Anyone studied using Schweser notes ONLY and PASSED Level 2?

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xenogearz

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Just wondering if there are any Level 2 passers out there who studied Level 2 using Schweser notes ONLY (as opposed to studying using both Schweser notes ans CFAI text books).
 
I passed L2 using Schweser. Got >70% in all sections except Alt Inv and Fixed Income (50%-70%). Studied for 22 full days right before the exam (around 250 hrs total). As you might have read in other threads, the key to have a high chance of passing any CFA exam is the CFAI EOCs. Just do good in the EOCs and try not to skip any topic. This is the best tool to gauge your readiness, not any mock exam, qbank or sample exams. Mock exams for 2010 were not representative of the real exam; it was really really off. Understand it all and memorize all formulas. When I saw the June 2010 L2 exam, I was really thankful to have memorized all formulas. It was really quantitative and relied more on memorization of formulas. Without CFAI EOCs, your chances of passing will drop significantly. I know this is really not ‘Schweser only’ lol but I hope you get my point. You can even skip Schweser EOCs and go for CFAI EOCs if you want to save time.
 
sorry wake2000, I did it..only using schweser..and pass with flying colours…U cannot use schweser only for level 3…level 1 and 2…by all means, use schweser as your primary study materials
 
I passed with schweser only. It was a marginal pass. And even before exam i had a strong feeling that my knowledge level is quite shallow.
If you have to take one advice, please do EOC from CFA books.
I second chester007 on almost every thing what he wrote.
 
Agree with chester007 too. Schweser is good as it summarises all the stuff that you need to know, but pls practice the EOC qns because they are what determines whether you truely understood your stuff.
 
I passed L2 in 2007 using only Schweser. CFAI didn’t automatically send their texts back then. My feeling is that if you know Schweser really well for L1 and L2, you’ll be fine using that alone. (L3 is trickier.) But since you’re getting the CFAI texts, certainly you should do the EOC questions.
And I agree about knowing the formulas. The tests are usually less quantitative than might be expected, but there are still a handful of questions that would be extremely simple if you just had the formula memorized. I recall that on L2, there were maybe 5 questions (out of 120) like that, and of course every correct answer helps.
 
2 very good friends of mine both used Scheser for L2 and both passed 1st attempt.
It can be done. I would recommend it if you have time constraints. It is nearly 1/2 the size of the CFA books..
 
using the Schweser notes alone can be helpful. But it depends from person to person. How much to do understand and can apply using just the notes. They are complete and have all the info. But you must realise that it is a summarized version of the CFAI books.
At the risk of being repetitive (only to emphasize importance), EOCs from CFAI are must.
 
Is the risk worth the return?
I have a friend who digested Schweser from the first page to the last page not once but twice and landed on Band 10. Just because a few passed using Schweser does not make it a sure fire way of passing. What if you are coming from a non-finance background doing a non-finance job? I am yet to hear of anyone who read and understood the curriculum and solved all the EOCs at least twice and failed.
The informational ratio is not just worth it. If you like it and want to do it the short cut way… all the best.
 
I definitely think that Schweser is worth it. I used Schweser exclusively for Level 1, but for Level 2, I used Schweser only for the actual reading, but I probably worked the CFAI end of chapter questions 3 times…I barely touched the Schweser Q Bank or CFAI text - the questions on Schweser Q bank, as well as the Schweser end of chapter questions, are way too simple and are not representative of the actual exam. I would definitely recommend putting significant time into the CFAI end of chapter questions, even those that are not multiple choice. Anyway, I will stick with what has worked for me both times on L3. Good luck to everyone.
 
Haven’t done a single CFAI EOC, passed 1 and 2 first tries on the Big S only. Echo the sentiment, depends on the person. If you have a solid finance background, work as analyst, or been on trading for a few years..EOC’s will likely become less important. If you have less front office experience, it might become more important to do the EOC’s.
This is not to discount job functions, or bash anyone. but in the frontoffice, depending on the role, you are more likely to have expertise that crosses into some of the larger/harder sections. Like Derivs.
 
I’ve passed Level 1 and 2 on my first attempt using only Schweser. Regarding the L2 exam, I passed it with >70% at all, except Alternative Investements, Equity and Ethics. If the 50-70% at Equity and Alternative aren’t because of the lack of deepness from the Schweser text,because what I got wrong at this two subjects were well explained in Schweser, the 50-70% at Ethics is because of the shallowness that is found in the Schweser texts compared to the Cfa texts.
 
had very solid scores on L1 and L2 basing 95% of my study on the notes, qbank, and secret sauce.
I probably used CFAI texts less for L2 than i did for l1, because L2 was a time crunch
 
Yes, I only used Schweser for all levels (other than Code of Ethics) and passed in order.
 
I will be using CFAI only as I did for L1, people that don’t use them are weak and shouldn’t be even in CFA program. If you don’t likw the CFA material then fuck off, these exams are not freshmen liberal are courses, these are for professionals.
So what if you passed using study aids, I would never hire you if I found out you told the easy way.
 
timotimo Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I will be using CFAI only as I did for L1, people
> that don’t use them are weak and shouldn’t be even
> in CFA program. If you don’t likw the CFA material
> then fuck off, these exams are not freshmen
> liberal are courses, these are for professionals.
>
> So what if you passed using study aids, I would
> never hire you if I found out you told the easy
> way.
—————————————————————————————–
roflcopter.
you sound like one of those guys whom i encountered oh so many times throughout my academic years who did all the homework and studied days before the tests only to get a B+, while I was the one who glanced over the material and aced the test every time.
just sayin’
i used schweser only for lvl 1+ lvl 2 and passed both on first attempt. it depends on if you can retain the knowledge well enough and if you are quick at grasping concepts. using just schweser isnt for everyone.
 
timotimo…Bro lighten up…Schweser is a phenomenal system which hits all learning modalities. Using the Schweser system in combination with the CFAI materials will lead to long term retention as the goal isn’t just to pass the test, but to make you a better analyst. I used a combo CFAI and Big S and nailed level 1 and am studying the same way for level 2. My philosophy is to study smarter not harder…Good luck and remember that if you are only reading the material and answering the questions, then a plethora of research studies suggest that you will only retain 30% of the information after three months…
 
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