Repeat Taker Tactics obtaining, struggled, practice, multiple, problems

Micholien

I know this may be an early topic for many but as a 2x Band 10 I am looking for some input. Both years the AM sessions have cost me the test. I have rocked out the Individual IPS but for some reason struggled on the remaining AM questions. By struggle I mean in terms of obtaining a good score...honestly, walked out thinking I did just fine. Any recommendations on how to study or prepare for the AM sessions next year? So many of the practice problems are multiple choice and I am looking for ways to walk into the test more prepared next year.

PieMan

This is hard to do but I recommend three things that if you do will very likely guarantee a pass next year.
1) Comprehend the material and make or buy a 200-400 page summarize the material.
I recommend buying this (Schwerser's "Mind Maps" and/or "Secret Sauce"). The reason why I recommend buying is because you do not have to spend too much time just making the summary which is NOT a good use of time. That time can be spent to review and re-review.
The timing for this is more like maximum end of March.

2) Take a 3-day or 5-day good review course. You do not have to travel for this as webinar reviews are available at least with Schweser. They also had a excellent summary of all topics in about 300 pages called "Mind Maps" and a question booklet with hundreds of problems.

3) Practice practice and practice. The June CFAI exam will be very likely different from any of the practice exams or mock exams. Nevertheless take as many exams as possible before JUne. Schweser, Stalla, CFAI Mock and especially past CFAI AM exams, whatever you think tries to replicate the real exam experience. Work on your timing and other issues and make all the mistakes you would make before June.

The real June exam will no doubt be different from what you would have seen even after all this but with the above preparation you will be in a good position to tackle anything. You may not get a great score but you will very likely be in the top half of the group which will pass.

ALL THE BEST and GOOD LUCK!

KungFuPanda

Especially the Portfolio Management for "Individual" questions in morning section. Anyone got a >70% in #1 and #2 and would like to share how to prepare those questions?

tarunajwani

I did average in the AM section (did well on the PM section), however did score > 70% on the two individual questions. I think the best preperation for those specific types of questions were the practice exams, I completed the 6 Schweser exams and for the CFAI prior year exams, Schweser has video lectures breaking down how to answer each question from the prior three years of exams which I felt were helpful. Those really helped figure out how to get maximum points with those specific questions. I came out of the AM feeling really good, so I was suprised to see some of the breakdown of scores in the other AM questions, but the individual questions are the easiest to predict in the morning session (give or take a curve ball, but if you have a general understanding of how to approach it you should be fine).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 09:11AM by texcfa.

former

sunilmails Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is hard to do but I recommend three things
> that if you do will very likely guarantee a pass
> next year.
> 1) Comprehend the material and make or buy a
> 200-400 page summarize the material.
> I recommend buying this (Schwerser's "Mind Maps"
> and/or "Secret Sauce"). The reason why I recommend
> buying is because you do not have to spend too
> much time just making the summary which is NOT a
> good use of time. That time can be spent to review
> and re-review.
> The timing for this is more like maximum end of
> March.
>
> 2) Take a 3-day or 5-day good review course. You
> do not have to travel for this as webinar reviews
> are available at least with Schweser. They also
> had a excellent summary of all topics in about 300
> pages called "Mind Maps" and a question booklet
> with hundreds of problems.
>
> 3) Practice practice and practice. The June CFAI
> exam will be very likely different from any of the
> practice exams or mock exams. Nevertheless take as
> many exams as possible before JUne. Schweser,
> Stalla, CFAI Mock and especially past CFAI AM
> exams, whatever you think tries to replicate the
> real exam experience. Work on your timing and
> other issues and make all the mistakes you would
> make before June.
>
> The real June exam will no doubt be different from
> what you would have seen even after all this but
> with the above preparation you will be in a good
> position to tackle anything. You may not get a
> great score but you will very likely be in the top
> half of the group which will pass.
>
> ALL THE BEST and GOOD LUCK!

Totally agree with what sunilmils said, especially point 2 & 3. Last year, I used Schweser, Past exams and EOC questions. Failed band 2 in 2010. I regret so much that I didn't time my exam as I was practicing it. At the real exam, I left 2/3 of the AM paper blank. I was stuck in one of the questions for 30 mins.

In preparing for 2011 exam, I spent about the same amount of time as last year. But this time, I also registered for review course. The course helped me tremendously. It pointed me to the right direction of studies. They also provided condensed notes, test examples and the way to tackle questions. I felt so prepared this time in terms of the material itself. All I had to do next was to tackle the time constraint problem in the AM session, so I practiced by using past exams from 2005-2010. I made sure I timed it everytime when I did it. I'm glad I passed this year.

stalkey

vanb0057 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know this may be an early topic for many but as
> a 2x Band 10 I am looking for some input. Both
> years the AM sessions have cost me the test. I
> have rocked out the Individual IPS but for some
> reason struggled on the remaining AM questions.
> By struggle I mean in terms of obtaining a good
> score...honestly, walked out thinking I did just
> fine. Any recommendations on how to study or
> prepare for the AM sessions next year? So many of
> the practice problems are multiple choice and I am
> looking for ways to walk into the test more
> prepared next year.



I attribute my failure to "neglecting CFAI command words" (define, discuss, justify etc.). I answered all the questions in the same way (1 to 2 lines) regardless of the specific command word. Result: - Band 7. Will try to concentrate on this next time, but stick to Scwrs.

Kapie

Creighton CFA Level 3 boot camp. You tackle actual CFAI Morning session questions for a good amount of time.

RoastBeef

vanb0057 - u sound a lot like me. and i think we'd be in the same boat if this year's pass rate was just a tiny bit lower (i think i just skated by this year)

so what i would tell u is that rather than totally overhauling your approach, just do what you're doing but just get sharper on a few more points, understand a couple more things, get into a couple more corners. that's what did it for me this year. sorry if this sounds simplistic.

sabre

I fell into the quantity over quality trap this year. I was so keen on passing and being done with all of this on the first shot I began counting hours; my mindset became, "if I book 26 hours this week, I'm sure to pass." rather than focusing on absorbing concepts and making sure I understood what I was reading. Inevitably I wore myself down to the point of really not absorbing much material at all between Arpil and May, I believe.

I also stopped going to the gym. This, in my opinion, was a HUGE mistake. In my push to 'guarantee' a pass, I stopped my normal weekly training. The atrophy not only occurred physically, but mentally too. I wasn't as sharp after April. I was sluggish mentally. I never took any shortcuts (read CFAI text cover to cover, did all EOCs multiple times, reviewed Schweser in my weak areas, and did all chapter examples), but by test day, I burned out.

These are a couple of the broader issues that led to my lack of success this year, I believe. There are some details I will change (adding more practice exams to the mix), but these are ultimately at the root of the issue.

BelalM

I was band 10 in 2009 then band 9 in 2010... I managed to pass this time... the thing that i did differently on the am section this year was starting from last question to first.... while doing this I focused on solving problems that needed calculations first, then moved to problems where I needed to write or explain stuff.... Problems that I had no clue about were left till the very last half an hour....