I completed FSA yesterday. this is my first read( ie I study and try to understand the concepts but not try to remember/memorize.) I am not very happy about my performance with the EOC questions in FSA. I did very poorly :(. but I am glad to move on to CF! I am hoping to doing much better. Good Luck to every one Buzz
BayStreet Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > allegro-cpa/cfa Wrote: > > > > > that sounds like a good plan. how many mocks > > will you do? > > > I will do the mock from the CFAI last - they only > give one. but they have a sample exam they post > and I ordered the 6 schweser practice exams, so > mid-end of october Ill start doing the paper > copies. This is how I’ve planned my studying: > > - read CFAI curriculum + do end of chapter > questions as I go > - end of chapter schweser book questions to > refresh concepts and see which areas I might need > to review a bit more. > - qbank practice exams - advanced level only > questions > - schweser practice exams - the paper ones > - CFAI mock exam - they only give you one. > - pass real exam Sounds like a good strategy. I am in a similar plan. I just wonder if the mocks are harder or easier than the real exam. I would hate to get a high score on the mocks and think I am prepared, when in reality the real exam is twice as hard. Or do bad on the mocks and the exam is twice as hard lol. Guess I wont know until actually sitting for the test.
allegro-cpa/cfa Wrote: > Sounds like a good strategy. I am in a similar > plan. I just wonder if the mocks are harder or > easier than the real exam. I would hate to get a > high score on the mocks and think I am prepared, > when in reality the real exam is twice as hard. > Or do bad on the mocks and the exam is twice as > hard lol. Guess I wont know until actually > sitting for the test. Most people seem to think that the mock exams are slightly easier than the real exam.
Hi all, I logged about 30 solid hours, I plan to put in around 200 and looking to get everything wrapped up by mid-Nov and then some final reviews I am an econ major so I am not too concerned with the economics/basic finance stuff, but I definitely need to invest time into corp finance and QM My senior year schedule is pretty light so I can do around 20 hours a week. I study by reading the book and have the Schweser open for references, I type key terms/ideas/concepts into a word doc.
cityboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > allegro-cpa/cfa Wrote: > > > Sounds like a good strategy. I am in a similar > > plan. I just wonder if the mocks are harder or > > easier than the real exam. I would hate to get > a > > high score on the mocks and think I am > prepared, > > when in reality the real exam is twice as hard. > > > Or do bad on the mocks and the exam is twice as > > hard lol. Guess I wont know until actually > > sitting for the test. > > Most people seem to think that the mock exams are > slightly easier than the real exam. Ok thanks, I will make sure to get 80%+ then on each mock.
passed in june 09, but I spent like 750 hours. Spent just as much on L2 and failed band 8.
magicskyfairy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > passed in june 09, but I spent like 750 hours. > Spent just as much on L2 and failed band 8. soo wht r u saying? 750 is not enough? Or did you not spend enough time is topics? Are u preparing for Jun 11? well started CF this week… i am doing so much better than FSA… got almost all EOC Qs correct… where as in FSA i used to get <50% correct… i am extremely nervous abt FSA. any tips and tricks as to how to handle FSA ?
Unfortunately my answer for how much study time is needed is a copout; it depends. For me, about 30% of what was in CFA 1 I learned already fairly solidly in my undergrad, and maybe grazed another 10-15%. I was unemployed when I went for lvl 1, so 750 hours was easy to put in, and I walked out feeling positive that I passed. I remember a lot of tax shield stuff was in my exam, and you had to know the ratios cold, especially the DSO, A/R turnover, etc, that seemed to come up a lot, at least in my exam. Ethics was the only section I didn’t feel confident on, and I ended up 50-70 on it. got 50-70 in 3 of them, the rest 70+. My main advice is to write out all the formulas/ratios and know them cold. I didn’t feel like they through too many curve balls, but obviously if you forget a formula, you’re screwed for that question. Level 2 is much more difficult, have a look at the L2 threads on that, and they’ll back me up. 750 hrs would probably be enough for a lot of people to pass though. Maybe i’m just innefficient or not that bright 
magicskyfairy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Unfortunately my answer for how much study time is > needed is a copout; it depends. For me, about 30% > of what was in CFA 1 I learned already fairly > solidly in my undergrad, and maybe grazed another > 10-15%. I was unemployed when I went for lvl 1, so > 750 hours was easy to put in, and I walked out > feeling positive that I passed. > > I remember a lot of tax shield stuff was in my > exam, and you had to know the ratios cold, > especially the DSO, A/R turnover, etc, that seemed > to come up a lot, at least in my exam. Ethics was > the only section I didn’t feel confident on, and I > ended up 50-70 on it. got 50-70 in 3 of them, the > rest 70+. My main advice is to write out all the > formulas/ratios and know them cold. I didn’t feel > like they through too many curve balls, but > obviously if you forget a formula, you’re screwed > for that question. > > Level 2 is much more difficult, have a look at the > L2 threads on that, and they’ll back me up. 750 > hrs would probably be enough for a lot of people > to pass though. Maybe i’m just innefficient or not > that bright Magic, Thanks for the tips on the FSA. I do think I need to study formulas and calculation much more close… I do plan to spend couple of days leading to the exam reviewing all the formulas… every1 has a different way of studying, in my case I need to know the formulas in my head… I don’t do well at figuring them out during the exam. too much pressure!! when I read a question I should be able to write down the formula and b able to plug in the numbers, that is my comfort zone… well I do some calculation wrong even after I have the correct formula, that is whole another discussion 
I remember cost of capital questions in MBA taking atleast 10-20 mins solve… I am thinking Level2 would be something like that… level 1 gives all the basics of Finance and Level 2 would test your understanding of the subject at a deeper level. I am hoping ( praying actually) that if I can pass L1 in dec…all the basics would still be fresh in my mind and during Level2 perp I don’t have to spend much time brushing up the formulas… I did read the thread comparing L1 and L2 exam… ppl are quite creative in comparing both :). Good luck with ur Level2. Hopefully we can compare notes for level2 exam prep…
Yeah, I made some pretty good notes for level 2, but wasn’t able to retain it all to memory enough I guess. No question on L2 should take 20 minutes… 10, maybe, if you’re really stuck. For example, there was a question on the exam that used the H formula for equity (the one with the high growth period that then gradually goes to a steady growth rate that then persists to eternity), you had to solve for the interest rate on it. That took a while cuz the formula was pretty big.
I started studying in August using the Schweser notes and got through Ethics, Quant, Econ, and a little of Financial Analysis. I registered for the exam, and got the books and started studying using the books. Started with Financial Analysis and now on Equity & Fixed Income. I am not going in order of the books, just going through them randomly. I plan to finish the books by end of October and then will spend the remained of November doing practice problems and practice exams. Its really hard to stay focused and study every day especially when you have an internship and class to deal with as well.