CFA L1 - Complete syllabus first & Practice Later?

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Hello Everyone,
I’m preparing for CFA Level 1. I have registered for Dec 2019. I would like to know what is the best approach to prepare for this exam.I am doing 9 hours full time job in ecommerce company, my job is not related to finance. I made up study plan where I will be covering 2-3 readings in a week, while studying 12-20 hours on weekend and some 4-6 hours on week days
Should I complete syllabus first by reading curriculum and doing EOC Questions? I can leave thorough practicing for later after I have completed the syllabus. Is it a better approach? Because right now I’m not scoring anywhere near 70% on my first attempt of solving EOC questions I’m scoring in forty’s and sometimes less than forty. Please suggest if you can.
Looking forward for some better solution here. Thanks
 
While reading your post my initial idea was to recommend going through the content first and to go deep into problem solving afterwards.
Apart from that, I think it’s alarming that you are scoring ~40% just after reading the chapter. That’s definitely too low and I guess it means that you do not really get the concepts of the readings. You need to improve that score now. Not necessarily to >70% but at least to the high 50s. Even.more important than your score (at least at this stage) is your understanding of what you did wrong and why it’s wrong.
 
Yes i know right now after reading and doing EOC questions I’m scoring low. After doing these EOC questions i do feel like i can improve my score if I practice more because i do understand where did i go wrong and which concept i wasn’t able to absorb. Than again I’m double minded on spending too much time on practicing each reading questions that i won’t be able to complete curriculum on time.
This course is too much and its very time consuming when you’re watching videos and reading from curriculum and doing questions.
I’m just bit afraid that if i didn’t cover curriculum like 30-40 days before exam I’ll get under pressure and in the end i might not be able to complete everything. How much practice do you suggest for each reading?
 
If you’re scoring below 40% in level 1 questions, your conceptual understanding is lacking.
Also, reading the entire curriculum is a huge task and not the best use of your time since you have a full-time job. A lot of the curriculum is good to know, but not that testable. Get a good third-party provider that summarizes concepts (either with notes or video lectures).
 
Myr.Yas wrote:
Hello Everyone,
I’m preparing for CFA Level 1. I have registered for Dec 2019. I would like to know what is the best approach to prepare for this exam.I am doing 9 hours full time job in ecommerce company, my job is not related to finance. I made up study plan where I will be covering 2-3 readings in a week, while studying 12-20 hours on weekend and some 4-6 hours on week days
Should I complete syllabus first by reading curriculum and doing EOC Questions? I can leave thorough practicing for later after I have completed the syllabus. Is it a better approach? Because right now I’m not scoring anywhere near 70% on my first attempt of solving EOC questions I’m scoring in forty’s and sometimes less than forty. Please suggest if you can.
Looking forward for some better solution here. Thanks
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I advise you to slow down…maybe study less hours but with a 100% focus. The curriculum is not rocket science but you’ll need to understand the concepts. Scoring 40% in EOCs right after reading the reading might indicate that you’re going too fast or not fully concentrating on the key concepts.
Also, if possible, maybe try to study more during the weekdays and less on weekends. I have noticed that about the max full focus studying that I’m able to do during one day is about 5 hours. I can’t imagine trying to study 10 hours per day.
 
hello Myr Yas, where are you located. Perhaps we can buddy up together as I too am planning for CFA Level 1 in Dec 2019.
I am located in New York ares.
 
Yes I agree first i was reading curriculum but its very time consuming though I love the way everything is explained in so much detail. Due to time constraint I am now watching videos, studying summary notes from curriculum and going directly for EOCQ’s. I also try going over curriculum examples if these are not covered in video lectures. My score is improved as well from 40 to 60% at times it less other times its little bit more.
I will try studying on weekdays. I was thinking about going over video lectures on weekdays and reading summary notes. I tried studying 6-8 hours on weekends but its very hectic. I cut off my social life from last 2 months I couldn’t hangout with friends. Maybe weekdays will help in balancing this.
Thanks for your advise guys! its very helpful
I’m located in Lahore, Pakistan I work on US time as my company is based in US. My routine is pretty much opposite compared to my local time zone. Yes we can study together if you’re up.
 
thanks for your response. my email address is [email protected]. Please send me you phone no so we can whats app from time to time.I have completed Quant. (started back in 1 week of April) targeting to complete FRA by May end.
 
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