Freaking Out something, possible, material, 240, 120

wildrose

Ok. So I do not know anyone taking the CFA or anyone that has and I have no idea exactly how to study.

I read all the Schweser notes. However, I didn't do the EOC questions because I wanted to get through the material as soon as possible.

I am going to print off and study about 120 to 240 questions from the Qbank from each section before I start taking the exams. Then I'll try to get through all 4,000 something questions...(if I can).

After that I was hoping to just take take the scweser practice exams and the ones the CFA gives you.

So most of the time till June I'll be doing problems. I am a full time night student and can study for the CFA most of the day at home.

Is this a bad strategy? I have no idea- I'm afraid once I start taking the exams I'll come across something I did not study.

So glad this forum is here. Thank you!!!

Siddimaula

Also- If you are LVL II or III, what's the one thing that surprised you (anything, from test questions to testing center) on test day? Anything you wish you would have done prior to the exam?

nitoha

Its not a bad strategy really. I would have advised you to solve the concept checkers right after every reading. That being said, you have sufficient time to revisit the difficult stuff and absorb it.

Don't worry about coming across something on the exam that you wouldn't have studied. There might be 2-3 questions like that MAX on the actual exam so don't stress about those. Schweser covers almost everything. Get your head down and practice hard. I think you have enough time to go through the entire Schweser set at least once more. I really think you will need the second reading and maybe a third. Dont worry about the time... it goes a lot faster than the first time around.

An Eleventh Hr/Secret Sauce really helps bring everything together towards the end. As I have stated numerous times, the Eleventh Hour is a better book (my humble opinion of course).

Keep posting your Qbank results. I'll try to help you out from time to time.

evolsteevol

Thank you so much! What great people on here!

dontknow1987

Hey guys, I passed level 1 in December and will try to offer some advice. My best advice is to do as many practice exams and practice problems as possible because that will give you the best indication of what your weak areas are and what you really need to work on. I think the one mistake that I made prepping for L1, not that it ended up hurting me was time management. When you do a practice exam you should really try to treat it like a real exam and time yourself. I really didnt do this when preparing for the exam and found that on during the actual exam I had many questions left to answer and was short on time.
Also, dont spend too much time on any one particular question. If you cant answer it just make a note and move on. Its not worth spending 5 minutes on 1 question if it means you are going to have to rush through 5 as a result of wasting that time. Remember its only 1 out of 240 questions.
Furthermore, Ethics is the biggest section of level 1 as you obviously know. You should really understand everything in Ethics, it is worth the most and it is really easy. These should be free points if you spend the appropriate time going over it and it will really ease your nerves on the exam if feel that you killed that section, I know it did for me.
Also, the CFA institute loves to ask stupid little things that most people probably passed over as unimportant in their studying. When reviewing try to pay close attention to the little details because I bet you there will be a few questions on the exam that you would have never thought they would have asked.
Finally, I think the thing that surprised my the most about the exam was that it was far more qualitative than I thought. I spent so much time memorizing formulas, most of which I never had to use. Im not saying dont memorize formulas because you obviously will have to know some of them, but if you are having a hard time remembering one formula dont kill yourself over it because chances are it wont be on the exam. I think the most important formulas are CAPM, WACC and expecially the dupont version of ROE, its components and how they interact with each other.

Hope this helped a little. Good luck, Im sure you'll all do fine. Once you start level 2 you will realize how easy the level 1 material really is.

scr879

Hey Beatthecfa! You are a true contributor to this site! Thanks for all the support you offer to candidates. As you are aware, the June exam is around the corner and I'm sitting for the LvL 1 exam for the first time. That being said, I might have to disassociate myself from AF for at least the next month and focus on studying.

I def found this site helpful, thanks to you and all the contributors. I think this is my last question I have for you until I return.

Is it safe to skip the Q bank questions for all the sections, except Ethics during the prep process? I just don't have the drive to go through the tons of questions on there and lose any of the remaining motivation I have left, if I get any of the answers wrong.

Please advice. Thanks

Micholien

Bullet-style...

* Remember that you only have to get 70% of the questions right to pass. You don't have to get everything right.

* If you know Schweser really, really well, you should be fine. I passed L1 and L2 using only Schweser and the Book 6 practice exams. I used Schweser and CFA books for L3. I never touched Q-Bank.

* Start the practice exams at least a month before the real thing. For L2 and L3, I took my first practice exams in late April.

* Time yourself on the practice exams. It's important to know the pace you will have to work. Give yourself 3 hours and use every minute of it. It's good practice.

* Review the practice exams and make a list of everything you got wrong or didn't fully understand. Then look at this topic in Schweser or the CFA texts. Cross it off the list and go to the next thing.

* Ethics can make or break you at L1. Study it hard. Do all the ethics questions you can find and then make a list of the things you got wrong or didn't fully understand. What are the consistent ethics rules of thumb that shine through? Know those.

* If you have plenty of time, you might consider doing the CFA end of chapter questions. I only did them for L3, and they were helpful but a pain in the rear.

* Make a schedule of your study plan. Set deadlines on when you need to take your practice exams and when you need to complete your review of a topic, etc.

* Yes, your next six or seven weeks are going to suck, but it will be worth it if you pass.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10:13AM by frisian.

shootingstar

@ beatthecfa, frisian

Dude, great value addition. Can I have your email ids ? Just want your views on a couple of things.

Mine is mr.koolzz at gmail dot com

Thanks

Daniel1985

Emailed you

sgupta0827

So, I am getting 70% or less on quizzes but I am working my way up slowly.

I hope I have enough time from now till June to get them higher....