Hi everyone, I took the L1 this past June, and like most folks, am on the fence as to whether I did well enough to pass. I feel like I got a pretty good hold of the concepts, though, and if I fail, studying for the retake won’t be as bad, just a review. My question is about studying for L2, regardless of passing or failing the June L1. I want to start early, and was wondering what you thought of starting L2 prep in September, then taking off a month or so to review for December L1 (in the event I didn’t pass). I keep hearing L1 referred to as “basic” by higher level candidates, and the curriculum builds on itself, so it’s not like I’d be forgetting any subjects covered in L1, right? Any thoughts on this?
Don’t do that dude. Sit tight and relax until August. One of two things will happen: 1) You don’t pass, but are well positioned to study hard Aug-Dec and pass a test you’re more familiar with - at least you got two months to do whatever makes you happy before you start studying for LI in DEC and LII next June (which I’d probably start late DEC/early JAN if you feel comfortable passing, which you should. 2) You pass, and then you get all excited and start cursing about how you’re so f’ing excited. Then you get the LII books and you really start cursing. Again, I’d start in like NOV, unless you’re kind of a slow reader/digester and then start a little early (that’d be tough for me, the way I focus and learn).
Quite simply you will burnout. Focus on L1, pass it and then devote your energy to L2.
+2
Definitely concentrate on L1 first. You’re correct in saying that L2 builds on L1, but L2 is much more in depth and not much overlap from L1. You will definitely burnout. I didn’t think it was possible to burnout, but trust me, you can from L2 alone.
Focus on L1. There’s an overlap but if you didn’t pass L1 you have work to do on the basics and should concentrate on that. If you did pass, you’ll only have “missed” 1-2 months while working on the basics. There’s not really any part of L2 that wasn’t covered in L1 (but the level of detail and focus might differ).
take the break. I did L1 in Dec 2009 and jumped into L2 in June 2010. The lack of a real break was really, really hard. the month or so off to clear your head will be more valuable to you than 1 month of studying, in my opinion.
A lot of us passed Level I in December and Level II the following June. 4.5-5 months is plenty of time for any of the 3 exams.
definitely wait and focus your attention on one area once the results come out
Review ethics as it will be essentially the same, but as what the other posters mentioned, please keep it as light reading. Burn out is a big issue which may lead to a lot of frustration. So take it easy and enjoy your 2 month break.
This is a bad idea. It will not do you any good.
i think you should just quit. if you fail level 1, there is no way you will pass level 2. peace.
^ … because CFAI will not allow you to take level 2 after flunking level 1. If you meant that he would succeed in retaking level 1 and pursuing level 2, he may still have a chance of passing it, but it would be a slim one.