I know, but you’ve been there and I haven’t. FWIW (and for everyone reading this thread), my question about practice exams relates ONLY to the final month or two after I’ve finished the curriculum. Until then, I am reading (and studying) all the CFAI text and doing all the EOC questions. Guille_GE Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bear in mind that this is just my opinion which > I’m sure will differ from many others 
I probably worded my post too strongly but the point I was trying to make is that there is balance between starting early and finishing strong, and finishing strong with good review is most important. There are risks to starting too late (not enough time) but there are likewise risks to starting too early (burn-out). If one has plenty of time and can start early, devote many hours and not burn out then yes that person certainly has an advantage. I kind of felt there was a tone of “if you aren’t significantly into the curriculum right now then you’re screwed” in the thread and I was reacting strongly against that. And if I misread that tone then I was wrong there. Personally I started at Thanksgiving and I’m about 25% into the curriculum. I will devote more hours per week as the test gets closer as well. CFAcountry Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Level2Ain’tEasy Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Your study group is on crack. If you cover > that > > much material this early you risk burn-out in > the > > crucial last 2 months before the test, not to > > mention your knowledge retention is going to be > > terrible. Having 50% of the material covered > > already is just no good, very bad, completely > > horrible approach. What are you going to do > for > > the next 6 months? Play video games? > > > > Pgiger Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > Unless you just passed level 1, you’re > already > > > behind the crowd. My study group is finishing > > > corporate finance today. Thats 50% of the > > material > > > covered. > > > I dont understand why people thing starting early > is so terrible? So what you’re saying is since he > will be done with the curriculum soon, he will not > be able to retain the information because for the > next 6 months he will have nothing to do? How > about study??? > > If you wanna start in Jan or Feb, go ahead and do > that. But for those starting early, I really doubt > it will be to their disadvantage. It allows more > time for repetition which is what really promotes > learning the stuff, not just memorizing.
I started right before Thanksgiving, and frankly, I wish I had started sooner. I study every single day, probably averaging about two hours, hopefully covering one SS per week. At that pace, I’ll finish reading the curriculum by mid-April. If I had started maybe a month sooner, I’d have a little more flexibility. I can’t believe that some people are planning to start in January. That simply isn’t enough time. Level2Ain’tEasy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I probably worded my post too strongly but the > point I was trying to make is that there is > balance between starting early and finishing > strong, and finishing strong with good review is > most important. There are risks to starting too > late (not enough time) but there are likewise > risks to starting too early (burn-out).
Robert A Wrote: That simply isn’t enough time. For YOU.
Well, yeah, and perhaps for any person who has a FT job and a family. I’m trying to complete one SS/week. To me personally, I would face certain burnout if I had to cover the material any quicker. Level2Ain’tEasy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Robert A Wrote: > That simply isn’t enough time. > > > For YOU.
Very much agree with you there, the family factor is a huge kicker. I really sympathize for people going through this curriculum with a full-time job and a family. My co-worker is in that situation and it’s really rough. AND I’ve got another co-worker who’s in that situation while going through a divorce and trying to study! Robert A Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, yeah, and perhaps for any person who has a > FT job and a family. > > I’m trying to complete one SS/week. To me > personally, I would face certain burnout if I had > to cover the material any quicker. > > Level2Ain’tEasy Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Robert A Wrote: > > That simply isn’t enough time. > > > > > > For YOU.
I started in Feb of last year, still crushed the bad boy
You guys are scaring me with this burnout thing. I will be going back to work on Jan 4th so I won’t have more than 2 hours max to studying everyday. Even weekends is very busy for me, have to create time for gf, go to church, blah blah. So this is what I’ve been doing: I am currently using Schweser. I know there’s a lot of talk about CFAI books but I think my plan should work. I have just finished reading Equities (SS12). My plan is to finish all Schweser Readings by mid February at the latest. After this, I have Schweser video instruction (16 CDs) and slides. I hope to watch and go through this from mid feb to mid march. This should help recollect any info i may be forgetting. Then I intend to go through CFAI chapter summaries and EOCs, til mid April. That should then give me a month and half to review. Any thoughts?
take it easy man. everyone is going to be different, and most of us have a lot of responsibilities to balance. Doing at least the CFAI eoc’s is a very good idea so you get used to the way they will ask questions and what parts of the readings they are focusing on. Study supplements are just that supplements to the real thing. You wouldn’t expect to gain muscle from working out and only drinking protein shakes right? You just use them to supplement your normal food intake so that you get that extra boost of protein and whatever else you might put into them after you lift. Same concept here. If using the online class helps you save time, super. If after watching the online class you’re still confused not getting it, better read/ re-read the cfai reading and or study notes if you have them, maybe re-working eoc problems helps you retain the info better. Who knows you gotta determine through trial and error what works best for you. You know if you are getting burned out, you’ve just re-read the same page like 3 times, and start thinking… man…what the #@$% did I just read. You’ve worked a problem 3 times you know you know it, you’re re-working as a refresher but you keep making the same stupid mistake. You feel your frustration level rising, you start getting a cascade of negative thoughts about whether or not you will be successful with this, or whether you are smart enough, etc, etc. That kind of crap is sort of thing that’s going on and you have to back away and give yourself room to breath. That is the burnout that can get you. Not everyone may have a problem with pushing themselves to hard, some of us have a hard time knowing when to say “I’ve got to back off and give myself some room to breathe”. If you’ve been through at least an undergrad program, then you know yourself well enough to know what studying works best and whether or not you know you push yourself too hard. Give it your best and have faith that your hardwork will be rewarded with a pass. If not then you will be that much more prepared to give it another shot. With a pass rate of only 39% clearly alot of really bright dedicated folks have to do this and it doesn’t make them any less capable og going on to be successful in their career.
