What's the best way to go about studying for the L3 exam? material, studying, difficult, management

DarienHacker

I've basically finished reading the material and taking notes on it, and based on what I've done so far it appears that the most difficult parts of L3 (for me) will be the taxation stuff, futures/options/swaps risk management, and the nitty-gritty details of GIPS. Overall, the stuff seems easier then L2, which is great!

I wanted to ask, though, with about four months left before the exam at this point, what's the best way to go about retention of this material? I have access to QBANK, the CFAI end-of-chapter questions, Schweser Practice Exams and of course the Schweser Concept Checker stuff. What would you guys recommend as a study strategy? Is QBANK worth it at L3? I had heard QBANK was pretty useless for L2 so I skipped it and passed anyway so I'm wondering if I should invest time in it or not for L3.

Also, any particular suggestions on how to handle GIPS? It seems like a TON of arbitrary material that will be very easy to forget...especially if we are faced with essay-style questions based on GIPS!

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

lcai

Hey guys...thank you so much for all the input, I really appreciate it!

Here's an update on where I am: I've gone through all the material a second time now, taking care to physically write out in (two) notebooks all the formulas/examples/other quantitative information needed on the exam. The game now for the next two months is to practice and retain this information. Based on the feedback here I was thinking of hitting the CFAI EOCs, and then focusing on the Schweser and CFAI Practice Exams. As for QBANK, I used it pretty extensively for L1, not at all for L2, and for L3 would it be fair to say that it doesn't add too much value as compared to the EOC and Practice Exams?

And for GIPS - what kind of questions should one expect as far as GIPS goes? It just seems very arbitrary with the in-effect dates and something that would take forever to memorize accurately...any thoughts?

Thanks guys!

mcmc

Thanks Castle123. It worked for Levels I and II, so I've got the process down pretty good, and like you said, there are no shortcuts, so it's important to stay on a tight schedule and stay motivated.

Mysterious, I actually do plan on utilizing the special sauce. In fact, it arrived on my desk today. I will likely incorporate reading this into my weekday schedule starting in April, right alongside flashcards, previous exams, and specific pieces of the material. It's certainly not a replacement to any part of the studying, but more like the glue that kind of helps keep things in perspective.

nannan66

How do you find secret sauce?

skycfa

Wow DDSU82! no kidding...I've heard from other candidates and read about approaches and yours seems to be well thought out and Concise. The starting in November seems a lil early, yet when I read about your approach/desire to go over the material 2x, I'm impressed. Bottomline...there are no shortcuts with L3 and you seem to understand that! Good luck and keep the momentum up...and pls also give yourself some time to relax and "celebrate" your study successes/milestones as you go.

Analti_Calte

Having began in November, my goal was to read the CFAI material twice, while doing EOC questions in 5 months. So far, I'm right on track, in the middle of my second time through the material. Starting in April, I'll spend the weekdays going over flashcards, reviewing previous LIII exams, specifics within the CFAI text and EOC questions, while setting aside time on Saturday and Sunday to do practice exams. I'll definitely be doing all six from Schweser along with the CFA Mock. In the past, I've spent Saturday doing the first part of the test and then grading it and reviewing my answers (learning from my mistakes) and then doing the second part on Sunday. I still time myself, so as to make sure I preserve the aspect of a "real test environment."

If anyone else has other suggestions, I'm certainly interested, but I feel pretty confident about my approach.

former

I just printed out a bunch of Q-Bank questions at all difficulty levels. As with LII, easy and medium aren't going to add much value. The difficult vignette ones are alright. But I was disapointed that there weren't any essay questions available.

I think the crux of my studying will be off of EOC questions, old exams and mock exams.

Happy studying

canadiananalyst

Q Bank isn't useless, but I only found it valuable in level 1. Knowing the curriculum is only half the battle, as the other key is to be able to pick out the key information in the question- Q Bank just gives it to you.

I'm going through the texts a second time and making pretty detailed notes. Should be done by early April, which gives me two months for review/exams.

zwjy

>
> This is where I'm still trying to figure out the
> best approach. Done w/ the readings and finished
> my formula flashcards. But I don't remember
> enough from the readings to take on a full exam
> just yet... so not really sure where to practice
> to build up that retained knowledge.


Don't worry about not remembering enough, that is what practice exams are for. Take a practice exam--you will learn and retain much more from your failures.

You could also do EOC problems but it is easier to forget those, especially for level three, so it is good refresher to do them closer to the end.

skycfa

Congrats making it through so early, you are in great shape.

Since you have four months it is a good idea to use the third party resources early and the actual CFA stuff later so their wording/trickery is fresh
-Do all the Schweser mock exams. Reread the text on the areas you get wrong. For the AM section focus on time management, only give yourself 2 hours to complete the section
-Once you are done with Schweser mocks do one of the older past CFAI AM exams so you get the feel of how it is written.
-Work through all the EOC questions
-Do the CFAI past exams, again focus on time.
-Take the mock CFAI and buy the samples.

Use the Qbank rarely (like when you have a spare few minutes)