How Effective are Schweser Videos / Q-Bank 2010, accounting, everyone, studying

dcfox83

Hi,

I hope everyone is studying hard and having some success so far.

I started studying June 28th, and I have watched most lectures now save the last 3 accounting ones which I am working on now.

My study technique has been as follows.

-Watch the Schweser Study Sessions from 2010 (Jon Bone, the other British guy, etc.)
-Take notes on the slides
-After I'm done watching the study session I do the 2010 Q Bank doing from 60-120 questions on the topic I viewed. I've been getting scores in the range of 60-82% on these questions with my lower scores coming from Corp Finance, Derivatives and Quant Methods Apps.

I'm still finishing the accounting ones but my goal was for by September 10th or so start reading the material that I scored lower on, continue to do questions.

I was planning to start doing exams by the middle of October until near the exam.

Has anyone found success following this type of strategy? Am I leaving important parts out?


Other than the Ethics Standards, what are the things I need to straight up memorize?

Thanks again for all of your help in advance, it would be very appreciated

adehbone

I never used the lectures at level one, but I can tell you the level 3 lectures glossed over a bunch of stuff so I gave up on them. This is after having read all the CFAI materials.

The best advice I can give you for level one is to hit that Qbank like it owes you money. Schweser is really good at predicting level one test material, and if you use that Qbank for 90 minutes a day for the two months leading up to the exam you will be fine.

Your post doesn't say whether you've actually read the material though. Are you only watching a slide show?

ba736

For Lv 1, Schweser Q-Bank is very, VERY useful.

Viceroy

There is no way you'll get enough out of the videos to start practicing questions based purely on the videos. They leave out too much stuff. You have to read the notes.

Also, the Qbank is over-rated. Too many calculations and not enough testing on concepts. You'd be better off doing the questions in the CFA books.

spreads

This is a bat-@#$%& crazy approach if you ask me. I think it would be madness to go into an exam not having read the notes (CFAI, Schweser or otherwise) and I agree with Cinderella that the CFAI EOC questions are an essential part of your first pass through your notes to reinforce your understanding of the chapter.

I know the CFAI notes are long winded but if you think you can cut corners and save time by just watching the videos and making notes off them I think you are in for more trouble than it's worth in the long run.
I also notice you are 'studying' from the 2010 curriculum and not this years version. If it were me I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I was taking such a huge gamble. Like the old saying goes, if you can't sleep at night then you've taken on too much risk.

Having said that your QBank scores are promising. But why risk it? Still plenty of time left to read the notes, should be even faster for you since this would be your second pass through them.

What's the deal? Are you trying to save some money or something? I didn't think it was possible to simply sign up for the exam only without at least the e-version of the notes so what gives?

Windjam

I agree with the others. The videos leave out alot of material. The only thing I find the lectures useful for are for reviewing after you've read the chapter already.

anish

Q-Bank is very effective for Level 1.

Analyze_This

What is the best thing to read?
Is 2011 very different from the 2010 material?

Thanks for the advice guys. As of next week I will have gone through all of the video lectures and q-bank tests for the curriculum.

My plan is that after I was done with the videos I will read the notes/chapters for the CFA Level I - I'm just trying to see what the best thing to read is. When I was studying at school, I felt that if I read the book chapters before the teacher taught it in class, I didn't get it as well as when I read it the second time around and it helped reinforce what I learned during the lectures.

Yeah I am definitely being cheap I just registered the 24th before the deadline, but that's after having studied most of the material. The CFA books haven't come in yet.

If I start doing tests full time starting October 15th I shouldn't be in too bad a shape right?

Chuckrox8

CFA is not only about your passion. Do plan your activities well not only your reading of the material but also your leisure activities to maintain your energy levels and retain what you read! While you are in Level 1; you require to retain knowledge as straight away things are asked in the exam and for that the best strategy could be reading the material in an effective manner and organizing to so that it would be easier for you to revise it and retain it.