7 weeks to go - progress up until now & the plan from here?

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mark88

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Hi guys,
There’s exactly 7 weeks to go until the exam and I was wondering:
(a) what stage people are at, and
(b) what sort of study plans people are going to be adopting from here.
Personally, I’ve read all the Schweser chapters, done all the concept checkers and completed the EoC questions. I’ve also managed about 500 questions in the QBank so far.
Going forwards, I want to complete the QBank by mid-May & work on my weak areas. In the last 2 weeks, I’ll do the CFA mock, Schweser mocks and anything else I might be able to get my hands on (i.e. maybe another CFA mock).
p.s. Has anyone bought the Secret Sauce yet? Is it worth getting?
 
I’m a CFA 1 candidate myself but I think I’m reasonably on track.
Sounds like you’ve done the dirty work and you’re just wondering how to make the most efficient use of your time from here. I think you probably want to do the practice/mock/sample exams sooner than your plan… if you’ve got plenty of practice-type exams, you can use them from here on in, periodically, to check the level of the questions you’ll be asked. I find that checking in on the mock exam once a week (even if it’s just to read the questions) is always valuable, as it hones my focus on to the things I should be studying when reviewing. I’m going to be taking, retaking and checking practice material for a considerable chunk of time from here.
May also pay to go through the learning outcome statements and identify which formulae you need to learn (if it says “calculate”, lock it in) and create a consolidated formula sheet.
 
I have gone over the material, did eoc questions, now just simultaneously reviewing and working on schweser qbank questions section by section. I will start practice tests/mocks in the beginning of May.
I am finding that the repetitiveness of the qbank questions is helping me retain more information, I wish I would have started them sooner!
 
I’m done with the material and working on practice exams now. My basic schedule is to studying during the week and take a full practice exam each weekend, score it, and go over my mistakes. So far I’ve done this two weekends in a row and unfortunately both exams I’ve scored exactly the same - 169/240 or 70.4%. I was really hoping to improve at least a couple percent but it didn’t happen.
I think I’ll be sticking to this plan for the next 7 weeks and I’ll take the CFAI mock in a few weeks.
 
RaleighStClaire wrote:
I’m done with the material and working on practice exams now. My basic schedule is to studying during the week and take a full practice exam each weekend, score it, and go over my mistakes. So far I’ve done this two weekends in a row and unfortunately both exams I’ve scored exactly the same - 169/240 or 70.4%. I was really hoping to improve at least a couple percent but it didn’t happen.
I think I’ll be sticking to this plan for the next 7 weeks and I’ll take the CFAI mock in a few weeks.
Click to expand...
this is identical to my schedule, i’ve taken the first two full practice tests the past two saturdays with the appropriate time constraints and at the same time we’ll be tested on june 2. last week i tightened up what appeared to be my weakest areas and i intend to do the same this week and every week til the real thing.
raleigh, dont get discouraged by “marginally passing” each of those two practice tests you’ve taken - we’re a month and a half out and you have a fighting chance at taking the real thing now and performing well. plenty of time, you have a solid starting point.
 
Thanks, but how do I improve? I took the first exam, was relatively pleased with a 70, studied my weakest section all week and then got a 70 again. There really isn’t much else for me to do aside from continuing along this schedule and doing more problems with the hopes of my score improving.
btw, is it the consensus that a 70 on these mocks is considered marginally passing?
 
im by no means an authority on this, but i’ve read that scoring above a 70 on the exam is a pretty sure bet to pass. however, i’ve also read and heard that the schweser practice tests are, in fact, easier than the real test.
if it’s any consolation, my score actually dropped from test #1 to test #2
 
mark88 wrote:
Hi guys,
There’s exactly 7 weeks to go until the exam and I was wondering:
(a) what stage people are at, and
(b) what sort of study plans people are going to be adopting from here.
Personally, I’ve read all the Schweser chapters, done all the concept checkers and completed the EoC questions. I’ve also managed about 500 questions in the QBank so far.
Going forwards, I want to complete the QBank by mid-May & work on my weak areas. In the last 2 weeks, I’ll do the CFA mock, Schweser mocks and anything else I might be able to get my hands on (i.e. maybe another CFA mock).
p.s. Has anyone bought the Secret Sauce yet? Is it worth getting?
Click to expand...
This is very similar to how I have attacked the studying, I have done Schwesser notes and all the EOC questions as well as some small Qbank quizzes on each chapter along the way. I recently read Schwesser’s Secret Sauce and its a fairly quick review, I found it helpful personally. I am reading CFAI Text for Ethics this week then going to gear go over the CFAI text EOC questions.
Also are the practice exams that people are doing the Qbank tests or from the practice exams texts?
Thanks,
Dan
 
I just finished all my readings on sunday. im going to review ethics this week ( atleast till thurs-fri) and then review quantitative methods ( which i despise). i want to start doing all my elan guides problems ( 2000 of them) starting the last week of april. on the weekends ill do the mock exams ( both elan guides and CFA).
 
it looks like you all are doing well… thats wonderful
im bit behind my schedule… still have to read last two chapters of econ and derivatives…hoping to finish it in few days and then will try mock exam and do revision…
good luck to all
 
I’ve finished every section but the alternative investments sections. I’ve been reading and doing all EOC quesitons and Elan practice questions as I go along. I usually finish a section and then go back a couple sections and do practice questions to make sure I’m retaining the information.
I’m hoping to finish Alternative Investments within the next 10 days and then reviewing until the test. I like the idea of studying during the week and taking mocks on weekends. Thanks for the tip, guys. Which mocks have you been doing and plan on doing? Are you taking the same mock more than one time?
 
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