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!

strikethree

No one has any input?

Analyze_This

My plan is to read schweser and do all CFAI & schweser EOC twice. Than I'll do all Schweser practice exams (think is 6) & the CFAI mock. I have also planned extra time to practice an efficient workflow for AM section. Think doin' tons of questions is again key...

oneboy

I'd focus on the EOC as well.

infinitybenzo

GIPS EOC answers look businesslike and to the point . I will memorize key points and do bulleted answers if it appears in essay q's

mar350

equiv is right on the money............i would only add material seems easier test is def harder

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)

Roflnadal

Howd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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)

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.

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.

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.