CFA Level 1 preparation (June 2016)

S

StageRight

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Hey all,
I’ve been lurking around these forums while contemplating enrolling in the CFA for almost a month now. I think I’m finally going to take the plunge today and sign up to write the June 2016 level 1. I’ve gathered some good information on these forums so far, but I’m the type of person who needs all information before jumping in. I’m just going to pose a few questions, and would appreciate any insight to any (or all)!!
1) Since I am enrolling early-ish, would it be more beneficial to stick to the CFAI books and maybe order Kaplan in Feb or March as a review and for the questions? (I’m an average reader speed wise, but sometimes have trouble committing things to long term memory, I’m worried the CFAI books may be toooo dense for me to remember the key points for 9 months).
2) I know this is most likely going to cause some arguments, but in past experiences/ opinions, Kaplan Schweser or Wiley guides? (I would get the Essential self study package from Kaplan and the equivalent from Wiley)
3) I’ve been trying to formulate a study plan before I even ordered the books and this is what I was thinking, any opinions/critiques? Too much, too little?
- read the CFAI books 1 session at a time with no highlighting/note taking( goal is to focus on understanding)
- re read the session with highlighting and then do EOC q’s from CFAI
- following week review the highlighted sections of previous session, and continue with next study session
- in late February aim to have material read, begin to create flash cards of highlighted material and do a tom of qbank questions and CFAI questions.
- may = mock month
4) I’m absolutely terrified of spending so many of my Canadian Peso’s at the moment as the exchange rate is atrocious, for a 40% chance of passing (terrible attitude I know, I’m a pessimist) so any tips/ advice anyone has would be amazing!
thank you all for your help in advance - Happy Studying!
 
All depends on how you study best so noone can really tell you THE way to do it.
-I just read the CFAI material once, making notecards along the way for formulas and key topics.
-EOC’s at the end of each reading to check that I learned the material. Note any questions you struggle with and you can come back to them again later. Go over any areas you are stuggling.
-Once you finish an entire topic, try your hand at the CFAI online topic based practice test. These are very similar to the mocks & exam. I push these very hard because I don’t see them mentioned enough by people and I found them VERY useful for fine tuning some topics. I basically scored on the exam what I was scoring in the topic exams/mocks on the real exam.
-I did my first mock the last week of April, and all of May. I would usually do a 1/2 mock, grade it, and GO OVER areas you struggled. I circled a problem if I thought it was tough, so even if I got it right I would go over the concept.
-During the mock period I also would kill time by just going through my notecards as well to stay sharp on formulas and such.
Based on CFAI practice tests & mocks you should have a general idea of where you stand. The weekend before the exam I was getting mid 80’s on mocks so I basically just kept it cool and tried not to burn out before the exam. The entire week of the exam I did one 1/2 mock and made sure to get a ton of sleep all week.
 
Hello,
I’ve been lurking awhile myself and I was about to post when I realized what you posted was pretty much identical to what I was planning on asking so I hope you don’t mind me jumping in on this thread too haha.
I’m most interested in hearing what people have to say re. Kaplan Schweser vs. Wiley…I’ve been trying to decide before signing up for the exam as well because, like you, I like to have a plan with everything laid out in front of me before taking the plunge.
From what I’ve heard, the CFAI books, while very informative, are just too much for most. Wiley seems like they have the best and most informative videos, but apparently the customer service is so bad that some people have avoided it for that reason. Schweser, while posessing the excellent Q-bank and mock exams has been said to be a bit too generalized in sections such as Econ and Ethics. At least, that is what I’ve gathered thus far.
What I wonder is if Schweser and Wiley actually HELP you study, or they just shorten the process and if they do, if any material is ommitted in the process that you would need the CFAI books for.
I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hijack the thread.
 
Not a problem at all Arpeggio, the more information and answers we are able to gather the better!
 
Pretty much agree with everything @Yayyywork said.
Would add that some of your approach looks like doing it the hard way. Don’t get too bogged down on your first read and slow down, and don’t leave all the problems for the very end. That’s a common problem Candidates face.
And if you do start 9 months out, TAKE YOUR OWN NOTES. They will be of immeasurable value in cramming
 
So if you have 9 months, is it more advisable to study the CFAI material rather than a third party provider?
From what I understand, people complain about the CFAI material being “too much” rather than “too long”. The key difference to me here means that there is just a lot that would be better spent ignored and focused on larger more important topics, rather than there just being too much material to get through.
I actually went ahead and ordered Kaplan since work was covering it for me but it seems with this much time, the best route would be to study CFAI and review with Kaplan afterwards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top