Hi, I can honestly assume that most of us are really busy presently but I’d sincerely want to know what has been your greatest challenge so far in terms of the actual CFAI curriculum and particular material you have had to conquer and other personal stuff u have had to conquer about yourself since you registered for the exam. What’s been motivating you as each day goes by? This being my first attempt as the exam draws more exhausted I become. My biggest shock so far has been how your so called friends start to ignore you. And start making snide comments about the possibilty of your failure not being teh beacons of encouragement you expected. I just started my revision my hardest topic so far has been you wont believe it is page 307 to 308 Schweser’s book 1 (LOS 11 c). Every thing else has been quite easy to assimilate but harder to recall. My Motivation has been the look on their faces when I finally pass. Sincere comments will be appreciated. Wish every body the best
I finished reading all Schweser books today, took me 2 months of solid studying to cover all material. I found just about everything fairly straight forward except the last book (Bonds). I got demolished in that part. I’ve gone out once in the past two months, the rest of my time is spent at work, then studying (almost everyday). My friends understand that i got things to do so i don’t get bothered much, plus i don’t answer my phone to be honest. If your friends are discouraging you, perhaps you should look into a new group of friends (honestly, why would they do that when they know you are trying to attain something difficult). Good luck.
I have been having a reallly rough time staying motivated these days. I just finished book 5 of the CFAI text and am trying to figure out how I am going to remember everything. I have a decent grasp of many of the core concepts, but the sections that requried you to memorize things are making me nervous, particulary in FSA. Many times I have asked myself if it is worth the effort. Already, I have lost a girlfriend and have lost contact with friends and family (not completely but enough to go noticed). Fortunately, I do have a few people who are very supportive and I try to make myself feel better by continuously telling myself of that the more I put into it, the more I will get out in the end, but I become less and less convincing every day. All I know is that if I don’t see this through, I will be kicking myself in about 10 years. Best, TheChad
TheChad I believe many of us (past takers) and present ones as well, felt at some time of their preparation the same way. My only thing is a. do not go on a memorization route for this exam. That is akin to gaming the test, and most often that approach fails. b. Go more the route of understanding through problem solving – that way topics and concepts get in, and stay in. c. Use QBank and/or Passmaster, set yourself question sets on a daily basis, solve them, analyze the solutions esp. for the parts you got wrong. Go back to review the conceptual areas you feel you are weak in. By exam day, you’ll feel more confident about tackling this big bad beast. CP
Thanks for your help cpk. I agree 100% about understanding the material as opposed to memorizing it. In fact, I have taken that approach for most of the material and feel comfortable about most of the logical portion. However, it is the parts that must be memorized that frustrate me. Some examples include: Corporate governance Standards convergence Reporting standards I will be taking your advice for the final leg of studying for the Level 1 exam. Best, TheChad
In those sections as well, take only individual “section” based tests, and make profuse notes / note cards on questions you missed, which you can then later read and reinforce. When you take the notes on the questions you missed, you are going back to the texts (CFAI/Prep guide) which causes you to do one more read of the original material. Keep doing the tests, with “all” questions (maybe initially questions you had wrong before and new ones, and later “all” questions) on a schedule, say every couple of weeks, or even every week to start out with. That way the material remains fresh. That way by exam day, this material is already assimilated. I know, this does sound easy for me to write about, and honestly, I never quite mastered all that “theoretical” stuff well. That apart, this seems to me to be the only logical way to get that material in. CP
CP Thanks alot