I know this topic has probably been beaten to death in here but can we get a tally for what each person used? I am worried about relying on Schweser completely for L3 given the test’s format. Any input would be greatly appreciated. So which is it Schweser or CFAI?
I invested about 200-250 hours in Schweser and just-squeaked-by on the 2011 Level III exam. One of my guy friends invested 700 hours in the official CFAI texts and completely crushed Level III. What does this prove? Well, not much. But it does show that you can pass Level III using only the CFAI texts, or by not using the CFAI texts at-all.
Im using schweser and ill use CFAI books for EOC questions and examples given in the chapters.
cfai texts all the way, never touched anything else for any level
I’m the opposite of escape-from-alcatraz. Never touched CFAI texts AT ALL for all 3 levels. Only used Schweser notes, practice exam books and did each and every single question on the Schweser QBank CD.
At Level III, the CFA Institute provides three years of actual old level III morning exams, containing essay questions (and answers) that candidates can use to practice. One of the keys to success at Level III is that you want to wrap up your studying early enough that you have time to work through these old exams, and become comfortable with what you need to write to get the available points. The biggest benefit of third-party study materials is simply that they allow a candidate to wrap up their reading much more quickly, allowing more time to focus on pre-exam practice questions. At Level III, practice on these morning essay questions is critically important.
Wendy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > At Level III, the CFA Institute provides three > years of actual old level III morning exams, > containing essay questions (and answers) that > candidates can use to practice. > At Level III, practice on these morning essay > questions is critically important. +1. Do the morning practice exams for sure. Follow the instructions on how to answer the essay questions. You can get this info on the website too. Review these links: http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/exams/format/Pages/cfa_exam_question_formats.aspx http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/courseofstudy/samples/Pages/index.aspx
I used schweser for levels 1 and 2. It was perfect for level 1, and more than adequate for passing level 2. I just finished reading the CFAI books for level 3 since schweser isn’t out yet anyway. I think I have a pretty good knowledge of the curriculum now, so this time schweser will only be a supplement. The secret sauce and quicksheet are always nice to look over. My impression from reading this forum is that the advantage of schweser is much smaller, or perhaps even negative, for L3. From a more general viewpoint, though, I think there is understated value in the depth of detail you get from CFAI. Perhaps not for L1, because it is very foundational and elementary, but by the time you are at L3 the material is very much about how things are really done on wall street and CFAI has details that schweser never comes close to discussing. It doesn’t show up on the test, but it definitely improves your knowledge. At this point, I regret the things I forget from L1 and L2, and I don’t really give a crap about ‘passing the tests’ as I don’t really worry about this or think that the source has any effect, but now, really knowing this material is important, and I think the official texts are better at this than schweser. The latter is an informational supplement, not a primary source, and I think most use it as a shortcut, and that is what they get. It is better for very quantitative parts, but the tests are never as quantitative as you might expect.
chaddy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > From a more general viewpoint, though, I think > there is understated value in the depth of detail > you get from CFAI. Perhaps not for L1, because it > is very foundational and elementary, but by the > time you are at L3 the material is very much about > how things are really done on wall street and CFAI > has details that schweser never comes close to > discussing. It doesn’t show up on the test, but it > definitely improves your knowledge. At this point, > I regret the things I forget from L1 and L2, and I > don’t really give a crap about ‘passing the tests’ > as I don’t really worry about this or think that > the source has any effect, but now, really knowing > this material is important, and I think the > official texts are better at this than schweser. > The latter is an informational supplement, not a > primary source, and I think most use it as a > shortcut, and that is what they get. It is better > for very quantitative parts, but the tests are > never as quantitative as you might expect. wise words here, exactly my view, the vast majority of comments on a forum such as this will be concerned with passing the tests in the least possible time. In a way this is entirely understandable but you ultimately need knowledge rather than letters after your name.
escape-from-alcatraz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- … > majority of comments on a forum such as this will > be concerned with passing the tests in the least > possible time. In a way this is entirely > understandable but you ultimately need knowledge > rather than letters after your name. That was me – when I was studying for the CFA I mostly just wanted to learn what I needed to know to pass the exams. Now that I have my charter, I still have the option of going back and reading those original CFAI texts, and all of the footnotes and optional materials that Schweser skipped. But to be honest, I’m certain that I’ll never be that bored: there are a million other things that I’d like to read before those long boring CFAI books.
CFAI books. BUT the key is to summarize each reading , then u have ur own schweser :).
so Chaddy are your saying there is no difference btwn CFAI curiculum and Schweser books for level one ? the other issue is my English is not my first langauge and i have completly free time for six month til the exam day which is on 1/6 do you recommend to study from CFAI books or just start with shewser ? i’m only worried about getting the info from CFAI text as lots of people say its too wordy !!
if anyone has point of view please share
thanks
i used schweser thru L1 and 2. dec 10 L1 pass jun 11 L2 band 10 jun 12 L2 pass
its enough. got 8/10 sections >70%. the trick is to supplement ur knowledge with finance textbooks and asking around. Google helps a lot as well.
gd luck!
I agree. The EOC questions in the CFAI books are crucial to the whole process though.