I have been studying Book 1 and Book 3 and am finding that I need clearer instruction on some of the topics. I have a financial background but still need some help a few areas and I know some of the topics are not as hard to understand as CFA1 makes them out to be. Can anyone help me with what Schweser package I should choose? And economical at that. I see the basic package for $579, is there something else I should be looking at? Thanks.
I, like many others on this forum, am a big fan of Schweser’s Qbank.
A couple of days ago I got the CFAI books and the Schweser Study Notes. I have finished the Ethics section (minus reading the 184 pg. Standards and Practices Handbook) and found the Schweser Notes to be very good so far. The Notes are much cheaper than the packages and so far sufficient for me (I have a background in the financial services industry). My plan, probably like many, is to read all of the Schweser Notes books and use the CFAI books as clarification or more detail if needed. Good to hear about the Qbank - didn’t really consider it until now. For people who are using the Qbank, would you still buy the CFAI online test access for the 5 practice exams?
clew84 Please note that the QBank is strictly a good review tool, to reinforce concepts, give you some practice on topics. The CFAI Practice exams (with 60 questions at 50$ a pop) are actually much closer to the real thing, and give you a flavor for the actual thing. CP
CP - thanks for the clarification. In fact, I was just reading about QBank on their website (the demo they have is pretty bad). I like the Notes so far. I may see how that goes in combo with the CFAI books before spending another $350. I am so early in this that I really don’t know what else I will need to do, if anything. The Q might be something to use in late April/May to, as you said, reinforce concepts and figure out what I really need to focus in on. Thanks, CL
One big advantage of the Qbank is that you can request a quiz based on just one LOS, or one reading, or one study session, or any combination of study sessions. It’s very customizable. So when I finished the Ethics session (and before GIPS) I was able to do an online, timed, quiz on the Code and Standards. My intention (and I hope I can live up to it) is that once a week I will do a quiz that is made up of everything I have completed up to that point. That means that the stuff I studied at the beginning will get continually reinforced, week after week. I hope that will help avoid the problem that many cite, where by the time they’ve finished the first run through the materials, they have forgotten everything from Ethics. I will certainly be doing the CFAI practice exams as well, because many people have made the same comment as cpk123, i.e. that the CFAI practice exams are closer to the real thing.
I bought the Essential package from Schweser. I use the notes mainly, supplementing anything unclear with the CFAI text. I fill out the LOS cards as I go, as I find writing the concepts helps me retain. Also, the Q-bank has a curriculum tab that goes through each LOS, then gives questions on that LOS (usually between 1-10 questions), a reading quiz (anywhere from 1-20 questions) and a section test that is similar. Then, like Toronto Tim, after each study session, I do up a 60 question test of all study sessions thus far. I am in the middle of FSA right now, and I find this is working as it is reinforcing all concepts. I think Q bank is well worth the money! Also, I do plan on taking the CFAI practice exams as well as the Schweser exams included in the package for the same reason said above, they should be closer to the real exam question format…
Don’t you find filling the LOS cards too time consuming? I was thinking about using them, but I thought my time would be better spent knocking down the qbank.
IMO, I think the Schweser pre-printed flashcards are pretty good. You can take them anywhere and study…