, and then can not answer who they will be using for L2 (Elan not available) is highly suspicious.
I AM GOING TO USE ELAN IN MY LEVEL TWO … because i’ll be appearing in 2012 
Elan is where its at