First of all, apologies on behalf of all the freshly passed candidates who are already hijacking your forum…
For those of you who are in a giving mood, would love to get your thoughts on how best to sequence readings if someone is planning on using both the Schweser materials and the CFAI curriculum.
A. Start with the Schweser notes in Nov once they are available, then just do CFAI BB examples and EOC questions
B. Start with the Schweser notes in Nov once they are available, then read the full curriculum, including BB & EOC
C. Start with the curriculum, then review with Schweser notes
D. Just pick one, two is overkill
It may seem like a dumb question coming from someone who’s already cleared the first 2 levels, but I was on the Dec/June schedule with a full-time job and never even contemplated reading the material more than once. I skimmed the curriculum for FRA & Equities for Level 2 and found it very helpful - kinda wished I could have read more, which is why I’m thinking about putting in more reading time for Level 3 — largely because I am proactively freaking out about the essay portion…
Practice tests will of course be my #1 focus for the final 6-8 weeks, but before then I would really love to get your perspective on reading materials and how to make the most of them to feel prepared for those essay questions. I’m willing to invest a good chunk of time but would like to make it as efficient and productive as possible. THANK YOU!
Here’s my $.02 and some may disagree with me, so take it FWIW.
I retook the exam this year. The previous year I used Schweser only and nearly passed. After failing I decided to use CFAI material only (this year). Many will say Schweser is good enough to clear L3, and for many it is. However, personally speaking, I learned much more this year and felt much better prepared for the exam versus last year, when I relied solely on Schweser. I’ll let you know next week how things turn out.
For levels 1 and 2 Schweser was very good. Level 3 is a much different exam, and for me the CFAI books provide an extra layer of knowledge that Schweser does not.
If you plan on using Schweser, my advice would be to make copies of every blue box problem in the CFAI books and work through them until you can do them in your sleep. EOC questions are good, but blue box questions are core.
Also review the previous years’ AM exams if you have concerns about the essay stuff. More importantly, read the CFAI guideline answers. While those are the “perfect” answers, and answers that aren’t as expansive can and do receive full credit, they are a great resource.
Last (and I’ll get off my pedastool), is to know the command words. Justify, demonstrate, determine, calculate, etc. Each means something different and the graders are looking for a response specifically to that command word. For example, justify typically means you’d better make a point about the question whereas demonstrate is usually asking how something can be done, etc. (depends on the question).
If I were you I’d start reading the CFAI books since you’ll get them well before Schweser. You can start making a formula sheet and lists (there are a LOT of these in L3).
I didn’t think the Schweser materials were as helpful for Level 3. The Level 3 curriculum questions at the end of each chapter were excellent practice for the exam.
First, (and I think most L3’ers will echo this sentiment), forget about ethics and GIPS. Save them for May.
For all things not Ethics and GIPS, study the Schweser Notes first all the way through, from beginning to end. Do your best to learn all of the concepts. (You will not understand all of them. Try to understand, but don’t get too hung up on something that doesn’t make any sense to you.)
Take all of Schweser’s end-of-chapter questions. You will realize that you have forgotten most of what you learned. This is normal. This is okay.
Once you have done all the Schweser EOC’s, study the Schweser Notes all over again just like you did before. You will be amazed at how much more you pick up the second time around. Some of the things that didn’t make much sense before will start to “click” the second time around. (Which is why I said not to get hung up on them.)
Do all of the CFAI EOC’s and BB’s. Again, you’ll find that you’ve forgotten a lot of it, but you’ll remember it much more quickly the second time around.
After that, it’s up to you how to proceed. At this point, I just began banging out as many practice questions as I could–most of them on Schweser’s Q-Bank. This is where you’ll make most of your gains–by doing as much practice as you can. This helps you integrate the material, and it helps you “burn” the information into your brain so it’s easily recalled on test day.
This is what I did. And if I had to do it all over again, I’d probably do this again. I’ll let you know on Tuesday whether or not it worked.
i always start by the easiest form of studying, for me, it’s the videos.
I know people would say “they are pointless, you learned nothing!” but i find it very useful to open mental “shelving units” for me to put more information into later on.
Then i go onto study guides, and i do read everything in the study guides including the summary, and make sure i leave nothing out. I also tend to start doing questions very early, after each study session (sometimes i lump 2-3 sessions together if they are related), i do the study guides questions, the CFAI EOC questions AS WELL AS mock questions.
This is my “test”, while the material is still fresh in my head, i know right away if i understand the material or not, if i can’t answer the CFAI EOC questions and/or the mock questions, that means the Schweser study guide is not sufficient in that study session, and i would go back to CFAI texts.
It is very helpful too because the mock exams usually have the LOS pointed out so i know exactly what i don’t understand and where to find it in the CFAI texts.
