torontoanalyst

well, the OP was asking about Level 2, and schweser is more than sufficient.

level 3? that's another thread that has been discussed many times before.

yalo

SkipE99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lol...wait until L3 where essays are half the exam
> and Schweser does a terrible job of prep.


When I was doing L1, everyone warned that Schweser is not enough. Once I passed it with >70% in each category, people changed minds that L1 might actually be possible with Schweser only, but certainly not L2. Now I've passed L2 with Schweser notes...and the same story about how L3 goes on...

kingstongal

I read schweser notes, doing some CFA EOC question, and only do mock exam from CFAI...
I believe that CFAI mock is the closest to the actual exam..

Iginla2011

1- Schweser till feb
2- starting solving problems EOC (CFAI books)
3- found out that i lack knowledge in some major areas
4- HIT CFAI books as much as i can till mid march
5- Schweser Mocks/Official Mocks
6- Did not buy CFA sample exams (although i think they're helpful) i advise u to buy them. They'd definitely give you a clear image of what the real exam looks like.



Schweser was never enough for me but it was enough for some people. Just make sure u study ethics from CFAI books and hit CFAI EOC, those are the real deal.

Howd

Schweser Books+CFAI's EOC questions. Ethics section from CFAI book.
There are a lot of videos on YouTube which helped a lot in my case.

stalkey

[Re: Who passed Level 2 using Schweser?
Posted by: prophets (IP Logged)
Date: July 28, 2011 10:50PM


I passed both L1 and L2 on first attempt w/ the same process. if you methodically do this approach, I can almost guarantee you will pass:

1. Watch Schweser Video on a study session
2. Read Schweser Notes on same study session
3. Do Schweser questions on the study session - mark what you didn't get right for later review
4. Do CFAI EOC questions on the study session - mark what you didn't get right for review
5. Writedown all relevant notes to this study session for yourself (create your own separate set of condensed notes). This was an ongoing process for me, where I would be watching Schweser Video in 1 screen and on a second monitor typing out my own notes.
6. Writedown a running list of all key formulas in a separate notes section (key formulas for this study session).
7. Create some flash cards (not too many) covering key concepts.

repeat this process for every study session. review your notes, do CFAI EOC a 2nd, 3rd time (especially the ones you got wrong). keep creating more flash cards when you screw up problems or cannot remember concepts. Do mock exams / review. create more flash cards and review all problems you got wrong.

I had a condensed set of personal notes, flash cards (whittled down from ~300 to 50-100 most important that I had trouble remembering), a set of formulas organized by study session, and a separate section of notes just for derivatives (exactly how to do each derivatives problem step by step).

I walked out knowing for sure I passed and I did.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:54PM by prophets.]

^ +1

DSquaredSlim

Only used Schweser.

bodhisattva

are you all getting the schweser Premium study package at $900.

pretty expensive.

mamuka12

Used this approach for Level 1 in December and level II in June - both passes. This is in order so feel free to back track the time to map it to a calendar if you'd like:

Read Schweser study notes and do EOC questions from Schweser only -- Took about 3.5 Months. --- Didn't want to burn out. Usually read for about 1.5 hours a weeknight and 8 hours on the weekend. I didn't take any notes as I read

Qbank questions and 2 half mock exams -- 2 weeks. This builds a solid base of remembering the material and lets you see where you are. Its important to unclick the basic questions in Qbank if you are using it. They are a waste

CFAI EOC questions and 2 half mock exams per week - 3 weeks. This gets you a deeper understanding. The mock exams ensure that you are still focusing on all of the material atleast twice a week, while the EOC questions give you a deeper dive into material you need more help with.

Schweser videos / QBank / Schweser Flashcards / EOC Questions and Mock Exams - Final 3 weeks. The Schweser videos provide you with a different way to review/hear the material, and importantly a slight break from reading and doing questions so you don't burnout. The flashcards again provide a different way to review. I found these much more helpful to use after seeing 3-4 examples of an LOS in question review. If I had studied the flash cards earlier I would have spaced out every other card. With the examples of questions in my head, these were fairly easy to concentrate on.


I should note that during my 8 weeks of review is the only time I started taking notes. I had a different sheet that I'd post on my wall for each subject. Before taking any mock exam I quickly reviewed the wall. The most important part of my studying by far was reviewing questions that I had gotten wrong, or guessed and gotten correct, and adding that material to the notes. Little by little you chop down the material you don't know. The Wall of Notes was also important because it helped to show that you are learning more and more each week. I was convinced that if I took 6-7 full mock exams, plus Qbank questions, and added material I didn't know to my notes, the only step left would be locking down the Wall of Notes. So far 2-2.

If you want to save on time, I would cut down the reading part in the beginning. I really believe that the reading section is more to see how hard the review is going to be and what sections you'll need to spend more time on. By the time you are done reading, you'll have forgotten 85% of what you read. The review is where you learn. I'd consider my approach the "lazy" approach because with everything I did, I only ended up with about 6 pages of notes instead of a bookfull like some of my friends.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Monday, August 1, 2011 at 09:09AM by Brianehu.