So, I know everyone is going to learn and study differently. Personally, I am a retaker and I used Schweser last time around. This time, I started in October with exclusively CFAI books, looking at the topics i did worst on last year (FSA was the killer). That being said, out of fear for not remebering anything, I began taking notes on major points, ie, conditions for financial investments being treated as held-to-maturity vs. available for sale. This has eaten up a LOT of time. I have done almost all the EOCs for the readings I have completed, and feel my retnetion has gone up a noticable amount and has increased my confidence in these areas. The real question is with about 1/2 the curriculum to go, is this a sustainable and smart choice with 4 months left. Anyone have thoughts, or what have you done to retain the material while still making progress on the volume of material(setting aside a review day etc)?
I’m in the same boat as you. I read all the material and did the EOC questions as best as I could without spending too much time on the ones I got wrong etc. I started using Finquiz qbank now since it seems to focus directly out of the book, especially on little details that I feel most probably won’t be tested but still fair game. As I’m completing each question, I started writing notes on the ones I was so/so on and then after completing each LOS re-doing the EOC questions to make sure I understand fully. So far, my end of chapter CFAI have been better than the first time around and I seem to be remembering a bit better but given the amount of material and how much time left, I really can’t know for sure. My goal is to grill out as much questions as possible so I can answer them in my sleep. I really don’t want to do this again next year 
My Strategy this time around, Go through the CFAI test highlighting anything for review and the litle details. Work EOC questions. As I move a long I dedicate 1 hour a day to retention via practice problems, so as I read the curriculum, I take questions from what I covered, that way I always keep it fresh…
As per another peep comments, doing finquiz’s quick questions after reading a session helps me put all the loose concepts together. I’m taking the quick questions before the EOCs cos they are quick and found effective
Awesome, thanks guys!
meazza Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m in the same boat as you. I read all the > material and did the EOC questions as best as I > could without spending too much time on the ones I > got wrong etc. I started using Finquiz qbank now > since it seems to focus directly out of the book, > especially on little details that I feel most > probably won’t be tested but still fair game. Dumb question - what/where is the Finquiz Q-Bank? Thanks. m
go to www.finquiz.com It seems like a cheaper approach to Stalla/Schweser but more focused on concepts rather than practice, from what I take here. I’d be cautious, there’s been a lot of hype in the last year with this, when I took L2 and failed back in '09 no one talked about FinQuiz so it’s either fairly new of there is massive confirmation bias, or sales reps (to NYC Gorilla’s point) in the forum. I’ll end up getting it anyway based on comments here, it’s not that expensive and the company will end up paying for it anyway.
Guille_GE Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > go to www.finquiz.com > > It seems like a cheaper approach to > Stalla/Schweser but more focused on concepts > rather than practice, from what I take here. > > I’d be cautious, there’s been a lot of hype in the > last year with this, when I took L2 and failed > back in '09 no one talked about FinQuiz so it’s > either fairly new of there is massive confirmation > bias, or sales reps (to NYC Gorilla’s point) in > the forum. > > > I’ll end up getting it anyway based on comments > here, it’s not that expensive and the company will > end up paying for it anyway. I was worried about all the sales reps as well but overall, I find it has helped but it’s too soon to tell.
Retention is indeed an important ingredient for passing the exam. Best is to ensure that you do EOC questions! A lot of things overlooked while reading the text is actually tested in those questions