Hi everyone,
I am considering buying a study package from one of the many CFA programs out there (i.e. Kaplan, Elan Guides, 7 City) but am a lost at which one to choose! All their website seems promising and they all have a good niche (although some are similar). Anybody have any suggestions, experiences? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will be taking level I in June. Thanks.
I hear Elan has better video content. I have Kaplan Schweser material and the notes are quite fantastic - very reliable. Kaplan’s Qbank is also a great review tool.
Quite honestly, I feel like Kaplan has the history and the resources to have the better product as far as reliability and accuracy of content goes. Elan has more of the intangibles: better, more enjoyable teachers. Kaplan’s video teachers for the most part SUCK - dry, dull, and seem like they couldn’t care less about the lectures (apart from one guy). Peter Olinto, a well liked tutor teaches on Elan videos and he starts out one of his videos saying he is going to help the viewer not just pass the CFA exams, but “kick it’s ass”… that kind of vibrancy is extended throughout his videos.
I initially sought out after Kaplan too after hearing from another society member. That was before I learned of all the others. Now, I’m just baffled. I agree with you though on the part that Kaplan has it’s history. Thanks for your input! Much is appreciated!
Anybody tried the No Pass No Pay from 7 City? Is it worth it? Is it difficult to achieve the 70% passing rate for the two exams (in order to qualify)?
No experience with the other programs, but Kaplan Schweser was quite effective for me. I think it’s also one of the most expensive though…
Thanks! Which package did you do?
Ditto. I think the $1000 package (with notes, Q-Bank, and videos) is the best one. These are really the only three tools that I use.
dear guyz i want to order CFA level 1 curriculum for 2013 how can I order without registering for exam and another query is If I registered for June 2013 do i need to pay program enrolment and exam registration fees or just exam registeration fee Iam already student of CFA level 1 and unfortunately failed last time.
If you call the CFA Intitute they will allow you to puchase the curriculum without registering for the exam, although I’m not sure why you would want to do that as it sounds like you are also trying to register for the exam in June? What do you mean by program enrollment? If you failed last time, I’m pretty sure you still need to pay for everything that you paid for the first time (you may have the option of not buying the curriculum though).
I looked at the materials and video demos for the Premiem package that costs $1000. How much time do you think a person need to set aside to view all the videos and materials (aside from a full time job)? One month, two months?
How much time to go through the entire package? I looked into this.
Reading Material : The CFA curriculum has roughly 3000 pages in all. I measured my self, and on average (easy and hard sections combined), I go through the CFA curriculum books at a rate of 10 pages per hour to really soak it in. That means, it would take me 300 hours (give or take) to read through all of the CFA curriculum books. I’m sorry, but I can’t afford that much time. The Schweser reading material is roughly half of the number of pages of the CFA material. They know how to get to the point quickly without overwhelming you with details. Although I wont be reading from Schweser exclusively, it means I could theoretically finish all the material in 150 hours… which is awesome.
Videos : There are 67 videos (I think). Each of them is about 45 minutes. That’s roughly 50 hours.
Total time : So, let’s say you spend 3 hours a day going through everything. It would take you three months to go through everything assuming you soak in the material at my pace.
You and I are the same. I go through 10 pages on avg in an hour too. I want to really grasp the material before I move on, otherwise I’ll be wasting more time later. That being said, I’ve actually read every page there is in the CFA books (finishing up vol. 5 in four months). Being that the Schweser’s materials are half that, two months should be sufficient. Thanks for the input, Rayankh.
No problem! Question though, if you have already read through the CFA curriculum material, why do you want to buy the Schweser package (reading material and videos included)? The Schweser reading material is essentially the CFA curriculum material but more to the point. Why not instead just buy the qBank, practice exams, and maybe the Final Reading material or “Secret Sauce”. Maybe you have your reasons though.
Good question. Obviously I haven’t given much thought. I’ve always thought of the study packages were just supplements (on top of the CFA books), to get a better understanding of the materials, not as a replacement. I could probably do without the videos and extensive notes but at the same time, the CFA books alone doesn’t offer enough explanations to some of the topics. So I feel like I should get the notes and videos to be on the safe side. The question now is, to get the Premium or just the “Essential” package…which continues to be the dilemma. *Sigh*
Honestly, that is hard. The notes are supposed to be “supplements”, yes. I would call it a supplement in the sense that it’s very useful to have along side studying the CFA curriculum. It can help explain certain material that you were not able to understand when explained by the CFA. For that, it is a great supplement. But, to use the schweser notes as review?.. I feel that’s overkill/expensive. Now that you have read through the CFA material, you should be able to make the decision. Do you feel like you understood the material enough and just need to review, or do you need another source for explanation of the material.
If you feel like you didn’t grasp everything well enough, then buying the schweser notes/videos is justifiable. But if you simply need review, don’t get it.
What you definitely need for review: qBank, practice exams. Optional addition: Secret Sauce
It’s hard to separate things with the packages offered by Schweser.
If you’re debating between Essential and Premium, I can tell you that the Schweser videos have helped me some. Sometimes I use the videos for when I know the material from prior experiences and I just want a refresher instead of reading the material. They haven’t helped me much as far as explaining things better than the CFA books/Schweser notes… at least not much. There were times where I was glad I had the videos, but I’m not sure if they are worth the extra $400. If money is not that big of a concern for you, just get the premium.
The Essential was the one I was leaning towards. As for the Premium, I don’t care for the notes, I just like the videos. And I agree with you, the notes in both the Essentials and Premium can be cumbersome when I can get the full explanation right off the CFA books. I want the Essential not for the notes but for the Qbanks, practice exams and the rest bundled together with the notes will save me more money than buying it individually. But thanks for the input about the videos. That has helped me assess this dilemma a little better!
Hey,
as per my knowledge you should stduy from Schwesser because many of my friends have passed their exams using schweser only, also you should use previuos year question papers for question practice.