A bit overwhelmed.

I

insert any name

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Hello,
I will be taking the CFA level I in June of 2014. 6 months seems like a great time to prepare and begin studying for the exam. I have signed up for good review classes that last for about 5 months and start in January. I have heard that is more than enough time with May-June just for a review period.
My only issue was when I tried getting a head start on my reading. I read through the entire ethics section at first. It can be tricky to learn the concepts, but not impossible to master with 1 or 2 more reviews of the section. I scored around 60-65% correct on my first try when it came to practice problems on my own. Overall, I found the section interesting.
After the ethics, I looked at some sections that rely heavily on definitions and formulas (like quant). I just felt a bit overwhelmed when it came to this. The basics are not too challenging because I have already learned them (for example, calculating the value of an annuity). There just seemed to be a LOT of variations of a situation and formulas to remember.
I got the feel that there were hundreds of definitions and formulas being thrown at me, and it may be overly difficult to recall even 80% of them. I can master concept-based topics, but I’m not terribly confident about recalling a formula that I have never seen before given an unclear question on the exam.
What do all of you think? Should I make about 1000 flash cards as I go along? Some people have suggested reading and trying to understand concepts, then doing massive amounts of practice problems. I have a friend who swears by practice problems, and I would have to agree.
I hope that you can understand some of the confusion that I am going through. I am just a bit confused towards how to study for this exam in a sense and I thank you in advance for any of your advice.
 
The CFA is a difficult series of exams. It’s not for everybody. If it were, then everybody would have it. Sometimes, certain people simply don’t have the mental stamina to do it. It takes a certain kind.
Having said that, if you are actually serious about the exam, my own 2 cents is that success is a function of total time spent studying and number of practice problems done (specifically from a diversified, organized test bank structure like Schweser, etc.). I hear a lot of candidates talk and talk about how onerous the material is, only to find out that they are spending more time talking about the difficulty of what they perceive to be the material, than they are studying the actual material. Don’t be one of these people and you should be fine. The CFA is all about pacing yourself and forcing yourself to be focused on the study session at hand – not to allow yourself to be overcome with the awful totality of the material all at once.
 
It aint easy this CFA stuff. 90% of people probably feel similar to you when they first get started….and trust me it;s not going to get easier as you’ll soon be onto FRA then Corp Fin and Deriv, PM etc etc.. and there’ll be lots more to learn.
If you’re committed then just knuckle down and get on with it, things will start to stick, questions will repeat themselves and patterns start to appear.
Study, write out formula sheet, do questions and then get on with the next section. For L1 I found the Qbank one of the most useful bit of software available to practice questions and retain concepts…
You’ll get there, just keep at it!
 
Thanks a lot for the advice.
For the more complicated sections I can begin making a list of definitions and formulas to eventually make flash cards, etc.
Learning the material isn’t overly difficult, its just the quantity. I guess that’s half of the challenge.
 
insert any name wrote:
Learning the material isn’t overly difficult, its just the quantity. I guess that’s half of the challenge.
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You’re both wrong and right.
You’re right–the difficulty with the CFA exams is not the complexity. Rather, it’s the volume of material that you have to learn.
You’re wrong–that’s about 95% of the challenge.
 
former trader wrote:
If you put in the time and have an IQ over 100, you will be fine.
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and you don’t get too nervous that it causes you to screw it all up.
 
Destroyer of Worlds wrote:
I hear a lot of candidates talk and talk about how onerous the material is, only to find out that they are spending more time talking about the difficulty of what they perceive to be the material, than they are studying the actual material. Don’t be one of these people and you should be fine. The CFA is all about pacing yourself and forcing yourself to be focused on the study session at hand – not to allow yourself to be overcome with the awful totality of the material all at once.
Click to expand...
Very good point.
 
i think learning individual topics are not that difficult. with time and practice you will “master” it or at least pass with a 75% if you are examined individually.
HOWEVER, the challenge is to remember and understand everything in the curriculum, which is a bit overwhelming as OP says.
THere are no special tricks, you just have to try your best and practice! If you have always studied with flashcards and worked for you in university, go ahead! Whatever works for you!
BEST OF LUCK,
NANA
 
Thanks again for the advice! I’ll keep at it and post some progress or info that I find to help some people out.
 
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