Although I am holding out some hope I can pass part II in a few weeks, realistically I am bracing myself for not passing. I am a controller for a set of private equity funds and although I am strong on the accounting portion of the exam, I do stuggle with options, swaps, and memorizing all the formulas with the equity section. I made a huge mistake by getting through the material too quickly and not making sure I understood the important topics before moving on. I also should have set aside one review day a week to review material already covered. I used Schweser and it was OK, but probably did not go into enough detail for someone like me. I see a lot of people in this forum who fail using Schweser and then say that they will only use the CFAI material when they retake. Did anyone have success using only the CFAI texts to study? I know someone I work with the only used the CFAI material and did very well. I keep thinking that if I started in October by reading, outlining, and doing all example and EOC chapter questions it might not be a bad study plan. Someone else told me that Stalla is better than Schweser in terms of detail in its lectures, but Stalla does not appear to well regarded on this board. Any feedback on using the CFAI material would be great. Sorry for the long post.
I understand where you are. Just don’t give up yet. Use Schweser Derivatives video and keep doing CFA EOC questions. That is all you do and never compare with others. You can do it man.
To be honest, im not a retaker, but there are lots and lots of people you have passed using schweser only and CFAI only, this forum can be biased sometimes. For me schweser just presented everything in a much more structured readable way, and I have no problem getting 80% on average from the CFAI EOC’s after using schweser so… Schweser are notes, and not a book, and therefore you must read every single line and point they make and also try to know it not just read it, cant stress this enough, including some examples where they make extra points… But keep hard at it, you never know, theres no point in giving up or getting stressed out Gudluck
I’m a retaker (used 90% Stalla and 10% CFAI last year) and believe when I say the CFAI material is the only thing I will use for Level 2 and 3. The questions in the Stalla Passmaster are too easy. For me, the Stalla study guides did help me breakdown the “core” content in complex readings like FRA and Derivatives. But in terms of detail and depth, I say stick with the CFAI texts and EOC questions.
I used Stalla (75% and 25% CFAI) last year and did ALL the passmaster questions and passed. Not with flying color, but who really cares. many many many many people pass using providers (and famous people get arrested for using “providers” as well, ie spitzer) it can be done.
first timer, i have been stalla+schweser and CFAI so far. CFAI is certainly a cover-all bible; I have done most of the questions and I do find EOCs, although helpful in drilling the concepts, they are limited in numbers (lack repetition). Schweser: notes are defintely helpful and are a great source from which you can do quick check ups for concept clearification. very concise. Concept checkers are too easy, just like its Qbank, not reflective of the real thing. Stalla passmaster has a ton of questions, most are straigh forward, great repetition, still 20% “hard” questions that are worth doing twice. Their videos are pretty good too. I been used to studying via notes and books and it is always good to actually hear someone actually discuss some of the concepts that you have trouble understanding. Overall, they all cover the same thing. I am not a smart guy nor am efficient at self studying. I just wanna get enough practice and hopefully pass the real thing with just one shot. Don’t we all hope that…
I recommend this study schedule with the CFAI texts (read it multiple times): http://www.qc4blog.com/?p=905 W
Here’s what I’ve learned regarding the CFAI text & their EOC vs. Schwesser and their concept checkers, as a retaker who has used both. Hands down, the CFAI EOC is what you’re going to see on the test, period. I used Schwesser exclusively the first time around, and did thousands of QBank questions. I was practically blindsided by the exam questions, simply because they’re worded in a certain way. It was eerie this second time around doing just CFAI & EOC, the EOC’s aren’t deceptively hard when you get used to them. The “tricks” they use are well-telegraphed, and you get used to the structure. If you’re going to use Schwesser, forget about their concept checkers and, instead, do the CFAI EOC questions that correspond to the Schwesser reading you just did. If you can do those EOC questions without issue, you’ll do fine. Otherwise, you simply didn’t learn the material. TL;DR the CFAI EOCs just aren’t as hard as you think.