Studying for level 2 right after Dec level 1?

Hi guys, I just wanted to get some opinions and to see if anyone has done this successfully and how it went. I’m taking level 1 this Saturday and I’d like to take a few days off by going to Miami than immediately begin studying for level 2. I’m already feeling a little burnt out from studying and not going out, so I’m not sure if I would have enough steam to continue studying through June. My feeling is that if I begin studying right away it will be much easier for me since the material from level 1 will be extremely fresh in my mind. How much will this help me and how much overlap is there between level 1 and level 2 (20%, 30%, or more?) Waiting until the scores come out is obviously not an option since I will have forgotten a lot of material and also wont have enough time. Also if anyone is planning on doing this as well, maybe we could form some kind of study group to motivate each other, because I imagine it will be pretty torturous, lol.

I’m at L3. I would take a longer break then just a few days. you owe it to yourself. Yes L1 would be fresh, but a few days versus a couple weeks really shouldn’t make a big difference. The ultimate point of the going through the levels is to really learn the material, not just to pass the tests. And once burn-out sets in, you’re sunk, productivity goes way down.

I am planning to do the same but I am going to take the rest of Dec off. I don’t think I would be that productive anyway with the holidays and I need to see my friends again. I think you should defenitely take a break so that you have the energy to push through to June. Of course, this will only matter if we pass L1, but I just don’t want to wait until June 2012 to take L2. Good Luck!

you wont be able to sign up for level 2 until after your results come out anyways, so just focus on saturday and wait will you receive that “pass” in the email…then start poundin away at level 2

i’m sitting for L3, did L1 in Dec 2010 and L2 last june. Here’s my take. (1) How demanding is your job? Do you work 40 hr weeks? 50? 60? this needs to be taken into account. Do you ever get downtime at work? if so, would you be able to pull off some “stealth studying”. I was able to pull off some studying at work, and it was huge for me. (2) Whats going on in your personal life? Kids? Wife? THink about your personal commitments.I have an understanding wife and my kid wasn’t born yet, so i was ok with spending alot of free time on my studying. (3) Prepare to be miserable around march/april-ish. You will feel pretty damned drained. (4) Do you have a finance or accounting background? L2 ain’t easy, but if you have some of that in your educational and work experience, it will help you learn things quicker. Benefits - (1) Get this whole program over and done with sooner! (2) People will be impressed by your diligence. (3) As you said, L1 is fresh. There is definitely some overlap in equity, portfolio management and fixed income, but most of all ethics. You’ll be surprised when you hit L2 that ethics is virtually identical to L1 (in fact the schweser notes even reprints the exact same notes and questions for most of ethics). Having that fresh in your head would only be helpful! Regarding breaks - i barely touched the material until mid-late january, when i got my L1 results. Being ready by early june is doable, but you’ll want to be through the curriculum by some point in early april to maximize review time. Final thoughts - schweser notes, secret sauce, and qbank was a MUST for me! Barely touched the CFAI text, other than EOC questions.

Thanks for the replies guys. I just graduated so I’m not married, don’t have kids, and unfortunately don’t have a job, so I have plenty of time too study. Also my degree was in finance, so this stuff isn’t that new to me. I can’t imagine how some of you guys do this with kids and a full-time job, but I have a lot of respect for you. I’ve been so busy studying for level 1 the last few weeks that I stopped applying to jobs for that time period and as a result haven’t had an interview in about 2 months. I’m hoping this doesn’t happen for level 2, since half the reason I’m taking this exam is to be able to find a job.

in that case, i’d strongly encourage you to go for L2 - will show potential employers you are using this time to do something productive instead of sitting at home playing Call of Duty on the old Xbox…

I got the books for L2 in October and took L1 the December after it. I started studying literally the Sunday after the L1 exam for L2. I studied pretty hard, got really burned out in March and had a hard time jumping back in after getting burned out. I would recommend just using Stalla or Schweser and starting when they start (Jan 22 or something). Go full force End of Jan to exam date and that is probably the best method.

This subject was hit last month in the L1 forum. http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?11,1206853,1207083#msg-1207083 I did the L1 in Dec 2009 and L2 In June 2010, now I’m a L3 Candidate for 2011. Above all I can tell you that IT SUCKED and my brain still hurts from the quick turnaround but I am very happy to hopefully be done in 18 months. It comes down to your personal situation can your personal life allow the time that is needed to be put in? I’m married with 3 kids and by mid May my wife nearly tossed me out of the house I spent no time with my family for 5 months. I missed 4 days of studying from Dec 28th to the exam, yes 7 days a week for 6 months. If you want to have confidence that you can pass L2 you need to think of a study plan that is a little north of 400 hours some people may need less but I was a fair bit over that number. To do the Quick turn my advice is: 1) Overstudy Level I so there is no doubt that you destroyed it. 2) Don’t wait for your results (get used L2 used material on the net until you register) I was about 1/2 way through the material when I found out I passed L1. 3) Set a hard study plan and stick to it, don’t let friends, spouses or a good time get in your way 4) Take as many Moc/Sample exams as you can find, Q-bank and the Schweser EOC’s are too low level they are good at keeping sharp but the level of questions on the exam are close but a step up from the CFAI Moc’s & Samples, Schweser Mocks were great but their EOC’s sucked. 5) Everything counts but don’t forget L2 is driven by: FRA, Equity, Ethics and Corp Fin. Derivatives, Portfolio and Quant are tough and it is easy to get lost in those subjects especially Derivatives. Good luck