cheers for that. to be fair I don’t do long study stints. I just read for 2 hours and take a break. I’ve been able to cover SS1-12 because I’ve been off work for 2 weeks now with nothing to do. So I just reading for a bit and play Black Ops for a bit. Just want to make sure that I finish reading with plenty of time for reviews. I do intend to do all CFAI EOCs. That should show my weak points for further review.
This forum is starting to get to me… So many people make bold statements about the time their starting studying, when there is hardly any mention about the HOURS spent while studying?? Some people study for a couple hours here and there, while others study much more than that… Also especially important is the candidate’s BACKGROUND… somebody who has recently studied alot of the curriculum (like myself) surely wouldn’t need the same time spent as someone who has never seen the majority of the curriculum before… I passed level 1 with two weeks of studying; believe it or not I don’t care, but it is ENTIRELY due to my background… master of finance program covers the whole cfa program so during the program i was indirectly studying the curriculum…with the majority being for level II thankfully anyway, I’m just rambling on for no reason…mainly just frustrated at all the points about people “being screwed” if they aren’t deep into the curriculum already… ** on a more positive note, I booked a FULL WEEK of vacation for the last week before the exam… this way I can cram for a week without having to worry about the office, and the material will be FRESH! wwwoooooooooo
a vacation spent studying for the CFA exam. Not my idea of a vacation, but whatever floats your boat.
Unsure about the order and whether it really matters, I think is it quite good to start off with whatever you are weak in so you can go over it again with plenty of time before the exam. I plan to start studying this weekend.
For me its like going over and over and over again the material and it works pretty good for me actually. I use Schweser Videos + CFAI Books + Schweser Notes. But mainly I am focused on Schweser videos and CFA books. I also noticed that I started getting really f***** up in the head and then I took a 5 days break and now started running atleast 5 km three to four days a week. IT really helps… I encourage those who manage to get sometime should exercise and get the blood pumped up their heads. This should definitley help. Because on the Big day … its all about focus and concentration.
^^and luck
^^and luck… >>> This we can’t control 
I will start after Jan 25 upon receiving L1 results.
prophets Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I will start after Jan 25 upon receiving L1 > results. same here, I do have the schweser but need confirmation of teh results to be sure…
supersunny138 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For me its like going over and over and over again > the material and it works pretty good for me > actually. I use Schweser Videos + CFAI Books + > Schweser Notes. But mainly I am focused on > Schweser videos and CFA books. I also noticed that > I started getting really f***** up in the head and > then I took a 5 days break and now started running > atleast 5 km three to four days a week. IT really > helps… > > I encourage those who manage to get sometime > should exercise and get the blood pumped up their > heads. This should definitley help. Because on the > Big day … its all about focus and concentration. I try to manage some time to exercise too, run for like 4.5 km three days a week. It does help alot. I totally agree!
Robert A Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Guille: > > Can you tell us a little more how the exam is laid > out? > > For instance, are item sets separated by topic, as > they were in Level 1 (“the following 12 questions > pertain to Equity”)? > > Also, how long are the individual item sets? I > just completed the EOCs for Corporate Finance, and > I was surprised how long those item sets were. > > Guille_GE Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I’m a retaker and starting same time as last > year. > > Mid Jan > > > > If you have time to do the 300+ hours in that > > time: > > > > You can go through the curriculum and learn > > you can pass the exam > > > > Just be aware that, Level II is a different > beast > > “as an exam”. I passed Level I with all >70 and > > was band 8. Could I have passed within the same > > time frame? I was ready for an exam like Level > I > > and it turned out not to be the case, because: > > > > - The devil is in the details on the actual > item > > set, be veeery careful reading it > > - Expect deeper questions that do indeed test > for > > mastery of the topics (unlike surface questions > on > > LI) > > - Do not underestimate the CFAI curriculum. > They > > encourage reading it for a reason > > - They wont necessarilly test the new topics, > if > > you think they are be ready for a surprise > > - Be ready for two full item sets on one topic, > > that happen in my case on Fin. Stat. Analysis. > Two > > full item sets on 3 pages from the CFAI books. > > > > Just my .50 cents Download the mock from CFAI. The real exam is the exact same format although some of the weightings may differ.