Level II right after Level I in December? material, painful, through, advice

scruge

Hello,

I am taking CFA Level I in December. I was wondering if I would have enough time to study for Level II in about 6 months (given that I can get the study material right away and get the books around February). Is it gonna be very painful to have cram through Level II in 6 months, or I might be better off taking FRM Level 1?

Thank you for the advice in advance.

dontknow1987

I did the L1 in Dec 2009 and L2 In June 2010, now I'm a L3 Candidate for 2011. Above all I can tell you that IT SUCKED and my brain still hurts from the quick turnaround but I am very happy to hopefully be done in 18 months.

It comes down to your personal situation can your personal life allow the time that is needed to be put in? I'm married with 3 kids and by mid May my wife nearly tossed me out of the house I spent no time with my family for 5 months. I missed 4 days of studying from Dec 28th to the exam, yes 7 days a week for 6 months. If you want to have confidence that you can pass L2 you need to think of a study plan that is a little north of 400 hours some people may need less but I was a fair bit over that number.

To do the Quick turn my advice is:

1) Overstudy Level I so there is no doubt that you destroyed it.
2) Don't wait for your results (get used L2 used material on the net until you register) I was about 1/2 way through the material when I found out I passed L1.
3) Set a hard study plan and stick to it, don't let friends, spouses or a good time get in your way
4) Take as many Moc/Sample exams as you can find, Q-bank and the Schweser EOC's are too low level they are good at keeping sharp but the level of questions on the exam are close but a step up from the CFAI Moc's & Samples, Schweser Mocks were great but their EOC's sucked.
5) Everything counts but don't forget L2 is driven by: FRA, Equity, Ethics and Corp Fin. Derivatives, Portfolio and Quant are tough and it is easy to get lost in those subjects especially Derivatives.

Good luck

pacmandefense

Of course its worth it to study for level 2 even before you find out, you guys make it seem like learning something ahead of a "predetermined schedule is a bad thing" if you don't pass level I the first time, then take it again, then once level 2 rolls around, you will at least have some foundation in it.

MythosHF

I'm coming straight out of school so first thing I'm going to do right after Level 1 regardless of whether I pass or not is look for a job. I doubt I'll have the energy/commitment to continue studying for Level 2 immediately after Level 1 while working full-time.

Daniel1985

I faced this choice earlier this year and decided to skip a year.

To do an effective job with L2, you really have to start right after the L1 test. You're exhausted and uncertain if you passed. If you don't, all that effort on L2 is essentially lost.

To add to the problem, CFAI won't even let you register, so you have to buy the books on your own (or use Schweser/Stalla).

It's not a good situation. CFAI should offer a provisional L2 registration and ship out the books.

- Robert

homie

Sure, go for it. Lots of people do it. By mid-June you may have already moved yourself up to Level 3.

Of course, to earn the Ultra CFA designation, you have to pass all three levels in 18 months, and then score 95% on the Level 4 exam.

kamara5

Level 4 ???

johnnyBuz

Fdez Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's my plan. I'm also planning to start
> studying before actually knowing whether I passed
> L1 or not. Motivation will depend hardly on my
> feeling about my chances of passing L1 and I'm
> sure it will be hard to keep on studying after it,
> but... well, no pain no gain.


I've got the same plan. Best of luck!

mnieman

That's the plan, level I in December, level II in June. 6 months should be enough if you put the time in and study. If you understand the material very well and put in the hours, you should pass. If you are considering the FRM, ask yourself why?

agulani

take it one step at a time.
results also come out end January - so figure out then if you
a) have enough energy
b. have enough time to commit
c. after realizing that Level II is not as straightforward and requires considerably more time to be spent...

CP