Study plan advise advise

JRossSter

Hi there,

I wanted to hear about your opinion about my study plan. Is there room to add something or to get rid of things you consider unncessary...

I graduated with a BA of Business Administration so most of the stuff is not new to me and I failed last winter (Band 9).

How I work the beast:

Watch 1 or 2 lecture videos (= 1 or 2 LOS sections) on Elan per day and do the EOC Qs of the CFA I curriculum afterwards. If any questions arise I check the CFA books.

I will be finishing all material on Nov. 1st, after that I will focus on the CFA I EOC questions I did wrong, Mocks and Elan questions. The last 2 weeks before Dec 3rd I'll have 2 weeks off work to review 11th hour, do some more mocks, practice questions etc.

I study about 1,5 - 2 hours during the day, on weekends I try to get 4 hrs done.

What do you think? Has someone tried to watch the videos only and not read the books? The elan videos talk about everything that pops up in their notes so I don't feel that I'm missing something.

Thanks for your input!

kickthatcfa

If you failed the first time, I would add more reading to your plan. If you failed with a BA in business, it probably also means you didn't do enough practice questions and/or practice exams.

You should also probably add a bit more time to your weekend estimate; it is a good opportunity to get through more material with less distractions in a single day rather than breaking up topics day-to-day on weekdays.

.......................
ATH, CFA, CAIA

jarobi04

You know your weaknesses better than any body. Read and Retain well, this is the key to success. For me reading again was necessary for retaining. For some people doing questions and practising makes it easier for them to retain. Manage your time well and try to focus on what you are reading while you are reading. The moment you realise that the things are over flowing from your mind - take a break. If you think videos help you out, go for them. What ever you do make sure you are getting the best out of it. Good Luck.

profil

Thanks for your input guys.
In contrast to my previous time I will be finished with the readings 5 weeks before the exam (during these 5 weeks I will have 3 weeks off work) and spend all my time doing questions and rereading passages I don't get. Last time I only had 2 or 3 weeks.

One more question, how did you guys feel when you studied quant and looked back at it 3 weeks later....I did all the EOC in the CFA book and got 'em, but now if you'd ask me some formulae I were lost.
Hope this all comes back when doing questions all over again...

cheers

AnalystForum

I think you are fine Daniel. I also failed the first time (Band 10) and then passed this June. I really feel I UNDERSTAND and KNOW the material now, and Level II QM has been pretty smooth so far.

For my first attempt I didn't have enough time for review and practice at the end. If you leave 5-6 weeks at the end you should be OK. Do at least the EOC or Elan PQs while you're doing the videos/readings. Don't be saving them all for later.

Just curious, what provider did you use the last time?

tobeornottobe

Hi Cinderella,

last time I used schweser. I watched the videos and did the practice questions from schweser afterwards.

Now, after the videos, I do the EOC from the CFA books, mark the ones I don't feel 100% sure or the ones I got wrong.
I want to do all the Elan Pq after I am through the whole stuff and check the marked questions from the CFA curriculum again. During this process I want to write everything down that I don't get. This doesn't make sense at this point because after watching the videos everything is fresh in memory...

Great that it worked the 2nd time for you, hope that it works for me also

jcole21

Hey Daniel,

Im adopting the same strategy as you. I have a bcom finance background but failed band 5.

Also had only two weeks before the exam to study and no time for practice questions or mocks so now I've decided to use videos only and do EOC questions after each reading.

Im hoping this will get me pass but still uncertain since band 5 is very far from that.

Anyway I started with Econ and hope I have the key points covered. Wana move to equities next so I know its out the way and because I'm using 2010 videos have to refer to CFAI due to curriculum changes.

Also work during the day so 1.5 to 2 hrs a day of study and 4 on weekends. Taking time off from work the last two weeks before the exam to focus on mocks and go thru secret sauce.

Lets hope this strategy works