SchweserNotes + CFAI vs. CFAI only only, long, understand, thousands, actually

disiz64

I’m debating whether to get SchweserNotes.
I understand that the real exam will be brutal and that SchweserNotes won’t be enough.
However, the thousands of pages of CFAI text were long and incoherent. For Level I, I actually had to rely mostly on the Secret Sauce for the second half of the readings because I was too far behind schedule.
Given all this, will SchweserNotes get me up to speed on the basics faster than the CFAI textbook? I like the idea of not having to spend so many hours trying to decipher the CFAI text. If I understand the main concepts sooner, then I’ll have more time available to study the details and really bone up on the end-of-reading questions.

bodhisattva

Wow, great advice - thanks eltia I plan on following this to the T.

jbaldyga

My three passes approach:
First pass: SchweserNotes + Concept Checkers + Office hours.
Second pass: SchweserNotes + CFAI End of Chapter Questions + Office hours + Notes taking.
Third pass: Your notes + Secret Sauce + Book 6 + CFAI Mocks + CFAI Quizzes + Q-Bank.
The proportion of time allocation for the passes should be about 3:4:3. Assuming you start this week, you have roughly 10 months time till D-Day. You can divide up the time accordingly.
Why defer CFAI text? The SchweserNotes are easier to digest (but not as comprehensive as CFAI text) and there is an instructor to help you during office hours. Once you finish first pass, CFAI should have released a bunch of errata by now. So you would be studying from the (more) corrected materials. Target to finish the first pass by end of year.
Second pass takes longest (and most brutal). A lot of reading, questions and you have to take notes! Start this phase in around Jan and last till around April. The good news is, once you crunch through this phase, I would say 60% of the work is done.
Last pass is a time race. It’s all about practice, practice and practice, and retain as much materials as possible. Anticipate this phase to begin in around April and go all the way to D-Day. This is probably the most critical stage, as level of confident could easily swing your performance and gives you false reading. Keep crunching and you would eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The process is brutal and long. But comparing to retaking L2, this is still the more humane approach.