Exam post-mortem

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crish_r2008

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Hi guys,

I will be giving L-1 in June 2009.

Can you throw some light on the kind of questions you got this time..i.e. were they similar to what you see in:

1. CFA study materials (back of the chapter questions)
2. Schweser back of the chapter questions
3. any other source

Also, I understand there are around 4 different calculators available in the market- which one will you recommend?

Thanks in advance
 
Here are my 2cents:
- If there is an LOS it's fair game
- If there in the CFAI texts, the word optional is not next to the reading, it is fair game.
The questions are most like the ones in the CFAI books that look like exam question.

Really dude, it is that simple and yet that hard, sorry.

If you like RPN, go with the HP. Personally, I hate RPN.
 
get a good feel for the end of chapter CFA questions...I feel that those best replicated the exam.
 
from what i gather from DanLieb and billbelemy22 , it looks like CFA end of chapter questions get a thumbs up over schweser...hmm..just wondering whether the money i paid for BUYING schweser is sunk cost!

more views will be appreciated..then i can plot a curve for a plan of action!
 
I did the 2006 exam book (number 6) of schweser and some of the questions during the exam was quite the same! (one of them was exactly the same...)

If you do end of SS questions you won't be surprised by the type of questions (maybe the wording or the answers with this hated "least likely" "most likely"...)
 
I used Stalla and felt really good after the exam. There were not any questions that I had never seen before. As for calculators, I used the HP12C. RPN is the way to go.
 
Reverse Polish Notation. Personally I can't stand it. The TI BA II Plus Professional has some added things like Payback and Discounted Payback over the regular, and I brought one of each to the exam. As for study material, I used Stalla and felt relatively prepared. I would highly recommend purchasing the CFAI mock exams the week or two before the exam - I counted at least 8 problems that were very similar, and 8 points is well worth $100. It also helped you focus on the concepts that they would be testing.
 
When I read the title of this thread, I think of SLAYER.

Post-Mortem! From their classic 1986 release REIGN IN BLOOD.

Now you're wondering what this has to do with the December Level 1 CFA exam?

Well, it's because I refused to eat my ticket and showed up at the Slayer show here in Moscow the weekend before.

Now I know some of you will be saying, "AHA Dapoopa...now THAT'S why you got sick before the exam!"

And you're probably right. Maybe.

The fact is that a virus was going around my family at the same time...I've got four kids...so I have no idea who was to blame for my illness come exam day.

At the time, I badly needed a study break...trust me on this...and I had never seen the band live. So I went...damn the torpedoes...
 
crish_r2008 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> from what i gather from DanLieb and billbelemy22 ,
> it looks like CFA end of chapter questions get a
> thumbs up over schweser...hmm..just wondering
> whether the money i paid for BUYING schweser is
> sunk cost!
>
> more views will be appreciated..then i can plot a
> curve for a plan of action!


I wouldn't consider your Schweser materials a waste of money. The QBank is absolutely essential if you ask me. Read a SS, take practice tests on that SS. Read another SS, take more practice tests with both sections combined. Rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat. It never failed to amaze me how easily I could read something and a) have it make perfect sense, and b) completely forget it the next morning. Seeing it in problem format and working it out really made it stick with me.

The Schweser notes also do a pretty solid job of summarizing the CFAI texts, which I think can be a little bit too wordy (this probably depends on your learning style, familiarity with Finance, etc).
 
ah Dapoopa, respect to you. I also went to a gig on the Monday before. The guilt was immense but I could not possibly miss seeing Slipknot in London. It was amazing!

My boyfriend went on the Tues and Weds as well, which I was bit gutted about cause I wanted to go then too, but I studied instead. Lets hope that I passed to make up for missing them again!
 
my 2 cents:

1. Learn from Schweser Notes. Only check the CFAI material if:
a) You don't get it from Schweser
b) You want to polish a certain topic
2. Use Schweser Flashcards to rehearse during lunch break/commute. Every LOS is fair game, therefore every card may earn a point.
3. Practice with Q-Bank right from the start with reading and SS exams (use all question first, and ONLY advanced questions in the final weeks).
4. In the final two weeks practice with TIMED Schweser mock exams and before the last week do one CFAI Mock exam, leave the other for mid of last week, re-read the original Standard of Practices Handbook.
5. Retain continuously using Schwesers Secret Sauce and write your notes into that book so that they will be in one place, ready for a quick knowledge-index rebuild before going to bed or something.

Schweser focuses heavily on calculations. While the exam may contain many knowledge questions, the calculations Schweser contains, especially the ADVANCED Q-Bank questions, require you to remember and repeat that knowledge in a practical manner.

I did 1.a for FSA and Econ because I felt that I was particularly weak in this area. I feel I did too little of 3. and 4. came too late. I lost some notes, mainly stuff I tend to forget, when Schwesers web based Study-Planner got screwed. Thats why I think 5. is a good idea.

I prefer the TI BA II Pro because:
a) I hate RPN
b) It comes with NPV plus discounted pay-back
c) The keys give better feedback when pressed than the non-pro version of the TA BAII

Hope this helps.
 
I have to put in a Great Recomendation for the Schweser Video series - 40 hrs long. I had to watch Financial Statement Analysis 3 time for it to sink in but it was very good to have someone talk to you about all the topics you needed to know. You can sit back and eat popcorn and pause/replay as needed. Also, Johnathan Bone (one of the video instructors) has a cute accent so it helped. The 3-day seminars are a waste of money...too basic.
 
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