Of course, some study sessions are jsut “easier” for me and i wouldn’t refer to the CFAI texts at all.
Agree with Greenman. Ethics is a lot of overlap from previous levels and GIPS is just brute memorization. There’s no point in going over these until closer to the exam.
I probably studied pretty inefficiently, but I read the CFAI books and made note cards while I was reading. Each reading took awhile, but I felt like I internalized it better. Then I went back and for each reading, I reviewed my notecards and then did the questions at the back of each reading.
Obviously doing the mock exam/previous morning sessions is a must too, but you should probably save that for May as well.
Agree with Greenman. Ethics is a lot of overlap from previous levels and GIPS is just brute memorization. There’s no point in going over these until closer to the exam.
I probably studied pretty inefficiently, but I read the CFAI books and made note cards while I was reading. Each reading took awhile, but I felt like I internalized it better. Then I went back and for each reading, I reviewed my notecards and then did the questions at the back of each reading.
Obviously doing the mock exam/previous morning sessions is a must too, but you should probably save that for May as well.
Yeah, with Ethics/GIPS, don’t waste too much time. I would start from the beginning (but I always do that), rather than starting at study session 4, then 6, then 2 etc.
Definitely know the individual/institutional IPS sections (readings 10 and 15?). More importantly, know how to answer them for the morning session (99% certainty it will make up like at least 25% or so, of the points for the morning). CFAI posts the previous 3 years actual morning sessions, rather than a “mock” morning. Do those. More than once. You’ll want to do AS MANY mornings as possible. I found Schweser’s to be okay to help you understand the format and how to answer, albeit sometimes very vague.
Don’t have to worry about the vignettes TOO much, because (with about 99% certainty), you’re going to have 2 ethics and 1 GIPS in the afternoon. Plus you know how to study and work those already seeing how you’ve passed LII.
I used Schweser almost exclusively, only going to CFAI to get something explained further (commodities for one). I also did almost exclusively the videos. I also did a TON of practice tests.
I think I passed, but as the others, we shall find out Tuesday.
I almost completely agree with Greenman on what he has written - except that I read exclusively from CFAI text and Schweser/Arif videos also I used to watch. (depending on the topic - Arif for me was wonderful for Fixed Income and David Heatherington of Schweser was just amazing on IPS)…
Good luck for your preps & good luck to the rest of us who are expecting the results
Thank you guys. Sounds like everyone agrees that BB and EOC are a definite must, but beyond that it all boils down to time and individual preferences when it comes to Schweser notes and/or CFAI curriculum. The latter seems to get more votes than at Level I or Level II though, which is interesting — good to know.
Personally, I like Schweser, just because it cuts out a lot of “fluff” that CFAI likes to throw into their curriculum. It covers “just the facts”. It’s kinda like the Cliff Notes to the curriculum. It tells you everything that you absolutely have to know and nothing else. So if you go the Schweser route, you’re saving time, but you need to understand everything that they tell you.
Whether you choose Schweser or CFAI is mostly personal preference. But I can tell you this–the real key to Level 3 is practice, man. Practice. We’re talking about practice. You need to do as many pratice questions as you can.
That’s why I like Schweser’s $1000 set–it gives you lots of practice. You get 2,000-ish questions and six practice exams. If you just stick with CFAI materials, you won’t get nearly as much.
I passed Level 2 by the skin of my teeth on the first attempt with limited time, and I am forever grateful to practice tests for that. Did 9 or 10 of them, and in my opinion this is what really brought it all together. I should have clarified that this was why I was only asking for advice about reading - because in my mind practice tests are a given! Probably even more so at LIII than at LI or LII. But it bears repeating, so thanks for all your good advice.
PS: I’m all woman, but I guess this was a generic “man”
Three times quotes is not a typo. It’s THAT important. It’s not enough to just know the answer like it is in LII, you need to know how to properly explain it. And properly explain it in 3 hours, no less. I would go so far as to say you should do a practice exam early. Say once you finish the IPS section(s)… That way you know the important part of the morning, and can find out how the answers should be written. Probably 75% of your practice should be morning sessions, or maybe even more, since you’ve already done the vignettes for LII.
The nice thing about Schweser is that they break down what part of the answer gets you what points. So you know the important parts of the answer. I’m hoping, of course, that their scoring matrix is how CFAI also grades. Schweser hasn’t steered me wrong yet, and I’m sure some of the instructors have gone to the “grading camp,” so they have first hand knowledge. Maybe S2000 would be able to shed some light on that. Or maybe not, with how secretive everything is.
Disclaimer: I’ve still technically not passed the exam.
I don’t recall ever seeing an official breakdown of the scoring: how the points are assigned. I’ve never graded for CFA Institute (though a colleague of mine has), but I’m sure if I did I’d have been sworn to secrecy.
