Unable to remember and study ! Help !!

Hi all ,

Well i’ve completed 50% of the portions and I’m finding it hard to remember them . I got my E-book from CFAI a few weeks back . I seem to score 60%-75% in the EOCs . As I havent enrolled for any classes or know anyone else doing CFA , I am in a dilema as I donot have anyone to compare to .

I have a few questions , it would be awesome if someone could direct me and help me regarding the issues :

  1. is 60-75% good enough ?

  2. What should be my study plan for the next 2.5 months ? writting CFA in dec2014 .

  3. How should I study more effectively ?

  4. /Should I do Kaplan Qbank ?

  5. kindly share anyother info/tip whch you think would help me and other L1 first time takers .

Regards,

HedgeFudge

  1. Not really, no. You should aim for at least 70%, typically 80% to comfortably clear a reading.

  2. Well since you’ve done only 50% of the curriculum, I’d suggest you really study hard for the next few months, it’s doable with time and persistance. Depending on your work/study, try to fit in 2-3 hours a day and 4-5 hours on weekends.

  3. Do one reading per day, focus on blue boxes, then the EOCs, mark the incorrect ones. Review the material a second time, do the EOCs and focus on the incorrect ones. Solve the Qbank, redo the incorrect, solve practice exams, read the secret sauce from schewesr two weeks before the exam, write your own notes. Do two mock exams, review notes before the exam,

  4. It’s useful, yes. There are around 4,000 questions. You should typically do at least half of them (proportionally) and score 65+% on all sessions. This is the better way of finding your weak points. Actual practice is better with practice exams and mocks.

  5. Read, understand, practice. There is no way around it. Due to the sheer material you have to learn, practice is the best way to absorb all of it through numerous exposure. I’ve taken it twice, so I should know!

I am in the same predicament. I’ve been through the entire curriculum (Schweser) once already, and now i’m halfway through my second time around (I am taking notes now, and I try to re-read them whenever I have time). There is nothing I don’t understand (I score around 75% to 85% in most questionnaires at the end of each chapters). By the end of September, I shall have completed my notes and my review and I will start hitting the Qbank, the CFA EOCs and i’ll do 3 mock exams.

You’d think that I am on the right track, but everytime i go back to my books and re-read my notes, there are always things i’ve forgotten (formulas, definitions…). Am I doing something wrong here? How can I optimize my retention of the material? Am I freaking out for no reason?

ah. the smell of fear and panic from CFA candidates. it’s like squeezing a jelly donut in your hands

Yes.

Continue to study, continue to work practice problems, and move on to practice exams and mock exams.

You’ll see an improvement.

It’s ok; lots of people feel like they can’t remember all the material as they prepare for L1. It’s about 60% of the people who sit for the test. (They fail.)

Well that was not encouraging .

Yea , exactly there is so much to remember . But you know what ? in the past 2 days I’ve cracked down why I’m scoring kinda low . Casue Schweser is not enough ! for the next 50% of the portions I’m going to use the CFA material . just did the reading on sampling and there seems to be so many examples for every concept and they also tell when , why and how its used . I think this is going to help me over all .

I have exactly 34 readings left . If i am able to do 1 reading a day . by end of oct I should finish the portions with EOC and then do the Qbank for 1st 2 weeks and last 2 weeks take 7 Mocks . Each mock on an alternative day .

I hope this plan works out .

Hope my plan is useful to you too .

Regards,

HedgeFudge

Thanks man for all the advice , my preperations till now have been very sloppy . (thanks to kaplan) .Hope to improve quite a bit by end of oct.

Regards,

HedgeFudge