Currently sitting for DEC 8 level I. Have set up my study time 2 hours in the morning and about 3 hours in the afternoon during the week. On the weekends I am about 3-5 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Currently I have been reading the Schweser notes then the CFAI material then going back and reading the Schweser notes to drill it in my head. Then I will review the Schweser videos. After the readings and the video’s I do all the LOS questions and any other questions I can get my hands on. Anyone else have a similar set up or am I just going overboard?
You can’t study too much, only too little. Your score will be proof of that. My set-up was pretty similar. I wanted to finish all the CFAI textbooks, Schweser notes and Schweser videos about two months before the exam. Though I have a pretty limited background in finance. It’s all up to how much time you personally think you will need to prepare…
kwarner, in all honesty, if you can keep up this pace, then you will be very well-prepared. but just don’t burn out. 5 hours each weekday x 5 weekdays = 25 hours +4 hours each weekend day x2 days = 8 hours Total = 33 hours/week That’s a lot at this point in time, but good job if you can do it.
I take it in June with 2 weeks left and 4 more CFAI books to go – but I have a fin/acctg background BOTTOM LINE – this test is tough, what other exam do you know has a 36% pass rate ???
Study for 400 hours, allocated as per your personal circumstances, and you stand to do well.
I’ve been reading this forum for quite some time to understand other people’s study habits and recommendations, so far here is my plan to get ready for the DEC L1 exam. I’m going to use the Schweser Notes almost exclusively for studying, along with the QBank, but having the CFAI books on hand, will use them when I need more in-depth reading and end of chapter questions. Just this week I started my schedule of studying 2-3 hrs/day on weekdays and will do 4-5 hrs/day on weekends giving me about 20 hrs/week which I plan to do for 15 weeks, until the end of AUG. This should give me enough time to get through the whole curriculum once in detail. Will use the following 3 months after that to start doing lots of questions, taking mock exams and reviewing material that I’m still not very comfortable with. I have an undergrad in Finance so some stuff I’m sure I’ve seen in some form in the past, but knowing my study style, I like to understand things thoroughly so I’m giving myself more of a cushion to get ready. I’ve been thinking of signing up for this exam for about a year and a half now, I’m finally doing it and hope to do it right. GL to you and make sure you stick around.