Please comment on your Level I experience. especially, following, experience, one, long

siavosh

Hello everyone

I was hoping to get some useful insight from all of you who just took the exam this weekend. I have been lurking these boards for a while now and have decided to take the plunge for Level I in June. Since you folks just took the exam I would like you all to comment on your experience studying for level I and especially on the following:

1. The institute recommends 250 hours of study. Is that about right? How long did you guys study. I know productivity varies from one person to the next, but it would still help to know how much you put it approximately.

2. How much did you use the curriculum. I feel it's a valuable resource for learning, but does one NEED to use it?

3. Did you use a prep provider or take any prep courses? Which one is the best from Schweser, Stalla and Elan? Can people who used any of these companies' materials please comment on which one is the best for study guides, lectures, question banks, practice exams and online courses?

4. Any other advice you would give to a first time candidate...

Thank you in advance for taking the time to share your thoughts.

May you all pass when the result comes out in January.

ayaz_mahmud369

Now that we all have our exam results back I feel I can offer some solid advice to future LVL 1'ers.

To OP's questions:
1. That's about right. May vary depending on how much you know and how intensive each single hour of study is for you.

2. The End of Chapter Questions alone make it worth it. You are forced to buy the books anyways when you register IIRC.

3. I used Elan for the readings -- their materials hit just about all the good stuff you need to know in clearer language than some of the other providers that I've sampled. You should check the erratum though because this past semester they made some pretty significant errors in the original printing of the text.

4. (1) Use flashcards to memorize factual sorts of things, (2) do a lot of mock exams that both the CFAI provide and from 3rd party providers; do all the end of chapter questions from the CFA curriculum several times, (3) make sure you bring something that'll help you fall asleep the night before because I wasn't able to get any sleep that night on account of anxiety, (4) bring some caffeine pills (nodoze perhaps) to the exam (this only works well if you don't have caffeine often).

The CFA website has several hints and suggestions for preparing and taking the exam and I thought those were helpful. You should look at those.

SFoyil

-Schweser notes only, except Ethics
-Did lots of questions through mock exams, Qbank, and read Quicksheet alot
-Found exam easier than mocks, more parallel to Qbank question (Esp. format wise)

DarienHacker

I read Schweser notes and CFAI text for ethics and weak areas.
I did all EOC 2 times(first,after finishing reading and second, during revision period)
Also, several mock exams( schweser, elan, BSSA).

Practise question till last day. I think that was my key to pass the exam.
Schweser Qbank is OK for begining but dont spend much time on it. It is way easier than actual exam.

Happy reading to L1 taker.

SkipE99

1) I probably only put in ~125 hours. I stopped counting after I finished "reading" the curriculum. I only counted about 100 hrs spent on the curriculum. The rest was spent doing EOC questions, Schweser practice exams, the CFAI mock, and my own personal flashcards and notes. Keep in mind that I had learned most of the material in school, which explains why I was able to spend so little time dedicated to CFA.

2) I used the curriculum exclusively. You don't need to use 3rd party providers.

3) Didn't purchase Elan, qbank, Schweser, etc. I don't think you need them if you have a good basis in the material (I took it during school). I was given the Schweser practice exams by a friend who used them in 2009. When I do level 2, the only think I will purchase will be the practice exams

Unless you have a memory like a computer, you will always run across questions that you don't know. There is too much material for them to draw from.

Some things that I did that others may or may not agree with:

-Skipped a lot of the quant section because I hate statistics and didn't feel like trying to learn it, so I guessed a lot on the test. One person commented on here that I'd learn my lesson when the results came out. I got 70+ on quant.
-Didn't do the EOC questions as I went through. I came back after I was done the reading and did them before the practice exams

A warning though... don't necessairly follow my advice if you haven't recently studied this stuff. I have my undergrad degree in accounting and finance and I have a masters in finance, so I eat/sleep/breath this stuff in school.

Final results: I passed with 70+ in every section except alternatives and derivatives (got 51-70 in those sections).

KungFuPanda

Will come back later and share.

malbec

Bump. Hoping to hear plenty more opinions...

noel

I'll be sure to add my $0.02 if the news is good next week. But yeah Level II is supposed to be an entirely different beast.

Colum

Pass Level I first! Then worry about making time for Level II

svgleeson

Work hard on L1, and pass.

Put in the same effort for L2 and prepare to get your a** handed to you.