I’ll probably start in Dec.
Oct-Nov… writing the CAIA exam in Sept. take a little break then on to Lev 3
smithyse16 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 1st march as I did with this years level 2. Any > earlier than that and I will burn myself out and > drive myself craaazy. Dont know how you guys do > it, picking up the books so soon after results! Well…circumstances are different, I know the job I have at the moment could be time demanding in the new year. Hence, I will start a regular routine by October.
FWIW I started softly in October last year, nothing crazy, just tried to knock out 5-8 hours a week or so to keep it in my head. Did almost nothing around the holidays then really started going in January. It was great because I had read both Schweser and CFAI and did all of the CFAI EOCs by late March/early April, leaving around 7 full weeks for review. It was a welcome departure from doing the Dec/June turnaround for L2 the previous year - less intense, less burnout, etc.
congrats to newly minted level III candidates…over the hill at last Anyone finding Level III material to be a walk in th park vs. level II? very little formulas…lots of verbal/qualitative stuff.
I’ll be starting law school in a couple weeks. I have to finish my first semester of law school before I can dive into the L3 curriculum. I will cram between semesters and finish up in May after the Spring semester is over. Between that, work, and family will not have much of a life beyond intellectual pursuits, but that’s fine with me. I only needed to put in 1 wk for L1 and 1 mo for L2 so it should be enough time. That’s my hope.
the 7 stuff is RIDICULOUSLY easy, but hey…we just passed L2 so i guess we’re biased
June 2011
Got my level 3 books today, wow the books looks so different compared to level 1 and level 2. Instead of covers with leafs and flowers we have actual people now
I think i will most prob. start around Dec - Jan. Spent about 5-6 months each for both L1 and L2, I reckon I would need about the same amount of time for L3, don’t wanna burn out too early
November worked well for Level 2, so I’ll probably take that route again.
Light studying beginning in September, ramping it up after the holidays.
Received the CFAI text yesterday. I started reading Behavioral Fin. first reaction: Make flash cards , not many practice problems in text
I’ll follow the same study plan as the last 2 levels. About 5 weeks per book Aug - Feb - read, notes, EOC March - Mid May - read Schweser and do the questions rest of May - practice exams - CFAI and Schweser
@canadianscraggledog and other fellas: I have never opened a CFAI textbook till date (luckily cleared albeit borderline case in both the prior levels!) but based on my discussions with people I am assured that Schweiser is no way sufficient for L3. I had a query for all fellow July '11 L3 takers who have consulted both Schweiser and CFAI for a particular level (for eg. canadianscraggledog): – by the time you finish reading the vast ocean of CFAI text say till March, didnt you feel the need to revise everything in the CFAI text? Were you able to retain everything good enough to have the confidence to shift to Schweiser/Stalla? Moreover, once you finish Schweiser dont the things get mixed up? I would really appreciate if you guys shed some more light on your preparation strategy. I saw the results of L2 takers on the forum…I really am lucky to pass with just 4 > 70% (does not include FSA)…and 2 < 50%!! In both my prior levels, once I finished reading Schweiser for the first time (that was October for L1 and April for L2), I was blank atleast 50% of the things:-( and had to spend the last month before the exams reading Schweiser all over again, ofcourse the speed was 5-10x this time!! I am not sure if i will able to even revise the CFAI text given the 10x volume !! Given my dismal retention skills, do you guys suggest I start next month itself to cope up with both the materials and be at par with rest L3 takers? Tnks in advance. Gosh, with heavy heart…Schweiser bye bye…time for a break up sweetheart!
erl21982 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @canadianscraggledog and other fellas: > > I have never opened a CFAI textbook till date > (luckily cleared albeit borderline case in both > the prior levels!) but based on my discussions > with people I am assured that Schweiser is no way > sufficient for L3. > > I had a query for all fellow July '11 L3 takers > who have consulted both Schweiser and CFAI for a > particular level (for eg. canadianscraggledog): > > – by the time you finish reading the vast ocean > of CFAI text say till March, didnt you feel the > need to revise everything in the CFAI text? Were > you able to retain everything good enough to have > the confidence to shift to Schweiser/Stalla? > Moreover, once you finish Schweiser dont the > things get mixed up? > > I would really appreciate if you guys shed some > more light on your preparation strategy. I saw the > results of L2 takers on the forum…I really am > lucky to pass with just 4 > 70% (does not include > FSA)…and 2 < 50%!! > > In both my prior levels, once I finished reading > Schweiser for the first time (that was October for > L1 and April for L2), I was blank atleast 50% of > the things:-( and had to spend the last month > before the exams reading Schweiser all over again, > ofcourse the speed was 5-10x this time!! I am not > sure if i will able to even revise the CFAI text > given the 10x volume !! > > Given my dismal retention skills, do you guys > suggest I start next month itself to cope up with > both the materials and be at par with rest L3 > takers? > > Tnks in advance. > > Gosh, with heavy heart…Schweiser bye > bye…time for a break up sweetheart! CFAI is voluminous but you hardly ever need to read everything twice to keep the concepts in your head. The text gives you lots of examples and describe each concept in detail. By the time you are through, you will have a grasp of the topics. You don’t have to re-read everything to retain the material. You might have to revise like a fifth of the curriculum that are a bit volatile. This was what applied to me at Levels 1 & 2. I don’t know how Level 3 is going pan out.
I study about 7-10 hrs a week and find the pace fine. I am good at retention, so once I go over it, and then go over again in April - May using Schweser, I remember most of it and then the mock exams really help focus on weaker areas. In March - May, I study more and more 4-5 hrs a day at first and up to 8-10 hrs by May.